Intellect Is Not Enough!

Hello again, and thanks for your interest. In this post we're going to begin to understand what it takes to improve our life physically, spiritually and intellectually. It does not matter if we are in a jail cell or a boardroom. It doesn't matter if we're going through bankruptcy or experiencing great financial success. It doesn't matter if our physical body is deteriorating or we are at the pinnacle of physical fitness. What does matter is that we recognize we have the power to improve our condition and begin experiencing a prosperous and peaceful life right here and right now.

To begin, let us take a look at our intellectual nature. It consists of our conscious and subconscious mind, our will, desires and emotions. Some folks may call this the soul, life force or heart of man. It's not important what it’s called as long as we recognize its existence and that it is distinct from our other natures. Many say that it separates from our physical body during death and continues to exist. Others say that when we die, it dies. I am not here to try to convince you one way or the other. I just want you to understand that it does exist and is separate from our physical and spiritual nature.

I like to call our intellectual nature “The Battleground”. This is the place where all of our mental and emotional distress takes place. And, although it's not physical in nature, that is, it can’t be touched, smelled or seen, it can have a devastating effect on our physical body. As a result, it is not to be completely trusted in and of itself because as easily as it can lead us to unlock the mysteries of the universe it can lead us to wrongly convict someone of a crime they didn't commit.

At the center of our intellectual nature is this thing called “free will”. Our free will gives us the ability to choose whatever course of action we desire. It allows us to do so whether or not the course we choose is helpful or harmful to others. However, we must recognize that there are always consequences associated with whatever actions we take.  In case you are asking “How is this information going to help me improve my life?” let me get to the meat of this post.

You may have heard the saying “The mind is a terrible thing to waste”. And that's just my point. Our mind, an integral component of our intellectual nature, is one of the greatest tools that we as human beings have available to us. As a tool it can be used to create works of good or evil. However, as a result of free will, we can allow our minds to be influenced by whatever we choose. This is where our spiritual nature comes in to work hand-in-hand with our intellectual nature.

As stated in earlier posts our intellectual, spiritual and physical natures must interact together in order for us to experience the prosperous and peaceful life that we seek. In my next post I will discuss how our spiritual influences our intellectual nature. Until then here's wishing that you live today and every day passionately and with purpose. Thank you and God bless!

A Simple Lesson on Leadership

Just the other day while with one of the boys that I mentor, I asked him if he was hungry and like any teenage boy he said “yes”. When asked where he wanted to go eat, he said “McDonald’s!” It was lunch time and the parking lot of the first restaurant we approached was full and we noticed people standing around in long lines at the counter. We decided to find another.

The next McDonald’s that we found was just off the expressway and located in, how shall we say, “The hood”. It was at a busy intersection surrounded by low income housing. Its parking lot was also full but we noticed that there were no long lines waiting at the counter so we went in. As we went in I was struck by the efficiency, cleanliness and friendly atmosphere of this location. I must mention that the employees at this franchise seemed to reflect the ethnicity of the local neighborhood.

It took no more than 3 or 4 minutes from the time we entered into this location, stood in line, placed our order and received our food. When we received our food it was hot, freshly cooked and tasted great. Now I am not a big fan of McDonald’s but I will seek out this particular location when ever I am in the area. The point I wish to make is that this particular location seems to have placed its emphasis on customer service and as a result has earned my continued business.

I am sure that there is a strong manager or management team that runs this particular franchise and that the change did not happen overnight. I am sure this management team could have made more profit if they had reduced the number of personnel that were cleaning the floors and expediting the orders. It takes strong leadership to place principles before quick profit and therefore guarantee the long term consistent profit that most businesses desire.

This business model I described is just as true in our personal lives. We must stop placing Band-Aids over the symptoms and find a cure for our illness. This means that we must start taking responsibility for our own lives and that of our organizations or families and stop looking to blame everything and everyone else for our lack of success. We have to stop looking at what others have and start focusing on what it is that we truly need and then develop a plan on how to obtain it.

I don’t need to tell you that what has been going on in our homes as well as our country for the last 20 years hasn’t been working and has led to our deterioration as a world leader. As leaders we need to get back to basics. We need to spend more time with our families and walking around in our organizations to determine what’s really happening within them. We then need to pray for the wisdom to determine what changes need to be made as well as for the strength and courage to implement them. Let’s begin from wherever we are and remember to be strong and courageous!