Turn off the label maker

November 4, 2025 by Leave a Comment

In the midst of a conversation last week, the person I was sharing perspectives with changed the course of the conversation by asking me about my political/social ideology. Even though I did proceed to share my perspectives and values, I found the question frustrating and disappointing. This happens far too often in our society!!

I am a person not simply or easily labeled by my ideologies or beliefs. No one is!

Like everyone else, I have a unique set of experiences, perspectives, gifts, talents, beliefs, commitments, hopes, dreams, and aspirations!

It is way too easy to place someone into a bucket or clump them into a predefined group than to actually spend time getting to know, understand, respect, and empathize with their perspectives and life story. It is much simpler to discover how to categorize or define them — Christian, Muslim, Jew, Black, White, Hispanic, Affluent, Poor, Liberal or Conservative — so we can move on if and when their world view doesn’t comply or align with ours.

There is so much to be learned from another person’s perspective, story, reality, and beliefs. Relying on previous stereotypical experiences to dismiss or ignore the experience, insights, and uniqueness of another individual breeds ignorance and arrogance, not love and understanding.

When interacting with another person, take this approach:

  • Discover what you have in common with them. Remember that every one you engage has at least one thing in common with you.
  • Learn from their story. Like you, everyone has a unique story — hear it, learn from it, and appreciate it.
  • Seek to understand before you are understood. Leave your judgments, criticisms, and predispositions out of the conversation. Make a commitment to understand, inquire, and challenge not dismiss, criticize, or stereotype. You can create much from listening, learning, and understanding.
  • Be grateful. Every person that comes into your life is a gift, even those that can easily frustrate you. They are in your life for a reason — share your love, offer your gifts, and receive from them what they have to offer. You will be enriched by the interaction.

The challenges we face in our world today are monumental. There are no clear cut, easy answers. The path to these solutions require human interaction, engagement, and understanding. We each have an opportunity to make a difference. One of the critical steps to this process is to avoid labeling others, judging them, or cutting off the conversation because of what we believe we know about them. Remember, each and every one of us is unique, special, and talented. Discover and share that gift.

Filed Under: featured, Giving Love, Inspirational Perspectives Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What’s Your Story?

September 26, 2025 by Leave a Comment

“Every life story begins and ends exactly the same — the difference is what you do in between.”

Usually one of the first questions I ask people when I meet them is “what’s your story?” I find the simplicity of the question allows anyone I am talking with to share with me whatever they want - business, personal, a little of both. I open the door, invite them to share and I they to choose the topic. I have the pleasure of listening and learning.

Each of us has a story. Actually, there are two stories. The story you tell yourself and others while you are here on this earth and the stories others tell long after you are gone.

Every life story has three parts: birth, life, death. There is nothing really different in the beginning or the end. Each story begins and end exactly the same. There may be a special uniqueness about how we entered or left this world; but, that is only a small part of the story and it isn’t what most people will spend much time reflecting on.

How you live your life — who you loved, touched, inspired — is your story.

Years ago, my college swim coach reminded me that being the superstar athlete on the team was not going to be what people remembered. What they were going to remember was the experience of the interaction and how my life evolved following my college days. I didn’t get it at the time because I was too immature and self-absorbed about my superior athleticism (or so I thought) to grasp the power in the lesson.

I get it now. Each of us is living a story. It is the story of our life — who we are, how we lived, and what we did with the gifts we were given. I am not interested in creating or building a legacy because that is not the real purpose our existence. We are not here to build monuments as a testimony to our greatness.

I am interested in and committed to sharing the power of my gifts, experiences and love to those who need me and them most. It my quest that long after I am gone the gifts I shared are passed on to others in the same spirit of passion, joy and love.

That’s my story. What’s yours?

Filed Under: Live With Passion, Living Your Purpose, The Four Wheels of Personal Leadership Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

We Are Better Than This!

July 15, 2025 by Leave a Comment

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” ~ I Corinthians 13: 4-8

I finally reached my breaking point. Having carefully and determinedly avoided the Facebook chatter that bashes, judges, criticizes and disrespects for so long, I cannot sit idly by any longer without saying something.

Everyone that exists on this earth is a fellow human being. They were brought into this world and have been blessed, whether you or they realize it, with a unique set of skills, abilities, talents, and gifts. What they do to honor or use those gifts is defined by the life they live, the choices they make, and the outcome of those decisions and behaviors.

You are also one of those people. You have been blessed with a unique set of abilities. What you do with them is how the story of your life is going to be told. You have plenty of work to do to live up to the promise of your potential, as do I. We have very little extra time to spend judging our criticizing your fellow man. Unless you have lived up to the fullest of your potential and abilities you have more work to do on yourself than you do to remind others of the work they have to do in their lives.

Whether your spiritual advisors are God, Jesus, Muhammed, Buddha, Martin Luther King, Ghandi, or Mother Theresa one of the most powerful common examples they all brought to this world is Love, Humility, and Peace. I encourage each of you to examine any of these peoples quotes and commentaries and share with me where they judge, criticize, belittle or disrespect another human being. They don’t. Why do we?

We are a society that embraces the notion of freedom yet discourage accessing freedoms we don’t agree with.

We are a society that encourages a return to prayer and faith, yet openly practices behaviors that contradict our very religious teachers.

We are society that selectively loves and respects our fellow man, yet we expect our fellow man to love and respect us first.

In the news this past week was the finality of a hearing of a most unfortunate situation. A young man, a teenager, died at the hand of another man. These people were and are human beings. They have parents, siblings, and friends. Lives have been forever changed. The pain of that experience will live on in those directly impacted by the events that night.

The court system that our society embraces as a hallmark of one of the shining examples of our great way of life rendered its decision. This trial was not conducted or decided in the world of popular opinion, it was determined where it needed to be — in the courts. As responsible members of our society we need to respect the decision of the court. More importantly show some love, respect and consideration for the people who were directly impacted by the events that caused that hearing.

Shed some love, kindness, respect, humility and peace on the situation. If it was your son that died or your son that was freed, how would you desire the situation to be handled?

It is time we show some love, respect, and dignity to our political leaders, as well. You do not have to agree with what they say or what they stand for. I am grateful for the freedom to express our opinions. Our leaders are fellow human beings, too. They are fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, parents, and friends. They have been duly elected by the system that we defend as honorable and right. By virtue of that process they deserve and have earned the right to be respected. As fellow human beings they deserve to be treated the way we are called to act toward our fellow man.

Would you talk to them face-to-face the way you talk to them in your Facebook pages? Why not? Because you know that would be inappropriate and unacceptable.

We are all part of wonderful, powerful, and largely affluent society. We are fortunate to have the freedoms we do. We are all blessed with wonderful, inspirational role models to guide and direct us on the most appropriate way to love, live, and communicate.

It is time to put our inferior emotions — hate, despair, fear, judgement, ego — away and let our superior emotions — humility, love, peace, gentleness, respect, and equanimity — guide our behaviors. We are better than this. We are smarter than this. And, we are certainly capable and intelligent enough to do it.

Think before you criticize, judge or disrespect. Let that adverse emotion pass and write something positive and insightful instead. It will create much better energy and will draw people toward you instead of repelling them.

 

Filed Under: Giving Love, Inspirational Perspectives Tagged With: , , ,