I am deeply indebted and very grateful for having been inspired and challenged by many great teachers and mentors throughout my life. A short list must include the names of Glenn French, Dr. Bill McDonald, the inimitable Mildred Yates, Dr. Harold Clifton, and pastor and professor Jim Seratt. Of Mildred Yates it’s been written, “A teacher who never had a discouraging word, but who rather would stand on the sidelines and cheer me on to enter into a journey of my own self-discovery—education in the very truest sense—leading out that which is within.” For those beginning their personal journeys toward fulfilling lives, leadership roles, and success in business I’m eager to share some of the sources which assisted me in my own “self-discovery” and in doing so I hope to as Mrs. Yates did help you develop “that which is within”.
A few thoughts about preparing for the journey: self-discovery must be a constant, never-ending process of personal evaluation and reconsideration of one’s cultural traditions, previous experiences, and personal points of views. Doing so is uncomfortable and counter intuitive, going against our grain so to speak. And it takes courage. In “A Vision So Noble”, Daniel Ford’s succinct and brilliant essay on the late, Col. John Boyd, Ford reminds us that we must identify our own ‘blemishes, flaws, or contradictions’ and find ways to overcome them. These negative qualities, Boyd warns, alienate us from one another and ‘thereby destroy our internal harmony, paralyze us, and make it difficult [for us] to cope with an uncertain, ever-changing world”. Please note this is not a self-serving process of narcissistic navel gazing, but a well intentioned exercise in identifying and correcting those things which keep us from connecting with others and either driving headlong into life’s ditches or like a sleep deprived trucker gradually drifting toward a catastrophe. Self-discovery and self awareness “build up our own harmony and trust, both as individuals and as a society”. A great Bible verse sums it simply, “A double minded man is uncertain in all his ways”. Uncertainty is a product of inner disharmony. And uncertainty be it from the leader or within the team shatters any hope for a cohesive effort.
If dynamite comes in small packages, Robert Bly’s “A Little Book On The Human Shadow” is a pocket size truth bomb. Only eighty one pages it offers in poetry and prose a clear, concise, and brilliant explanation of the value of self awareness, and, thankfully, suggestions for taking ownership of both things that create internal disharmony and things which bind us with others in trust and common purpose. It’s just a gem of a little book, and one which I highly recommend hoping it may be of value in “leading out that which is within”. I was four decades down life’s path before a mentor shared it with me, but that just goes to show it’s never too late to live and learn. A much more expansive and comprehensive book about the same principles is “Meeting The Shadow”, a collection of essays by sixty five different authors and a fantastic reference resource.
Regarding the issues of power and personal integrity, two of the most critical crossroads we must traverse both personally and professionally, Richard W. Dortch’s work, “Fatal Conceit” is an essential read whether one is seventeen or seventy. Richard Dortch chronicles the tragic yet redemptive journey of a famous businessman who rose to great power, prestige, and wealth and through his own self deception and hubris fell to the despairing depths of financial ruin and prison. His book is one of the most powerful pieces I’ve ever read that, perhaps, could prevent others from falling for the same seemingly innocuous artifices. Like the Sirens on the rocks of Greek mythology power and prestige waft their songs across the waves with no less allure now than any time in history. My greatest mentors were unanimous in their belief that issues of the heart were as important as knowledge, and from self realization springs peace, harmony, the ability to connect with others in order to succeed in realizing mutual goals. And their gifts of having made learning fun was the proverbial icing on the cake. I tip my hat to them all.
Originally published in Beaumont Business Journal, Heat And Humanity Column
