Archive for the 'Inspiration' Category

The key to effective communication is asking the right questions. After a recent speaking engagement, I was asked, “Byrd, when did you find clarity in your life?” In other words, this man was asking, “When did you finally get it?” This was several weeks ago and I have been reflecting on this powerful question. My answer to him is the essence of this newsletter. I finally “got it” when I realized that life was not about me.

Many of you have heard me say from the platform that the old Byrd had a double dose of PGA – Power, Greed, and Arrogance. It was all about me, and my destructive lifestyle was dedicated to achieving personal success at the expense of significance. My relationships with my wife and children were shallow at best, as I treated perfect strangers better than my family. I was a full-fledged perfectionist and focused on others’ weaknesses (especially my family) versus building on their strengths. I was climbing the corporate ladder, determined to make it to the top. Things were looking great in 1990, comfortable executive job, beautiful home, nice cars, etc, etc, etc… That’s when my “controlled life” took an unexpected and unwelcome detour. I was called into a meeting and asked to resign from my “comfortable” executive position. My reaction was one of anger and “why me?” Up until this point, I didn’t get it, as life was all about me - I was totally absorbed with self. I suddenly realized that “into self is a very lonely place.” In retrospect, this adversity was the turning point – a true epiphany – in my life. The transformation began once I realized that serving others was the most fulfilling purpose.

My journey since 1990 has been one of miracles and blessings. After thirteen jobs, seven careers, and fourteen moves, I found my true calling as a professional speaker and author. Once I got out of self and into others – change of focus from “me” to “we” – the rewards have been unbelievable. My speaking career is flourishing and we have published thirteen best-selling books! This unexpected success is totally the result of dedicating my life to pleasing God by living a life of complete integrity and serving others by helping them become more effective leaders at home and work.

My passion is helping organizations develop great leaders. I have studied the lives of great leaders like Tom Landry, Herb Kelleher, Mary Kay Ash, and Mother Teresa. It is my observation that the most effective leaders (you and I included) have dedicated their lives to serving others. I am sure you will agree that Mother Teresa was a great role model and there is tremendous wisdom in her words. What most of you don’t know is that Mother Teresa had a business card. My friend Brad Harsha was blessed to have an audience with this saint. Brad presented me with a most cherished possession, one of Mother Teresa’s business cards. I would like to share the inspirational words that are printed on her calling card…

The fruit of silence is prayer.
The fruit of prayer is faith.
The fruit of faith is love.
The fruit of love is service.
The fruit of service is peace. – Mother Teresa
It’s not about you. It’s not about me. It’s all about the power of we. We become effective leaders when our actions inspire others to dream, risk, believe, and achieve.

And remember, it’s all about the relationship.

“In closing, I would like to end with a little story I recently came across that occurred at a junior high school out west that I think gives a revealing glimpse of what I’m talking about here. A new computer system was installed in this school specifically because its students had scored in the lowest statewide percentiles in every subject. Now, computers certainly are not cure-alls, and they won’t cure what ails our public schools. But, interestingly, when the computers were installed, many of these kids’ rankings and test scores went up.”

“The most touching story was about a kid named Raymond, who had every problem in the book - a dysfunctional home, acute shyness, bad eyesight and zero academic performance. But in one semester with the computer, Raymond had a remarkable turn around. His math achievement scores rose from a second-grade level to a junior-high level. They got Raymond in front of a camera for an interview and asked how it was that he blossomed so magnificently. “Well, he said, “the kids here call me ‘retard’, but the computer calls me Raymond.”

“So simple, so easy and yet so remarkable.”

Closing of message delivered to the Securities Industry Association - 6/01 Bill Esrey, President - Sprint

Hope is the spark of life. Share your flame!

I want to share the following story written by Greg Batton about my friend, Gary Welch…

A human tendency is to believe that we will always go from point A to point B in a straight, logical line. But there are no straight lines in nature. Why then do we think our lives will be the exception? Look around you right now. Where are you in life? How did you get there? If you are anything like me, you marvel at the crazy journey that has deposited you here. Here’s another quick nature lesson. You can tell the age of a creek by the number of bends and twists. Younger creeks are straighter than older ones. Through the years the water erodes the sides and creates a wonderfully interesting work of nature. I think people are like that too. The older we get, the more turns we can look back on. At least that’s true of the more interesting folks among us.

The reason I am so obsessed with lines and turns and journeys has to do with a mission that started twenty-five years ago: the Memphis to Peoria Run for St. Jude. For 25 years individuals have given of their time and energy to run the 465 miles in order to raise money for kids with cancer. While the line on the map between Memphis and Peoria remains the same year after year, no one can ever anticipate what the run will do to their lives. Talk about changing your plan – that run will do it.

One such changed runner is Gary Welch. Gary turned to running only to help Dick Versace, former Bradley basketball coach, get ready for a charity run. He liked the way running made him feel, and it became part of his life. In 1990, some friends suggested that Gary take part in the St. Jude run. Thinking it would be a great ego booster to be able to tell his friends and colleagues that he ran from Memphis to Peoria, he agreed. In his mind the journey was mapped out. Make the run, raise some money for sick kids, get the congrats and pats on the back, and move on. What Welch didn’t count on was meeting the kids in Memphis prior to starting the run. “I didn’t know that we would be visiting the kids at St. Jude’s in Memphis before we got started, “ he says. “It changed everything. No longer was this about running. It was about helping.”

Welch had encountered his first bend in the road. And the bends kept coming. Year after year, Welch and countless others like him would dedicate a little more time to raising funds for the St. Jude run as day after day the images of sick children stuck in their minds. It wasn’t until 1995 that the big, loop-de-loop, cloverleaf bend occurred in Welch’s life. Gary was attending a personal development conference on the East Coast. He was telling the Memphis to Peoria Run for St. Jude story to Dr. George Sheehan, author of Personal Best. Dr. Sheehan tossed Gary another curve in the form of a challenge. “Why not run for those kids everyday?” asked Sheehan. Stunned by the challenge, Welch returned home in the fall of 1995 and could think of nothing else. Could he do it? Should he do it? Yes. Was it crazy? Probably.

On January 1, 1996, Gary Welch announced to his friends and family that he would run one hour every day for the kids at St. Jude. He hasn’t missed a day since. Not one. As of this writing, he has run 3,244 days in a row. To add to the remarkable nature of this accomplishment, Welch has never been injured. And I should mention that he’s 61 years old.

I asked Welch to explain why he thought he was able to run injury free and he couldn’t really answer. My explanation is that when you are engaging your mind in something that you truly, deep down in your soul believe in, your body will protect itself. It’s a team effort: body, mind, and spirit. The commitment that Welch and so many others in this community have made to the kids of St. Jude is also a team effort; runners, contributors, and organizers. The success of the St. Jude run, like Welch’s experiences, could never have been predicted. The bends and turns in this creek are many. And as those who have participated over the past 25 years can attest, it has been a wonderful journey. Lives have been changed.

There is a very poignant sign hanging over Gary Welch’s office door. As you exit the room, you can’t help but read it. “Either you ran today or you didn’t.” He knows that that sign is not just about running. It’s about commitment. And it applies to all of us.

Every day, you are either practicing to win or practicing to lose. I challenge you to run the race, your race, the only race you can run, the race you were born to run.

And remember, it’s all about the relationship.

The longer I live the more I am convinced that the quality of our lives is a direct reflection of the quality of our thoughts. If you consistently believe that your life will be successful and rewarding, it will be. Conversely, if you think that things will work out poorly, your thoughts will become reality. Following is a parable that illustrates the power of our thoughts…

A man once found an eagle’s egg and put it in the nest of a barnyard hen. The eaglet hatched and grew up with the rest of a brood of chicks, and though he didn’t look at all the same, he scratched the earth for worms and bugs and played the chickens’ games. The eagle clucked and cackled, he made a chicken’s sound, he thrashed his wings but only flew a few feet off the ground. “That’s as high as chickens fly,” the eagle had been told.

The years passed and one day, when the eagle was quite old, he saw something magnificent flying very high, making great majestic circles up there in the sky. He’d never seen the like of it. “Who’s that?” he asked in awe, while he watched in wonder at the grace and power that he saw. “Why, that’s an eagle,” someone said. “He belongs up there it’s clear, just as we, since we are chickens, belong earthbound down here.” The old eagle just accepted that, most everybody does, and he lived and died a chicken, for that’s what he thought he was.

Parable told by Jesuit spiritualist Anthony de Mello

People are starving for authenticity and will follow those leaders who have a positive outlook on life. Following are a few thoughts for your reflection…

• “Worry is crabgrass of the soul.”

