It isn’t until someone believes in us…

…that we get a glimpse of our true potential.

Jim Haslett and the St. Louis Rams football team demonstrated the power of belief in yesterday’s game. 

On December 21^st, following the Rams loss to the San Francisco 49ers, head coach Jim Haslett acknowledged that the Rams weren’t yet a complete team – that there are holes in its structure that make it difficult to win. 

Coach Haslett then emphasized the fact that every player on the team gave everything they had in their failed attempt to win the game.  Something, he said, that they’d been doing week in and week out.  Coach Haslett, in essence, credited the players with playing with the intensity of a team with playoff potential instead of a team with only two wins under its belt.

Frankly, if it hadn’t been for that press conference I might not have watched the Rams game yesterday.  After hearing Haslett’s message, which I believe was as much for the team as the media and viewers, I wouldn’t have missed the game for anything.  Why?  I was curious to see what kind of impact coach Haslett’s words would have on the team.

I was rewarded with one of the best games I’ve seen in quite some time.  The Rams’ performance exceeded everyone’s expectations. Most people thought Atlanta would breeze through the day.  Why not?  They had the potential to be the #2 seed in the playoffs.  Instead the Falcons escaped with a narrow four-point win.

While the Rams didn’t win the game they held the lead three different times including a come back from a ten point deficit.  I’m sure that all of the Rams players, coaches and management were disappointed by the loss, but they should all take great pride in having brought their best, indeed, much more than they probably thought themselves capable of prior to coach Haslett’s message.

It’s counter-intuitive, but our success in 2009 will depend upon our expressing our belief in one another.  Often it’s hard for us to see our true potential, but when others express their belief in us, when they give us a glimpse at what our potential is, we’ll work as diligently and passionately as the Rams’ players did and enjoy far greater success that we could have envisioned.

May you find your true potential in 2009.  Happy New Year!

Please share your inspirational stories with The Invaluable Leader readers.  Simply post them as a comment. 

To overcome fear… 

…you need to shift your focus. 

Those of you who are regular Invaluable Leader readers know that counter-intuitive thinking is all about training our minds to think contrary to what our human nature suggests.  In these challenging times, when we’re bombarded daily with news laden with fear and uncertainty, our natural tendency is to embrace those emotions and, in the process, nurture them.  How do we overcome this natural tendency?

Change our focus; shift our focus from the things we can’t control to those that we can.  A bright future awaits those who make this transition.  It’s easier than you think.  When you hear bad news ask yourself “What opportunities do these challenges afford?”  We live in a world that is neither all good nor all bad, which means that in the best of times each of us experiences challenges and in difficult times we’re afforded new opportunities.

Next ask yourself “What skills, knowledge and experience do I possess that could help others deal effectively with these challenges?”  For it’s in helping others that we truly become invaluable.  As we become invaluable to others, they regularly seek our input and ask us to become part of their teams.  Their desire to involve us in their initiatives opens the door to more and more opportunities assuring us a bright future. 

Finally, ask yourself “How do I get my message out to the marketplace?  Who is suffering the most and how can I help them?”  These questions allow us to craft an irresistible message and deliver it to the market with such passion that our success is assured.

It’s counter-intuitive, but focusing on the opportunities that challenges afford shifts our emotional make up from one of fear and helplessness to one of hope and purpose.  I don’t know about you, but that’s a trade I gladly make.

As we enter this beautiful season, I offer this simple message as my holiday gift to you.  A gift of hope, belief in yourself and the tools to make your hopes and dreams come true.  May your holidays be filled with the love of family and friends, wonderful memories of holidays past and the joy of memories in the making.  Happy holidays! 

Dale Furtwengler

You’ll find the reason…

in a most unlikely place

One of my favorite passages comes from the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad.  An upanisad is a teaching session with a spiritual guru.  This passage was taken from the book, The Upanisads, translated by Valerie J. Roebuck and published by Penguin Classics. 

