Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

On my travels this week, I met with an old industry friend and colleague for dinner. Given his country of origin, he used the blog title to describe both a religious and philosophical reference to (higher) Self, also referred to as Universal consciousness. He pointed to his chest several times and even with his strong accent and wobbly neck, I knew how deep this conversation had quickly become. With an ample amount of humor, we poked fun at each other’s short comings as a reminder we are works in progress.

We talked about a lot of things; current occupation, joy, pain, how much gas is left in the tank, where to “ride” with the gas left, passion, roles and responsibilities, students, mentors and mentees but most of what we focused on was influence. Shaping minds, institutions, organizations, and cultures. He said, “Eric, we cannot control anything or anyone. We can paint a picture, point in a direction, or whet an appetite but we can’t force anyone to do anything they don’t want to.”

Amen.

As people increase their own awareness, their higher self (Atma) will provide them with the limitations as well as the possibilities.

Maslow refers to it as self actualization and implies the highest form of self mastery is helping others achieve self actualization, a form of leading leaders. Interestingly enough, the motive for genuine development is not monetary. The biggest payback is an indescribable feeling, a welling up inside of pride, joy, ultimate purpose that you helped one, two, ten, twenty or more dig down inside of themselves to become the best damn version of themselves.

How does this look?
How does one help others find…Atma?

Perhaps

•Cutting the people free who are caught up in their own safety net after trying to fly, lost confidence, dropped out of the sky and there they are, stuck, contorted wings, bruised ego and frustrated disposition.
Set them free!

•Demonstrating a belief in someone’s abilities that exceeds their own. Based on what you’ve seen, heard, and experienced, you can instill a new found confidence for what they could, nay should, accomplish with the gifts God blessed them with.
Prop them up!

•Gaining trust and delivering tough messages for those who suffer hubris. Like, “Hey Joe, you’re not that special. You’re shit does stink. You haven’t earned the respect you’re demanding. You haven’t paid your dues and you can’t declare yourself the victor.
{Feedback should be direct, respectful but not mean. I only added the shit comment for effect and to make you smile. I’m exercising literary license … or something like that.}
Set them straight!

If you’re on mile 18 of a marathon, you’ve got a headset connected to a similarly equipped runner just starting out or maybe they are at mile 4, 6, or 8…what could you share with them to make their journey more tolerable, more purposeful, more satisfying?

Challenge: List ten people who have helped you become self aware. Not just the ones that made you feel good but provide a balanced list of good cops and bad cops.

Now list ten people you are helping to achieve their higher Self. If this list is hard to scribe, don’t start grabbing people off the street and pointing out their flaws. Think about who you can effectively influence, then go do it. Once you finish ten, find ten more.

Have a blessed weekend.