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Change the World: Be a Leader on Your Path

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March to Your Own Drummer

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When I was a child, people said I marched to a different drummer. It was said with a bit of love and a forgiving smile. The implication of such a condition was a sad prognosis. It meant that I would never get where folks were supposed to go or that it would take me a hard long road to arrive there.

I’m not sure that I really followed that different drummer. Seems I ended up in a life much like most others. I didn’t take nearly the risks that I might have, nor did I reach for the rings that dreamed of. Secretly I thought those dreams meant for other people.

I’ve come to realize that we’re all leaders who have been following someone else’s path. First in school we learn to lead inside their corridors and conventions. Then in the work world where a veer to the left will get a bad review or an escort to the door with no thought of returning.

We’ve been trained to change ourselves to make ourselves fit into the cars that drive us to the buildings where we work in the jobs that we study for so that we have the right skill sets. And we wonder every day if who we are is good enough to be there. It’s the dilemma of the square peg worrying that someone will find out it doesn’t belong in a round hole.

I guess I finally fell in step with that drummer, because now I show people how to live and work their passion. It’s an amazing thing to see the change when they realize they can be exceptional and make a living.

What if we all fit jobs to ourselves and best skills instead trying to fit us them? Wouldn’t we be outstanding performers? Couldn’t the world use some original thinkers who brought their best to solve the hardest problems? I’m thinking that we would see that sort of work as noble, invigorating, and productive.

What if we became leaders on our own paths following our own drummers?

How could bringing our best be anything less than outstanding?

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Change the World: Be What You Need

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It Was a Decision

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My experience is that each of us has a time when someone has treated us unfairly. It’s what we do with those occasions, those stories, that make our lives and maybe change the world.

Not long ago, a friend told me about someone in his past who hurt him terribly. The person said my friend’s work, his life, and his being were worthless and cheap. I’ve never met a person who had no worth. If I do, I’m sure he or she would look nothing like the man who told me this.

At first, I wanted to help. Then I realized the story had happened over 20 years ago. Instead, I asked how that event had affected his life.

He said, “I decided I would be sure to show people their worth.”

Wow! Fix a hurt by being what you need.

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

Change the World: Find Rock Bottom

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I was on my way to a post by Cath Lawson I read yesterday. I Googled her name to get there. The post that came up first had a great headline.

Sometimes You Need to Hit Rock Bottom

I’ll wait while you read it.

I know few things about hitting rock bottom. Haven’t been there recently. Don’t plan to go there again ever, but I’m sure glad I made the trip. I was just turning thirty . . .

Losing everything isn’t the worst thing. It was the best thing that happened to me. With all of the “stuff” gone, I was left with me. That made it easy to see just who I was and who I was not. Even better than that, I learned a secret. People liked being around that person — broke, flaws, and all. Losing everything got me to build a new foundation on what I believed to replace the one I had built on other people’s voices. Why not? What were they going to do? Take all of my money? I had none.

I don’t wish you ever lose what you need to make your world function. But I do wish you the joy of security based in who you are not in what you own. It’s a new way of belonging. Rock bottom means that you’re standing on stable ground.

When we belong, we can make things better from just being a part.

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

Change the World: Joy!

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See the Joy of Learning!

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Ah, how we’re all waiting for spring time. I remember how I used to wait to break out my bike for that first bike ride. Even before the streets were quite clean and ready, I’d be watching for just enough sunshine.

For some reason, I needed the sun to fuel my feet so that I could push the pedals.

When it finally came I’d be off exploring, learning, becoming — filled with the joy of living. I start asking whether I could help the neighbor lady pull dandelions or whether sweeping her walk might be a good thing.

Even as a children, we seem to know that the best way to learn is to jump in and participate. And good things would always happen, when I gave a little to a cool project. Thing was that I had to go out to find them after a long winter hibernation.

The payments were good feelings, learning, smiles, and joy.

Joy is still a word well worth sharing. Go get some by giving some away.

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

Change the World: One Choice Decides

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Go On and Do That

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Ever watch someone building a dream? Ever wonder about building a dream and catch yourself thinking, I wish I was meant to do that?

Why would some people get to have their dreams and other people have to go without?

It can’t be luck. It can’t be money. It sure can’t be smarts. Look around. Those things don’t decide who gets what.

How would a universe choose which stars get to shine and which don’t?

Is it that some people know their dreams? Deep in our hearts, don’t we all? We did when we small enough to still dream big, giant dreams. It’s in ourselves. It’s in our hearts. We know.

Ourselves. What’s so scary about going after a dream? Is it the self in ourselves? Is that the question, the word, that stops us from being who we are? We can’t be ourselves because of our self?

Self-directed doesn’t mean self-serving. Self-determined isn’t self-absorbed. It isn’t selfish or self-centered to be who we are.

Truth is, we give our self to a dream.

What’s the difference between the person who changes a dream into reality and the person who looks on?

One changes the world.

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

Change the World: See the Light, See the Promise

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Seeing What’s Inside

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Every year at Christmas, my mother had her own tradition. She began buying gifts and wrapping them long before other folks even thought of such things. It was efficient. It was productive. It allowed her to wrap up the gifts in the same careful way that I choose my words every morning.

Gosh, the presents! They were large and small! They were tiny and incredible. They were many, and they were for so many. They sat under a tree that was decorated with such care that I realize now it must be the reason that I spend hours rearranging word that I write until they’re in order.

Under that tree and piled through the large room as proof that my mom had found a reason to return every favor, and every smile she had received. Each gift was wrapped more beautifully than the one before. The bows were crafted and carefully chosen.

The part of the tradition seems only my mother’s was that she waited until Christmas Eve to put names on the presents. Until then, every present only had a tiny number. She said that it was that we wouldn’t shake the gifts with our names and be tempted to open them early. But the result was that those little numbers filled my imagination with wonder.

You see, I didn’t sort the boxes into theirs and mine. I only saw the abundance and the promise of good surprises.

And it made me think about what could be inside the boxes. I could see them shining inside.

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Imagine if we look at people — the ones we love, the ones we know, the ones we’ve not met — the same way.

Gosh, the abundance and the good surprises inside each of us! See the light? See the promise? Our light shines when we shine on them.

See the gift they are. Be the gift you are. It makes us glow from the inside out.

Thank you for the abundance and surprises you are to me.

I’m a very lucky girl.

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss