Author: armstrong.wou@gmail.com

“The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty.”—Zig Ziglar

Finally, we come to loyalty.  To be “loyal” if to be faithful and in allegiance to someone or something.  I believe it is the result of having honesty, character, integrity, faith, and love.  Notice, success is not having loyal followers.  The foundation stone, loyalty, is to be given.  It is not expected that loyalty be received (though, when the stones are in place, loyalty will follow).

Loyalty is to consider that “I am third”–to lead for others.  When we do so, we encourage others and promote their success.  This, in turn, leads to greater success.

Success is all about what we do for others.  Albert Einstein said it best: “Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.”

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda.”—John C. Maxwell

“The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty.”—Zig Ziglar

In the words of Tina Turner, “What’s love got to do with it?”  What?  Well, when it comes to true and lasting success—everything.

Love is listed as the first of the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23).  Love is a deep, sincere benevolence toward another.  It is a disposition to do good.  It requires a desire to do no intentional harm (i.e., “love your enemy”).  Love is purposeful attitude and desire to treat others as we desire to be treated (i.e., the “golden rule”). 

Success requires an attitude of goodwill and selflessness.  This does not, however, allow others to walk all over us.  It is quite obvious, of course, that one cannot be successful and be controlled or manipulated by another.

The love to which Zig Ziglar refers as a “foundation stone” begs to question “if there is an imaginative, subversive, brilliant, creative path” (Rob Bell) to resolving conflict.  Stephen Covey referred to this as seeking a “win-win”.  True success—balanced success—leaves (most) everyone happy.

“To love abundantly is to live abundantly, and to love forever is to live forever.”—Henry Drummond

“The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty.”—Zig Ziglar

I wrote not too long ago that “faithfulness is associated with fidelity, dependability, truthfulness, commitment, devotion etc.  We cultivate faithfulness by being faithful.”  I believe, however, that this is more in line with what I considered yesterday with integrity.

Faith, from my perspective, stems from the dimension of Spiritual “well-centeredness”.  Zig Ziglar considered fear as “faith in reverse”.  Thus, faith is living without fear.  It requires a trust in one’s Purpose and the plan for your life.  I prefer to believe it to be a faith in God.  Others may see it as a faith that there is meaning to this life.  For without meaning there is no Purpose.  Without meaning there can be no “success”.  Zig Ziglar made no secret of his faith in God.

Martin Luther King, Jr. regarded faith as “taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”  According to the bible, “faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1, NIV).  Accordingly, faith is the element of our lives that enables us to take the necessary steps toward success.  One cannot be successful without taking risks.  Growth requires action, and action requires faith.  Have faith and act!

Carpe momento!

“Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.”–Voltaire

“The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty.”—Zig Ziglar

Integrity is built on honest and character.  Integrity is “having a moral compass that doesn’t waiver” (Vocabulary.com)—of course, this implies a positive and ethical morality.

Integrity comes from the same root as “integer”, i.e., a whole number—having no fractions.  Thus, it refers to the “wholeness” or “completeness” of one’s honesty and character.  As with all of our pursuit toward well-centeredness, integrity pursues perfection.  No one has his or her moral compass perfectly aligned.  Integrity, however, reflects the desire to be moving in the “right” direction and the degree to which we waiver upon our path.  Thus, we do not have to agree with one’s point of view to find them to have integrity.  Believe it or not, there are leaders of both ends of the political spectrum who have integrity (perhaps these are not so easy to find, but they exist).  Leadership requires integrity and a steadfastness of purpose.

Integrity is not, however, bullheadedness.  It is not stubbornness.  Rather, it “means that you are the same in public as you are in private” (Joyce Meyer).  It also means that you are willing to adjust the compass should you find yourself headed in the wrong direction.  Integrity admits to error and changes its path.

Carpe momento!

“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.”—Dwight D. Eisenhower

“The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty.”—Zig Ziglar

We often speak of “character”, but what is it?  What do we mean when we say “(s)he is a person of great character”?  How is character obtained?

When we look at the many definitions of “character”, we don’t necessarily find the nature of character to which Zig Ziglar refers.  The closest be come is a definition that associates character with reputation and the attributes or traits (in this case, moral traits) that distinguish one.  Thus, character is an outward expression of one’s core beliefs and moral quality.  Thus, he refers to consistent expression of who we are (or desire to be).  We see people has having “good” character or “evil” character.  In essence, it is the hero v. villain scripting in movies and plays.  The foundation stone for balanced success, then, is upright character—the propensity to do the right thing toward others.

Character is learned. “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing” (Abraham Lincoln).  Character is developed through practice.  If one desires to be a person of “good” character and good reputation he or she needs to conduct him/herself as such—fake it ‘til you make it.  Act in good character, and you will develop in good character. “Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character“ (Heraclitus).

Seek to be a person of good reputation and character, and (extra)ordinary success will follow.

Carpe momento!

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”—John Wooden

“The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty.”—Zig Ziglar

“Honesty is the best policy” (Benjamin Franklin).  It is no surprise that Zig Ziglar lists honesty as the first foundation stone of balanced success.  Honesty is the basis for character, integrity, faith, love, and loyalty.  We need to be honest until it hurts.  Notice, I did not say hurtful.  Herein is where honesty is foundational to the other stones.

Whatever one’s religious beliefs, it is hard to deny that the “10 Commandments” are relational.  Among these is “you shall not bear false witness” (#10).  One who is not honest cannot be cannot be trusted.  One who cannot be trusted cannot lead—for to truly lead one must have followers.  (I, for one, will not follow someone who lies, spreads rumors, provides only parts of the truth, distorts the facts, etc.)

One who is dishonest will always be revealed.  As they say, “your lies will catch up to you”.  Sure, one’s dishonesty might benefit one in the short term, but what about over the long term?  Careers, marriages, families, communities, nations,… and all relationships are destroyed by dishonesty.

Stephen Covey wrote: “Moral authority comes from following universal and timeless principles like honesty, integrity, treating people with respect.”  Merriam-Webster defines moral authority as the “trustworthiness to make decisions that are right and good”.  One who is untrustworthy may find success in some areas, such as business, politics, etc., and may achieve wealth and power, but at what cost?

Zig Ziglar writes of “balanced” success—i.e., well-centered success.  He writes of the kind of success that has real values: honor, respect, and life-affecting impact on others.  Balanced success, like yeast, spreads its effect and grows.  It begins with honesty.

Carpe momento!

1. Stop using the phrase “losing weight”. Unless you are an athlete who needs to “make weight” for competition, the weight on the scale is meaningless. Weight is a number.  Nothing more.  It does not convey health (even though we still see height-weight charts and body mass index, i.e., BMI, are still being pushed by health professionals).  It is “body composition” that is most meaningful—the relative amounts of fat and lean tissues.  It is more important to focus on gaining muscle (i.e., gaining lean weight) and losing fat.  The next result might not necessarily result in a dramatic weight loss (though losing fat weight will exceed muscle gain, resulting in a net weight loss).

2. Ditch the scale. Stop weighing yourself every day. Use the mirror, clothes, and other realistic measures of change.  Weigh yourself occasionally, but don’t let it be the predominate measure of improvement.  If your physique is improving, who cares what the scale reads?

3. Eat less. How much do I have to say here??

4. Make healthy eating choices. If you are eating less, you will lose weight.  Next, you need to focus on making better decisions about what you eat.  Less junk.  More whole and natural foods.  Less processed food.  Less sugar.  Quality protein.  Balance!

5. Move more. It matters less what you do, per se.  Just move.  Of course, weight training will have the best overall effect, but burning calories is burning calories.  Physical activity is cumulative.  The more you move, the easier it will be to improve your body composition.

No big secrets or tricks.  Improving body composition is easy once one makes the commitment and acts accordingly.  There are no short-cuts, and it takes effort; but, anyone can do it—if they try.  There is no magic formula.  It just takes discipline.  And, be aware, it gets a bit more difficult the leaner you get.  Initially, though, it is baby steps.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

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“A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.”—Antoine de Saint-Exupery

To what extent do you believe in yourself?  Do you see what others see or do you see something else?  What we believe ourselves to be is often largely dependent upon what others see and to whom we choose to listen.

Self-efficacy is one of the “automatic” answers I expect from my students in my Exercise Motivation & Adherence course.  Why?  Because, it is often a critical factor in our ability to change—do we have the necessary confidence in our ability to do what we are being asked (by our self or another) to do?  As Virgil stated: “They are able who think they are able.”

Fortunately, or unfortunately, our self-efficacy is based upon the feedback we have received from others over our lifetime.  Our confidence is built or destroyed by what others think of us.  There are numerous factors affecting our self-efficacy, and quite a bit of psychology theory that is beyond my training and this short post.  To the point I want to make, what we believe about ourselves, ultimately, becomes a matter of personal choice.  It is a matter of which voice or voices to which we choose to listen.  Certainly, it is hard when the voices coming from those who should be our greatest supporters—e.g., parents, teachers, etc.—are negative.  [Though sometimes we choose not to listen to these voices when they are positive.]  Nonetheless, we have to ignore the naysayers and listen to the voices which believe we are (extra)ordinary.  We must listen to those who would have us reach for goals that are “not reasonable by normal expectations” (Coyte Cooper).  If there is no such voice, we need to be that voice unto ourselves.  We need to find the voices that will lead us beyond the imaginary walls that we and/or others have created for us.

Creating confidence on our own is not easy.  First, we must escape those who would tell us that we are less than we can be.  Second, we have to believe in ourselves—we have to un-hear the negative talk we have received.  In addition, we must find those who will support us and feed us the encouragement for which we hunger.  We do not need the voice of Stuart Smalley (for those of us who grew up on Saturday Night Live) suggesting that “I’m good enough.  I’m smart enough. And doggone it, people like me.”  We have the capacity for so much more than we are doing.  We are capable of learning more than we already know.  We are liked, but it is most important that we like ourselves.  We may have much negative talk to overcome, and daily affirmations are healthy, but we cannot settle for a limited self.  We must dare to be better—to be (extra)ordinary.

You may see yourself as a mere pile of rocks, but look beyond the surface and see the potential within.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

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I often scroll Facebook to check up on what is going on with my friends.  There are a lot of posts on social media that are easy to pass on by.  In fact, I probably scroll right passed two-thirds of the posts.  Most of these are politically-motivated posts.  A lot of these contain partial or distorted views of reality.  Careful editing can hide the whole story.  We should use caution in forwarding our beliefs in such a way.

It is okay to have differing points of view.  I think it is healthy to have differing opinions.  It is not well-centered, however, to distort (intentionally or unintentionally) the facts.  Personally, if you have to distort the facts to make your point, I will likely perceive your point as invalid.  Certainly, intentionally making someone look bad for the purposes of stating your view lends no credibility to the message.  More often than not it does not cause anyone to switch sides.  It creates further division.

Bad character will reveal itself.  We don’t need to help.  Rather, we should begin by trying to find ways to come together and share ideas.  Friendly, honest, respectful discourse is the path to unity.  If our ideas can stand the scrutiny of opposition, they have merit, and we just might win others over to our side.  We can neither offend with or be offended by points of view.  Certainly, we cannot think that we can carry our views in a wagon full of manure and expect them not to stink.

Let’s consider how we try to make our point and consider what is fact and what is fiction.  If we are fine with putting others down, we can never expect to win them over.

Carpe momento!

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If you never want to fail, it is easy.  Don’t do anything!  If, instead, you want to be successful and live an (extra)ordinary life, you will need to extend yourself beyond your comfort zone and risk failing.  In fact, expect failure.

I often think failing from a biomechanical point of view.  I am an exercise scientist.  This is what I do.

Consider locomotion, e.g., walking.  If you want to move forward, you have to risk falling.  We are only stable as long as we keep our center-of-mass within our base of support (i.e., the area inside the outline our points of contact with the ground).  If we want to move, we must transfer our center-of-mass outside of our base of support and begin to fall.  This is what happens when we walk.  We lift a foot (decrease of base of support), lean forward (begin to fall), catch ourselves (regain our base of support when the foot strikes the ground), then we repeat.  It is worth the risk, I would say.

If one wants to live a fulfilling and (extra)ordinary life, one must take risks.  I would emphasize “calculated risks”—consider after all that one does not walk without (hopefully) watching where (s)he is going.  Progress comes from moving outside of the “comfort zone”—our base of support.

Challenge yourself to move.  They might only be “baby steps”, but they are steps, nonetheless.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow!

Carpe momento!

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