We are to be motivators to our fellow man. We are to encourage each other. The ancient writer said, "Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior."

In my opinion, Zig Ziglar is still the number one motivational speaker in the world. After all these years, he is still number one. Zig grew up in a large family in Mississippi. When he was a young boy, tragedy struck the Ziglar family when his father died. Without the love and support of his wonderful mother, Zig probably wouldn't have grown into the man he is today. At that time, Zig was too young to get a job to help support the family, but soon he was old enough to work in the garden. Mrs. Ziglar gave Zig an assignment of planting peas in the garden. When little Zig had finished his assignment, he went to his mother and said, "Mama, I'm done." Mrs. Ziglar went out to see how he had done. The way Zig puts it, "She went out to inspect to make sure she got what she expected. When Mrs. Ziglar had seen the job little Zig had done with those peas, she was not happy. "Oh no," she said.

"What's the matter Mama?" Zig knew very well what the problem was. He hadn't done a very good job with those peas.

Mrs. Ziglar knew exactly how to get through to her young son. She said, "Son, what you did hear would be fine for most boys, but you're not most boys. You are my boy and you can do better." You see what she did? She separated his behavior from who he is. She praised the performer and critiqued the performance. His job performance needed critiqued. It stunk! However, she kept his self esteem in tact. Zig talks about what an influence this made on his life. It is no wonder that Zig has been able to motivate so many people.

In his fabulous book Compassionate Capitalism, Rich DeVos tells a wonderful story about Teddy Stollard. Teddy was a 10 year old failure if Miss Thompson had ever seen one. Teddy was in her fifth grade homeroom class. Everything seemed to point to a sad life for Teddy. Teddy's school file said it all. In the first grade the file read, "Teddy shows promise. Some kind of conflict going on at home, and Teddy seems deeply affected by it." Second grade read, "Teddy seems able but distracted. Apparently, his mother is seriously ill. He receives little help at home from either parent." Third grade, "Teddy's mother died this year. The boy is intelligent enough, but he seems unable to concentrate. Father doesn't return our calls." Teddy's fourth grade doesn't get any better. It reads, "Teddy is slow but well behaved. He cried occasionally for his mother. His father shows no interest." How do you help a child like Teddy?

It was Christmas time in Miss Thompson's class. What a joyous time of celebration. One of the favorite times was when the teacher would open her presents from the children. A pile of loving presents engulfed Miss Thompson. With students all around her, she began opening the gifts from the children. At the bottom of the pile of presents she found a present that looked much different than the other ones. It wasn't decorated neatly and festively like the other ones. It was wrapped in plain brown paper messily held together with tape and string. On the package written in crayon awkwardly, Miss Thompson read, "To Miss Thompson From Teddy."

As she opened Teddy's gift, Miss Thompson found an ugly rhinestone bracelet with half its stones missing and a bottle of inexpensive perfume with not much left in it. (Boy, he didn't give much effort in this gift.) The children began to laugh at Teddy's dumb gift. But Miss Thompson tried to salvage the situation for poor Teddy. She slipped the bracelet on her arm and put a little perfume on her wrist. "Doesn't it smell lovely?" she asked the children. The joyful sounds of children's agreement followed.

At the end of the school day, Miss Thompson noticed something a little odd. All the children had left except one. When Miss Thompson looked up she noticed little Teddy sitting at his desk with a big smile on his face. "Teddy?"

Teddy slowly got up and walked to his teacher. With the smile still on his tiny face he looked lovingly at his teacher and said, "You look pretty in my mother's bracelet. And you smell almost like her now with that perfume on your arm." It was at that moment that Miss Thompson realized the magnitude and sacrifice of little Teddy's gift. He had given her his greatest treasure---the memory and love for his mother.

She looked lovingly at her student with more understanding then she had ever had for this troubled child and said, "Teddy, thank you for your presents. I liked them very much."

"That's okay," said Teddy. He then grabbed his coat and headed for home.

Miss Thompson just stood there watching the door where little Teddy had just walked out. At that moment, she made a decision. She was going to do everything in her power to help out this little boy. She was going to encourage him and help him see the best in himself. From that time on, Miss Thompson would stay after school to help Teddy. She would drill him over and over in his math studies. She would help him learn to write cleaner, neater sentences. She read to him and encouraged him to read to her. She praised him every chance she got in private and in front of the class.

By the end of the year, Teddy had improved dramatically. His grades were improving and he had caught up academically with most of his classmates. In fact, he was giving the best students a run for their money. His self-esteem was soaring like an eagle. One day, Miss Thompson looked at Teddy and said, "You did it Teddy, and I'm proud." Teddy looked up at his teacher and said, "I didn't do it, Miss Thompson. We did it together."

During the summer, Teddy's father lost his job and they moved away. As soon as Miss Thompson heard the news, she hurriedly wrote a note in Teddy's permanent file. The note read, "Fifth grade: Teddy is an exceptional child. He was damaged by his mother's death and his father's disinterest, but he is well on his way to recovery. Whatever extra time you have to invest in Teddy will bring you real reward."

It was a long seven years before Miss Thompson heard from Teddy. But every year, as she would sit around her students at Christmas time, she would tell them about Teddy Stollard and his sacrificial gifts. How was Teddy? Would she ever hear from him? Did she make a difference? Did she really help him or was it just temporary improvement?

One day, Miss Thompson received a short note from Teddy. The note read:

"Dear Miss Thompson,
I wanted you to be the first to know. I will be graduating second in my high school class. Thanks, teacher. We did it!

Love,
Teddy Stollard."


Four more years went by and then came another note from Teddy. It read:

"Dear Miss Thompson,
They just told me I'll be graduating valedictorian of my class this year. I wanted you to be the first to know. The university has not been easy, but we did it.

