Be a seeker. Leading a life of total dedication to the truth—this makes you a seeker, a person of curiosity and wonder, a person of hope and ever-increasing levels of wisdom. Yet “truth” is an interesting word.
As a business speaker my job is to get inside the head of each of my audience members. From this perspective, it is clear, that “truth” is simply the audience member’s truth. A motivational keynote speaker’s mission is to help others learn about the way others perceive truth. Let’s face it, your perspective is your reality, and reality is the truth of the individual. Seeking to truly appreciate life unfolds the answers—and reveals even more questions. In turn, the more you learn, the more you shift from being a purveyor of truth to a quiet (but still quite active) seeker. Remember ... still waters run deep. Take time to be still and seek a deeper truth. (For keynote speakers, this may be the most difficult challenge for my colleagues <and me> as we each need to know when to keep the ears open and them lips from a flappin’ J )
Seeking includes both self-examination and studying the ever-changing environment. By proactively learning, you discover that which was not clear before. Socrates said, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” Harsh; but if so, let’s start living...
Be OPEN TO CHALLENGES
There are challenges and problems in both positive and negative situations. As a seeker, you treat these as opportunities. By learning, you will open yourself to challenges in a way that welcomes change. But we naturally avoid challenges. Thus, we must find ways to make the unnatural natural. Our instincts will tend to direct us to safety. We naturally choose to limit our growth and give in to security. It is there we stay, and it is there we begin to disintegrate.
In the words of T. Alan Armstrong, “If you are not getting better, you are getting left behind.” By growing through a dedication to truth and openness to challenge, you will consistently find ways to improve yourself. This is likely one of the reasons you are reading this blog.
The future is yours to do special things.
Be the creator of the journey toward life mastery. You will discover that Personify Proactivity is a philosophy of how you approach life. In turn, the results and rewards you get will be in direct proportion to the degree that you actually personify proactivity.
The Japanese have a single word to define this approach. It is kaizen and stands at the very core of their culture.
Mr. Masaaki Imai was the first person to introduce the word kaizen to the world beyond Japan. He is the author of KAIZEN, The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success. In bringing this single word to the forefront of personal and corporate development, he managed to hit a nerve. Individuals and organizations realized that the advantages the Japanese brought to international marketplaces were founded in kaizen.
Mr. Imai writes that “the essence of kaizen is simple and straightforward: Kaizen means improvement... The kaizen philosophy assumes that our way of life deserves to be constantly improved.”
According to the NASA Langley Research Center, “Kaizen means continuous improvement in personal life, home life, social life, and working life as a whole.”
Since people naturally seek higher ground, kaizen, when framed properly, is natural to the individual. Pushing through fears and self-doubt, backed by a kaizen approach, we discover that all circumstances are opportunities for constant improvement.
In these ways of seeking a deeper truth and constant improvement will we each personify proactivity.
