Should or Must?

To: The Great leaders Who Have a Passion for Continuous Learning

Recently I had the great pleasure to meet and hear Scott Chesney speak
on "Cultivating a Belief That Anything Is Possible."
Scott, who awakened to paralysis at age 15 from a sudden spinal stroke, is an internationally recognized and applauded motivational speaker who has been described as a "profile in courage," "a master of living life to its fullest" and "a commander of change."

That night he spoke to his audience about how to create change in their lives and offered the four "must's" for doing it.
Many people live their lives, he said, as "should's" - I should do this, or I should do that and as a result, no action is taken and no change occurs.
He demonstrated the difference between a 'should' and a 'must' with the question: "If a little girl were drowning, would you say 'I should save her' or would you say 'I must save her.'?"
It is this difference that creates the passion and energy for change.
The four 'must's' for creating change and the belief that anything is possible are the following:

Exhaust all fears - Fears prevent you from moving forward.
They sabotage you and keep you in the past.
Fears are: "Fictionalized Evidence Appearing Real."
They have not happened and may never happen, yet people allow them to control them.
Your mind must let them go.

Live from your heart - Do a heart - mind shift.
Your mind wants to complicate life.
Ask what your heart has to say. "Hear the faint voice and let it guide you."
He spoke of the September 11th tragedy to punctuate this thought and said:
"The mind couldn't process what happened… the heart could."
He said that despite his stroke that he "committed to show up for life."
Listening to your heart lights the fire of your passion.

Manage your emotions - We have three things we can for our emotional situations:
- projection (place the cause of our problems on others);
- suppression (keep things locked up inside) or healthy expression.
Choose the latter.
Healthy expression is about talking things through, communicating openly and candidly with others, journalizing the events of our lives and actively maintaining our health.

Create and attitude of gratitude - Every single choice we have made in life has led us to this moment.
We take responsibility for who we are and give gratitude for all that we have, for every moment and opportunity we have - to grow, to give, to change our world and the world around us, that we and others may grow.

Everything is possible.
It is in our choosing to move from 'should' to 'must.'
Scott reminded us of the words of Nelson Mandela:
"A vision without action is just a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. A vision with action can change the world."

Take another step this week to find within you, and others, gifts they you have not yet discovered.
Turn those possibilities into realities for yourself, and be a servant to others in helping them realize their greatest potential.
And have fun doing it.