“It is not for the love of a husband that a husband is dear: it is for the love of the self that the husband is dear.  It is not for the love of a wife that a wife is dear: it is for the love of self that the wife is dear.  It is not for the love of children that children are dear: it is for the love of self that children are dear.  It is not for the love of riches that riches are dear: it is for the love of self that riches are dear…”

To me this simply means that when we’re happy with ourselves; with who we are, warts and all, we’ll enjoy everything around us.  Even in the most challenging times we’ll be able to enjoy family, friends and whatever material wealth we possess.  No longer will we plagued by the disappointment of what we don’t have.  Instead we’ll experience the abundance and joy that exists in this world and, in sharing that joy with others, make them dear to us.  For, then, we can enjoy the gifts they bring in addition to those we already possess.

It’s counter-intuitive, but when things aren’t right with the world, we’re really not happy with ourselves.  As you experience dissatisfaction with someone or something realize that you are really unhappy with aspect of yourself.  Look within for the source of your distress; you’ll quickly rediscover the joy of living.

If there are topics you’d like me to address, send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.

It’s not just how they train…

…it’s why they train.

My good friend, Joe High, the 4^th Quarter Financial Coach, recently recommended the book, Unleash the Warrior Within, by Richard “Mack” Machowicz.  It’s a powerful book and easy read.

The biggest eye opener for me was Mr. Machowicz’s statement “We [Navy Seals] don’t train to fight, we train to win.  How many of us can make that statement?  How many of us, assuming we train at all, train to win?

I know that there have been times when I’ve simply being happy to be in the game.  I can’t recall a single instance when I’ve won that game.  It saddens me to think that I expended effort and energy in an endeavor in which I had no intent of winning.  That’s a mistake I’m not likely to repeat.  How about you?

Will you take the counter-intuitive approach of consciously choosing to win or to walk away from an opportunity when you don’t intend to win?  Are your ready to serve yourself, your family, your company and your customers by choosing to win before you begin to train?

If you, too, have been the beneficiary of a friend’s book recommendation and would like to share the insights you’ve gained, please post a comment or send me an email with the concept you’d like addressed.

In these challenging times, we need to be courageous.

What does that really mean? 

Dr. Tom Rusk in his book, The Power of Ethical Persuasion, says “Courage is not the absence of fear, nor is it the ability to completely conquer our fears; it is the willingness to take a single step in the face of our fears.”  What a beautifully concise definition of courage!

We will weather today’s storms, not because our government leaders craft some grand plan, although they may.  We will adapt; then thrive, because each of us takes that one step that’s in our and our neighbors’ best interests – the step that renews our confidence because we’re taking an active role in creating our future instead of allowing it to be dictated to us.

As others see our courage and our commitment to create a better future for ourselves, they’ll gain courage – the ability to take their first step.  Soon, we’ll have millions of people taking not just that first step, but another, then another until we become a force that propels our economy to new heights.  A force that helps shorten the duration of these troubled times; a force that, once again, leads the world to greater prosperity. 

It’s counter-intuitive, but it’s not the size of the step that you take.  It’s the fact that you took it.  Will you join me in taking that first step – a step that may feel uncomfortable in this economy?  You’ll not only regain control of your life, you’ll give others the courage to take control of theirs as well.

If you’d like to know more about how counter-intuitive thinking can enhance your life, join me this week as the Unstoppable Frankie Picasso, Certified Life and Business Coach, Master Coach Trainer and founder of the Institute for Quantum Living and Conscious Design, interviews me on her internet radio program.

Frankie and I have agreed to make this program about you, your goals and the life you deserve.  Get the answers you need to take your life to the next level, call (646) 595-3741 or avoid those long-distance charges by contacting us via chat room at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/missionunstoppable.  The interview runs from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. CST on Tuesday, December 2, 2008. 

Whether you have a specific question or prefer to just listen in you can be a part of this exciting program dedicated to helping others become unstoppable in the pursuit of their dreams, just log onto http://www.blogtalkradio.com/missionunstoppable Who knows, someone else’s question might provide the answer you’re seeking.  Frankie and I look forward to your questions, Tuesday December 2, 2008, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. CST.