Love,
Teddy Stollard."


After college, Teddy pursued a bigger four year goal. When accomplished, he wrote Miss Thompson again.

"Dear Miss Thompson,
As of today, I am Theodore Stollard, M.D. How about that? I wanted you to be the first to know. We did it. I am getting married next month, the twenty-seventh to be exact. I want you to come and sit where my mother would have sat if she were alive today. My dad died last year. You are the only family I have now.

Love,
Teddy Stollard."

Words of Hope are a way of life. Miss Thompson almost missed her opportunity to help a little ten year old boy. But when she grabbed hold of the opportunity to plant the seeds of hope in his life... life forever changed for the better. Let us be encouragers by seeking to see everyone----the way they can be, not as they are.


Excerpted and Adapted from the soon to be published Unleashing The Champion Within Success Manual by Mark Bowser. To reserve your copy for $49.00, please Empowering Enterprises, Inc. at info@MarkBowser.com







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Halford Luccock recalled a biography of Alexander the Great in which the writer described the panic felt by the Greek army when Alexander died. They had followed Alexander across Asia Minor and stood facing the Himalayan Mountains that form a natural barrier separating northern India from the plateau of Tibet in China.

"And there they discovered that they had marched clear off the map. Their only maps were Greek maps. These maps showed only a part of Asia Minor. The rest of the map was a blank space."

The Greek army was not the first group to find itself in uncharted lands, nor was it by any means the last. Amidst globalization, a volatile job market, shifting economic realities, and technological innovations, the leaders of today frequently find themselves marching through unexplored and unmapped terrain. In these moments, no one has marked the road, no precedents have been set, and it falls upon the leader to blaze a new trail. How can a person prepare to lead effectively in such an uncertain environment?

In the last edition of Leadership Wired, we looked at the leadership of two great American explorers who dared to march off of the map of their familiar world: Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. The improbable success of their Corps of Discovery was due to more than their on the spot genius. Preparation preceded their expedition and paved their way to greatness. In this edition, we'll examine Lewis' preparation under the tutelage of President Thomas Jefferson to find tried and true principles to aid our leadership journeys.

Preparation should begin with the dream, not with the reality.
Jefferson began to groom Lewis to lead the momentous expedition across America long before the Louisiana Purchase was even a possibility, and before Congress approved the funds. In other words, Jefferson, the great mind and great president, took a dream and started mentoring a person according to his dream before it became a reality. Jefferson's foresight reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by John Wooden, "When opportunity comes, it's too late to prepare."

The first responsibility of the mentor is to prepare others for their future.
The best way a mentor can prepare another leader is to expose him or her to other great people. In the years prior to his famed journey into the American wilderness, Meriwether Lewis was Jefferson's personal secretary and constant dinner companion. I love the statement historian Stephen Ambrose uses to describe the dinners hosted by Jefferson: "Every philosopher, scientist, geographer, and military expert that the country had to offer came to those dinners." Through these social dinners, Jefferson was able to acquaint Lewis with the leading minds in America.

In actuality, the concept of one person mentoring another is idealistic. No single individual possesses the requisite skills to fully mentor a rising leader. Realizing their limitations, great mentors not only share from a personal reserve of experiences and knowledge, but they also connect their pupils with other authorities and experts to lend exposure to additional thoughts and ideas, just as Jefferson did for Lewis.

Preparation consists of many exercises.
In the writings of eminent historian Stephen Ambrose, we see the diverse experiences of Lewis' training:
"He trained to use the sextants and the chronometer, and the instruments to aid in the mapmaking that he was charged with..."
"He studied medicine in Philadelphia under Dr. Benjamin Rush, a member of the American Philosophical Society, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and the most eminent American physician of the day..."
"Lewis studied botany under the author of the first textbook on the subject published in the United States..."
"He also talked with experts in geography and cartography, and by the time that he left St. Louis a year later, Meriwether Lewis had probably the broadest field of knowledge of any American save Jefferson himself."

Clearly, Meriwether Lewis was exposed to a process of continual exercises and had access to the finest minds of the day during his time of preparation.

Preparation provides confidence when facing the unknown.
In his wisdom, Jefferson prepared Lewis for the trip with the understanding that the expedition would encounter unknown experiences in the uncharted territory of the Louisiana Purchase.

With so much uncertainty in front of Lewis, Jefferson felt that he needed to do his best to give Lewis as much preparation as possible to instill the confidence that would be needed when the journey began.



"This article is used by permission from Dr. John C. Maxwell's free monthly e-newsletter 'Leadership Wired' available at www.injoy.com."

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"Make sure what goes into your mind is positive because what comes out is always what went in."
~ Mark Bowser

"People are your most valuable asset. Only people can be made to appreciate in value."
~ Brian Tracy

"I'm so optimistic I'd go after Moby Dick in a row boat and take the tartar sauce with me."
~ Zig Ziglar

"Hope is a little thing that carries big dividends in the journey of life."
~ Mark Bowser

"But be doers of the word, and hot hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was."
~Ancient Writer (James 1:22-24 NKJV)

"Habits are like submarines. They run silent and deep."
~ Dennis Waitley

"Failure must teach us, or surely success will not reward us."
~ Jim Rohn

"There is not coincidence with God."
~ Mark Bowser

"Leadership is the ability to get extraordinary achievement from ordinary people."
~ Brian Tracy

"Everything rises and falls on leadership."
~ John C. Maxwell

"Enthusiasm is the dynamic motivator that keeps one persistently working toward his goal."
~ Norman Vincent Peale

"When we do more than we are paid to do, eventually we will be paid more for what we do."
~ Zig Ziglar

"One of the major reasons why people are not doing well is because they keep trying to get through the day. A more worthy challenge is to try to get from the day."
~ Jim Rohn



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