What Makes a Good Leader?

What Makes a Good Leader?

As populations increase and cultures and people become more diverse, more issues and problems face us more than ever before. Many people assume these problems and important issues will be taken care of by government but this assumption is becoming less and less of a reality. Many of the critical issues and problems are the kind government is least equipped to handle. And some of the issues and problems are caused by government itself.

This is why the world needs strong, competent leaders now more than ever before. Progress can only happen when someone assumes a leadership role – when someone tackles these problems and takes action to solve the problem and correct the injustice.

There are plenty of managers out there but what propels someone to leadership status? What is it that a leader has that a manager or an authority person doesn’t have?

We tend to admire people who can lead-people who can capture our imaginations, turn us on to important ideas, and recruit our energies for great and noble purposes. Progress happens when someone decides that a better way exists and influences others to find that better way.

What is it that these great leaders had while many others try and fail?

There are leaders who are followed because they have authority, they have a formal title or rank and command respect and attention like Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln and George S Patton.  People follow them because they are the boss.  On the other spectrum there are people who are leaders who have earned their leaderships status without a title. They are respected and followed for what they stand for like Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King and Mohandas Gandhi.

In all cases, these leaders were individuals who knew how to influence others. They understood people and they knew how to use the tools of authority. Of course the ideal way to influence is to have both formal authority and earned authority. Interestingly, it is common for a person with no formal authority and high earned authority to have greater influence over others than someone who has high formal authority but little or no earned authority. Just look at what MLK, Mother Teresa and Gandhi accomplished. They earned the respect, trust and allegiance of those who followed them. In retrospect, can you say the same thing about the bosses you’ve had, your government officials or even the Presidents of the U. S.?

Today leaders are being asked to provide a new kid of authority; service leadership. This viewpoint suggests that the role of a leader, no matter what type of authority is involved, is to lead by helping or enabling others, not by forcing them. It requires the capacity to lead both with a focus on service to those benefiting from the end result, and to those who do the work achieving the objectives. Such leadership requires working with a spirit and set of values that emphasize worthwhile contributions. Service leaders see their role as enabling or empowering others to accomplish something worthy. They are willing to place empowerment above personal power; contribution above their own ego satisfaction; and the needs of the team above their own needs for credit and acclaim.

With that said, how many people do you know who qualify as a leader? Are you a leader?

Source: Toastmaster International –High Performance Leadership

Shining Light on the Lies and Deceit

Shining Light on the Lies and Deceit

Sai Baba was an Avatar in India and was worth over a billion US dollars when he left his body on Easter Sunday, April 24^th 2011. He almost never gave interviews, so this is very special.

This extract is from a conversation between a report and the Social and Spiritual Reformer of India, Sathya Sai Baba.

I usually write my own material but I thought this was worth passing along. It’s rather long but you need to read it in its entirety in order to get the full picture of what he’s saying. It’s a different way of thinking and one I think we as a human race are embarking on. The things that he says have also been verified by other sources to be true. We as a human race need to listen to it.

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Sai Baba: The truth is that the planet has been changing its vibratory state, and this change has intensified since the year 1989 where the magnetic poles have moved the last 20 years more than the past 2000. Well, in one way there are several prophecies that signal this date like a term or important conclusion in the history of humanity, but the most significant is the end of the Mayan calendar, which prophecy has been interpreted in different ways. The most negative ones think that during this year the world will end, but it will not be like that, it is known that during that year a new era will start, the Age of Aquarius.

This has to do with the rotation of the whole solar system (solar cycle) that goes passing through the different eras each one of them lasts 5125 years. The era in which we now are, called the Age of Pisces, started on the year 3113 B.C. and ends on 2012. If there is a change on the earth's magnetism, there is a change on the consciousness and also an adaptation at the physical level for this new vibration. The changes are not only on our planet, but also affect the whole universe, and today's science can verify that.

Inform yourself about the changes on the solar storms (that are magnetic storms) and you will see that scientists are up to date with these things, or ask about the movement of the magnetic poles during the last years, and airports having to modify their instruments.

This change on the magnetism translates or it's perceived as an increment of light, or an increase on the planet's vibration. For you to understand it easily you must know that this vibration is affected and intensified due to the consciousness of all human beings. Each thought, each emotion, each new awakening of a human being towards the consciousness of God elevates the vibration of the planet. This might seem a paradox, due to the fact that the majority sees around themselves more hatred and misery, but this is not so.

There are many, even if I would like them to be more, that are trying to get out of darkness to grow and become a better Son of God. I have been saying this on previous messages, each one chooses where to focus the view, and those who only see the darkness are focused on the drama, the pain and the injustice. If you don't see the spiritual advancement that humanity has made it is because you haven't focused on it, but if you do the right work and liberate your mind of the negative you will open a space where you will be able to manifest your divine essence that will put on the focus of what is really happening with humanity and the planet.

Q: "Humanity is elevating its consciousness as never before."But how…Can’t you see the darkness?"

