SINCERITY

The way to appear sincere is to actually be sincere. The way to gain the trust of others is to live with uncompromising integrity. The way to be believed, and to be believable, is to always speak the truth. The way to show how much you care, is to really, truly care. The way to speak to the heart of another is to speak from your own heart. Clever words and fancy trappings will soon fade, and the real substance of the person behind them is what will be remembered.The most effective strategy for successful living is really no strategy at all. It is, rather, to be real, to be honest, to be authentic, to be you. There’s no value in pretending to be someone you are not. When you speak from the heart and act from the heart, who you really are is always more than enough.

SINCERE CARING

It’s very easy to say you care, and even to look like you care. It’s much more difficult to actually do it. Sincerely caring about others isn’t just a matter of being nice and agreeable. In fact, when you truly care you often must disagree, even if it would be much easier to just be nice. There are times when the most loving and compassionate thing you can say is no. There are times when the most respectful and considerate response is to disagree. Challenging people to do their best is much more empowering than letting them get by with halfhearted efforts. Helping people to become self sufficient is much more generous than letting them become dependent on your generosity, though it is also much more difficult. Sometimes the most helpful thing you can do for someone is to hold that person accountable. One of the most valuable things you can give to another person is the opportunity, difficult as it may be, to grow stronger, more capable and more dependable. The world cries out for caring people, yet merely being nice and generous is not enough. Care enough to respect, to positively challenge, to insist on nothing less than the best, and permanently raise those you care about to a higher level of living.

BE ORIGINAL

Don’t limit yourself by what has already been done. You can do so very much more. Don’t get too caught up in making judgments about what might or might not work. Put your authentic effort and creativity out there, and you’ll find out soon enough what works and what doesn’t. Safely following the crowd is not the strategy of a leader. The way to achieve what’s never been achieved is to do what’s never been done. You are not a job title or a demographic data point or a technique or a college degree. You are a brilliant, shining, powerful focal point of life itself. You are a genuine, one-of-a-kind original. So think like it, act like it, feel like it and live like it. In this brand new moment bring a brand new, beautiful world into existence. Make it outstanding, make it an original, and make it your very best.