| Lorne Rubis - Part 2

Dig a Little Deeper and Find a Well!

201025 May
Comments
Posted inBe Accountable

Do you sometimes want to change things? Wish They would do something to make things different? What if the They were you?

Ryan Hreljac is now 19 yrs old but this Canadian teenager was inspired at age 7 to raise $70 through doing extra chores to help build wells in Africa. In the 12 years since, his own charity, Ryan’s Wells Foundation, has helped fund more than 550 wells in 16 countries. He has helped supply clean water to 700,000 people.

Sometimes it is a matter of asking what and how you can take action to change things. Self-accountability is the courage and confidence to believe you can do something to develop a more desired state of being. This applies at work and outside of work. Each of us has way more power and influence than we often believe.

Start now… before you know it, 700,000 people have clean drinking water. Start now… your place of work will see the benefit of changes you have initiated.

with Character,

Lorne

From Preston UK to Santiago Chile

201024 May
Comments2
Posted inBe Respectful

I’m lying awake in that transition, a sleepless funk I often go through when traveling from North America to Europe. When I’m lying wide awake in the middle of the night my routine is to listen to the BBC. Tonight they’ve interviewed a 70 year old waitress who serves patrons in a long standing Preston, UK eating establishment. In another unrelated segment they interviewed a 27 year old single mom who works in one of Santiago’s “Cafe with Legs.” There is incredible distance between these women, geographically, culturally and in almost every way.

Yet there in an incredible common bond between these two women through the self respect each has in serving others. In both cases they run into the occasional disrespectful customer but they have control over how they choose to be what Seth Godin describes in his book Linchpin. as “artists.” They are in control of excellence. They choose to be great at what they do. They listen and laugh with their customers. They bring personal connection through the medium of a cup of coffee. Rather than feeling victimized by working in the “secondary labor market”, they choose to make their contributions great. They are valued and valuable.

Many CEOs and other execs would benefit from waiting on a few tables. We’re in the service business and can learn a lot from these two women. Greatness is in the behavior NOT the position or title. Respect is to be given. Listening is a responsibility.

with Character,

Lorne

Michael Jordan Gets It!

201021 May
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Posted inCharacter Triangle

This is a wildly popular quote, however if it’s new for you, it’s something to familiarize yourself with:

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 Times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan

People who live with Character and the CT are not afraid to fail. And when they do, there is no self-blame but a commitment to move towards their goal; however small the step. They are abundant thinking. They keep “shooting” until things work out better. They focus on what’s there to build on not the lack of what’s there to get anxious about.

“Fail. Fail Again. Fail Better.” -Samuel Beckett, Nobel Laureate Literature

with Character,

Lorne

Luck Shines on the Brave

201020 May
Comments
Posted inBe Abundant

Tonight I’ve listened to an interview on the BBC with an SAS soldier. He was one of the Special Forces guys on the famous May 5th hostage rescue in the Iranian embassy in London 30 years ago. He used the term “luck shines on the brave.” He was referring to the fact that a door they had to smash through had not been barricaded by the terrorists. The entire event was watched by the world on broadcast television. Within the narrow boundaries of these horrible situations, it was a success.

Most of us do not live in the dramatic life and death world of a Special Forces soldier, but the phrase I think applies. We have to be brave and “bust through that door” even when we are not completely sure about the other side. We need to take calculated risks. It is part of an abundant perspective. The great news is that it almost never life or death. But going through that door is often a combination of discomfort, learning, and personal growth.

Be abundant. Luck shines on the brave.

with Character,

Lorne

Character Triangle

Our character is exclusively ours. We define it by how we think and what we do. I believe that acting with Character is driven by what I call the Character Triangle.

What, exactly, is the Character Triangle (CT)?

The CT describes and emphasizes three distinct but interdependent values:

Be Accountable: first person action to make things better, avoiding blame.
Be Respectful: being present, listening, looking again, focusing on the process.
Be Abundant: generous in spirit, moving forward, minimizing the lack of.