Yes, I see it, but I don't identify myself with it, I'm not afraid of it...How can I fear darkness if I see such clear light? Of course I understand those who fear, because I have also been standing where I could only see the evil. This is why now I feel love for all of that. Darkness it's not a force contrary to the light, it is absence of light. You cannot invade the light with darkness, that is not how the principle of light works. Fear, drama, injustice, hate and sadness only exist in states of darkness, because you can't see the global context in which your life develops, and the only way to see from the light when you are there is through faith. Once you have increased your vibration and frequency (state of consciousness) you will be able to see towards darkness and understand what you have lived.

Q: "But...How can you say this if there is more evil in the world every day?"

There is not more evil...there is "more light", and that is what I'm talking about on this message. Imagine that you have a room or warehouse where for years you have been storing your things and is lit by a 40 w. bulb. Change the bulb to a 100 w. and you will see what happens. You will see the mess and the dust you didn't think existed. The dirt will be clearer. This is what is happening, and this makes possible that a lot of people are reading this without thinking of it as foolish, like it could have been some years ago.

Have you noticed that today lies and deceit come to the surface faster than before? Well, to access God's understanding and life's functioning is also faster than before. This new vibration of the planet is what is making everyone nervous, depressed or sick, because to be able to receive more light and to rise to that vibrational level, people have to change physically as well as mentally, they have to change the way they think and feel, and delete or eradicate from their lives such beliefs or parameters that generally differ from reality or that take them towards the negative side of things.

You must put your warehouses in order, because each day you are receiving more light on your consciousness and even if you want to avoid it, you should start putting your hands on the project and start the cleaning or decide to live in the middle of the dirt.

This change creates physical discomforts, pains on the body, on the skeleton system and most of the time; the medical tests can't find the reason or illness that provokes it. Generally they relate it with stress or nervous states; nothing farther from the truth, because these discomforts are provoked due to negative emotions accumulated during our lives, fears and anxieties that you have carried with you always and that now have the opportunity to transcend and transmute. It's about that dust accumulated for years that you are now seeing, for it to be cleaned.

There will be nights when you will wake up and stay up for a few hours...don't alter yourself, read a book, watch TV, meditate, don't fight thinking there is something wrong with you, it's the new vibration of the planet that you're assimilating, you will go back to sleep and the next day you will not feel a need to sleep more.

If you don't flow with this process properly, the pains will be more intense and you will be diagnosed fibromyalgia, which is a name that medicine has given to these pains that have no visible cause and for which they offer no treatment with concrete results, they only give you a prescription for antidepressants and this makes you escape the opportunity to change your life.

One more time you chose which reality you want to live, only this time the drama will be more intense and of course will be the love. If the Light is increased, also is the lack of need for it, this explains why there is so much irrational violence during the last years.

We are living the best time that humanity has ever lived, we will be witnesses and actors of the biggest transformation of consciousness that you have ever imagined.

Inform yourself; wake up your unrest for these subjects. Science knows that something is happening; you know that something is happening; we all know that many changes are happening in many levels. Be a conscious actor of these changes and don't let them take you by surprise because you don't know what is happening.

Confessions are Good for the Soul.

Confessions are Good for the Soul.

You confess all the time to your friends, siblings, parents, coworkers and even strangers.  Any time you do something you feel guilty about or to right a wrong your conscious says “I must tell someone”. It could be that you took some supplies from your work or that you said something bad about someone. For some reason you feel compelled to tell a trusted friend. Why? It makes you feel better about yourself when you can clear your conscious.

You don’t need to go to a Pastor, Priest or Rabbi to confess so you can feel better, you can do it yourself. It’s not about receiving forgiveness from someone else but about forgiving yourself. For some, confessing to a spiritual leader is part of their religious practice. What the spiritual leader does is give you a formal format and suggestions to help you allow you to forgive yourself.

Forgiveness is about allowing you to love yourself again. It’s about erasing any labels you may have put upon yourself and being nonjudgmental about your thoughts and actions. 

Sin isn’t a very good word. It has such a negative emotion attached to it as if it’s eternal. It promotes fear and primarily stops you from loving yourself. And for some it controls them. That’s not a very good way to live.

I always wondered way criminals would eventually have to tell someone what they did or give themselves up. When you look at confessing from this mind set it makes sense. They need to confess to clear their conscious so that they can feel better about themselves so they can love again. It’s a pretty messed up way to love but spiritually they need to do it.   

What are your thoughts on this?

Not My President

We got what we asked for. Say what! “Not my President” you say. I beg to differ.

What have the masses been begging for? Let’s see; government that works for the people, transparency, jobs, better education, less taxes, roads fixed, and healthcare etcetera. You may not have said it like that but that’s the result if you want those things. Basically, you need to look at the essence of what you want not HOW it will show up. That’s the Law of Attraction ‘s job. It will give it to you.

Consciously you may be saying you don’t like the new administration but your subconscious is saying you want these things taken care of. So now we have a dilemma. Your sub-conscious wants these things fixed but your conscious mind has made up its mind on how and by what means it will show up. Guess which one wins, your sub conscious mind? Your conscious mind now must deal with the package your sub conscious mind has determined it will show up in. Yikes!

The sub conscious mind is very powerful that is why it’s important to be mindful of what you wish for. You just may get it. The Law of Attraction will give it to you but it doesn’t mean it will show up like you envisioned.