• Happiness Formula – Count 5 blessings before you earn the right to one worry.

• Instead of thinking “I have to” think “I get to.”

• “It’s not who we are that determines our future, but who we think we are.”

• “Fear is a dark room where negatives are developed.”

• “If it can’t eat you, don’t worry about it.”

And remember, it’s all about the relationship.

Most leaders are so caught up in the daily demands of business – e-mails, meetings, etc – that they forget about the power of relationship building. Following are words for your reflection…

“Nobody sees a flower, really – it is so small – we haven’t time, and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.” – Georgia O’Keeffe

“People haven’t time to learn anything. They buy things ready-made in stores. But since there are no stores where you can buy friends, people no longer have friends.” – The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

Great leaders understand the importance of relationship building and have established the daily discipline of escaping from The Hairball of Life long enough to make someone feel special.

And remember, it’s all about the relationship.

I had the pleasure of participating in the 2004 Mary Kay Seminar in Dallas, Texas. We went to sell my new line of motivational gifts but I received much more than monetary gain. My vocation is helping organizations build and sustain cultures of excellence through leadership development and through the years I have worked with hundreds of companies and thousands of leaders. But, after spending 18 days at the Mary Kay event, I must confess that I have never been exposed to a better business model than the one that was created by the legendary Mary Kay Ash.

We all know that Mary Kay is a tremendously successful enterprise with quality products that enhance the beauty of women. But, in my first-hand observation, the product is not the real power behind Mary Kay. Having spent hours with hundreds of Consultants and Directors, I am convinced that the heart of Mary Kay’s success is the culture that the founder so carefully nourished. Mary Kay was a single parent who worked hard in the corporate world only to be passed over in favor of her male counterparts. She had the vision to imagine a company where women could follow their dreams and achieve financial success by serving other women.

I asked a very successful National Sales Director about the Mary Kay culture and in response she shared the following conversation. “I met Mary Kay and asked her what I could do to repay her for what she had done for me.” She answered, “Pass it forward.” This is the simple force behind the Mary Kay Spirit – women helping women succeed. At Mary Kay it’s not about ‘me’ it’s all about ‘the power of we.’ It was so refreshing to watch and feel the positive energy that occurs when people truly care about each other. In my conversations with these Directors and Consultants, I found that many had left very successful corporate careers to join Mary Kay. The primary reason is that they felt unappreciated. Corporate America please take note, it’s not all about winning!

To truly understand the force that drives this successful enterprise, one needs to look no further than what this Dream Company values – God first, family second, career third. Mary Kay understood that success at the expense of faith and family was truly failure and that a balanced life was the true measure of success. This philosophy is so foreign to the typical business culture that places so much emphasis on performance and productivity, that new Mary Kay Consultants have a hard time accepting the fact that this caring culture is truly genuine. One Sales Director told me that her biggest challenge is helping new Consultants understand that caring is more than words at Mary Kay, it’s a way of life. She went on to explain that this is such a big challenge because many women come to Mary Kay from environments – both home and work – where they have been shown very little appreciation. It takes time to prove that the Mary Kay Culture – Passion for what you do and Compassion for those you serve - is real and believable.

For those like me who study winning cultures, following is what I observed to be the four foundations of the successful Mary Kay Business Model:

1. Passion – love what you do.
2. Purpose – be a part of something greater than self. The Power of We.
3. Preparation – learn something new every day.
4. Perseverance – don’t quit before the blessing.
5. Personal Accountability – accept personal responsibility for your life.

In closing, I would like to share some of my quotes that celebrate the Mary Kay Spirit:

• Listen to the calling of your heart and the true riches of life will follow.

• Surround yourself with the precious few who believe in you.

• Doubt sees the obstacles, faith sees the way.

• Vision is the gift to see what others only dream.

• Follow the trail to your dreams, not the path of others’ expectations.

• We must have the freedom to dream, the courage to risk, the faith to believe and the will to succeed.

• It’s not our footprints on the sands of time that will be remembered, but our imprints on the hearts of those we love.

I would have loved to have personally met Mary Kay but I was blessed to feel her spirit through the warm hearts and beautiful smiles of those fortunate to be a part of her family. For that I am grateful.

Keep smiling and serving,

Byrd Baggett

PS – For those who still feel that winning is everything, you might like to know that 80% of the female millionaires in the United States are Mary Kay sales professionals. Success is truly high touch!