Last week, I wrote on Optimist Primed and Ready. I think it worth a read and reflect. For me. 🙂 I also wrote on my 3 Cents on Leadership. Another reread for me. I need to reread and reflect… and munch on these yet again.
This week has been eventful. With work on the new Epic Speakernet™ we are launching and my full slate of work, there have been successes indeed; milestones in the making. But this week has also tested Optimism. That being said, Optimism is up to it.
Optimism is not about ignoring problems. It is not about avoiding the negative. It is about recognizing the good, the bad and the ugly… and knowing “we got this”. That requires a range of virtues including Detachment, Patience, Faith, Trust, Determination, Steadfastness, Flexibility, Endurance, Forbearance, Fortitude, Courage, Resilience, Integrity and more. I say this because virtues are latent within us. They but need practice. Practice makes permanent.
Back on September 26, it was world Character Day. I love the fact that there is a recognition of its importance, and the need for it in this world. We need character every day. That requires, nay demands, practice. If you have ever wished or prayed for more patience, I suggest two things. First, don’t be surprised if the world gives you an opportunity to practice it. Second, you do not simply receive Patience. You practice it. You work at it, like any craft.
Every virtue is latent within us, in potential. To develop them, we need practice them. We practice Acceptance and Confidence and Joyfulness. We practice Strength and Unity. Practice makes permanent and we are building a deeper understanding and mastery of a virtue as we become it’s student. Character matters; and it requires work.
So, yes… this week tested my Optimism. But, that is the point. It remains within me. It always has. Indeed and now, its access is strengthened. I am even better at putting it into practice now. I have always found it a natural virtue for me but now I understand a deeper dive on it. Optimism shines in the face of trial.
So, for November, I am running a very personal journey called November Reign. I will spend the next 30 days working on my vision with a fierce and defiant Optimism. I will own it. It will be my reign. Actually, and more specifically, it will be a reign of Nobility, Optimism and Wholeheartedness (NOW). I will be the poster child for being a student of these three… Nobility in seeing and honoring the best in life, Optimism in living it, and Wholeheartedness in the energy I bring to it. I will live my slightly and newly updated 20022020 vision of…
- It is 20022020, and I am a master and lifelong student of the global body of work around character leadership and unity building. I have learned conversational Mandarin and French to bring that work more global. I have also engaged a deepened level of spiritual studies and practice through The Ruhi Institute, and more. I am living a life filled with love, song, dance, cartooning, writing, epic stories, archery, boxing and more of what and who I love. My #bestlittledogintheworld Panda is by my side in enjoying it all. I am teaching business leadership at College of the North Atlantic, in class and online; and doing my global work of Epic Engage™. I am loving it! I am 110K in weight (slim for my body structure) and benching same; healthy and strong. And, I am financially ready, willing and able to support special projects in which I deeply want to invest and contribute.
… as if it already has manifested. It has. I will walk this month fired up with the practice of Nobility, Optimism, and Wholeheartedness strengthened by Certitude.
More specifically, for November…
- I will walk as a student of character
- I will learn the very basics of conversational Mandarin
- I will prayerfully engage in my Ruhi studies
- I will sing, write, and live with my #bestlittledogintheworld Panda
- I will teach business leadership at college and do my thing with Epic Engage™
- I will eat “more than right” and walk daily.
I will. I will listen to The Hero Within… and a slate of Shinedown tunes like I Dare You… they are my band after all … and Wake Up … and more. I will listen to MY music, not in some superficial pumping up kind of way … but to feed my soul. I will reinforce the insatiable hunger for Optimism that already resides within.
I am inviting you to join me on November Reign. It requires nothing but to take on your battle cry. Where do you need to BRING IT this month? I mean bring it. What do you need to do this month that will send one big cool ball hurtling into motion?
Yes, this week has had cool and great moments and conversations; and it has had walls to climb. Yeah, Optimism is practiced. It is built, with work. It shines greatest when tested. It shines greatest when we deal with the walls. These times in which we live are a test. But Optimism is up for it. I am too. How about you?
Peace, passion and prosperity.
Barry Lewis Green, aka The Unity Guy