A Lesson in Staying in Action

Alright.  We’ll say it.  Staying in Action is hard.

Sure, it’s all great on Day 6 of The LeaderShape Institute when you’re basking in the glow of the Learning Community with a fresh vision tucked safely in your binder and dozens of new friends at your back ready to lead with integrity and a healthy disregard for the impossible.  Then it’s back to the “real” world, where one dose of the evening news—with its bleak environmental reports and crime statistics and political scandals—is enough to wear you out.  Not to mention all the folks who come in contact with our lives who are more than willing to tell us why the status quo is fine or why we can’t (fill in your own vision here)!

How about a little inspiration by example to help get you back on track (broken down LeaderShape style)?  Meet Drew Chin, recent Cluster Facilitator at our national session in Boston. (He knows everyone's a teacher and everyone's a learner, so he made the most of the six days!)  After the Institute, he returned to the "real" world (Day 7) energized and rededicated to his work with iB-LIEVE.

Have you heard about iB-LIEVE or the iB-LIEVE Express?  No?  iB-LIEVE started because 10 friends believed they could change the world by empowering others to change their lives (now that’s a bold, compelling vision). The company measures success not just in how they profit, but in how the communities they’re a part of profit by what they provide (some people might call them social entrepreneurs). And now they’re pursuing a big idea (bringing their vision to reality), the iB-LIEVE Express, a 50 week journey to all 50 states for 300 days of youth empowerment (how’s that for a stretch goal?).  That’s 100 days of leadership workshops, 100 days of community service, and 100 days of inspiring interviews.

And now here’s a chance for you to practice a little Staying in Action of your own (and how the vision of iB-LIEVE is expandable).
  1. Get on the iB-LIEVE Express.  Maybe you’ve got an idea for a community service project or a workshop connected to your own vision?  iB-LIEVE wants to partner with dedicated people to make each stop of the Express a success.  You can contact Drew at andrewechin@gmail.com with your ideas.  (There’s nothing like connecting with other passionate people to kick-start your own vision!)
  2. Vote for the iB-LIEVE Express—every day in August. The iB-LIEVE team has been accepted into the Pepsi Refresh Challenge. (Awesome, right?)  Pepsi is giving away millions each month to fund refreshing ideas that change the world. So iB-LIEVE needs your help.  You can place two votes a day in August. Text 101681 to Pepsi (73774) (**Standard text messaging rates apply, but you probably knew that.) You can also learn more and log on to vote at www.refresheverything.com/goibelieve.
So how about you?  How are you Staying in Action with your own vision?  Where are your "10 friends" (or 2 or 5 or 20) who create your community of support?  When is the last time you shared your vision, authentically and straight from your heart?  Try it!  Action takes all kinds of forms. Take it from Drew and the team at iB-LIEVE, you might be surprised what what can start with a conversation.
    


Palmer Award Winners

We are pleased to announce this year’s recipients of the Palmer Award, Jonathan Naber from the University of Illinois and Janelle Legros from Florida State University. Please visit our blog to learn about the amazing work they have done on their visions and towards the creation of a just, caring, and thriving world: http://iamleadershape.blogspot.com/2010/08/palmer-award-recipients.html 

Congratulations Jonathan and Janelle!
 


The 25th Anniversary Celebration
of The LeaderShape Institute

Plans are underway to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of The LeaderShape Institute.  Mark your calendars now!  The celebration events will be held on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago.

More details will follow in upcoming editions of the Circuit.  Until then, if you have questions about the celebration please contact Kristen Young at kristen@leadershape.org.



Thank You to Our Campus
Partners and Sponsors

We would like to thank the following institutions for hosting a session of The LeaderShape Institute in April and May:

- Boise State University  
- Dominican University  
- Elmhurst College  
- Georgia Institute of Technology  
- Miami University-Oxford  
- Scottsdale Community College  
- University of Michigan  
- University of Wisconsin Madison

We would also like to recognize the following institutions and organizations for sending students to national sessions of The LeaderShape Institute this summer:

- Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity
- Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity
- Alpha Xi Delta
- American Indian College Fund
- American University
- Arizona State University
- ASM Materials Education Foundation
- Atlanta Metropolitan College
- ATO Foundation
- Berry College
- Boise State University
- Capital University
- Chatham University
- College of Mount St. Joseph
- Dalton State College
- Delta Gamma Fraternity
- Delta Sigma Pi
- Drake University
- Duke University
- Duquesne University
- Emory University
- Emporia State University
- Eureka College
- Florida International University
- Furman University
- Gateway Community College
- Illinois College
- Kappa Omicron Nu Honor Society
- KCC Foundation
- Kettering University
- Lehigh University
- Maryland Institute College of Art
- Maryville University
- Michigan FFA
- Millersville University of Pennsylvania
- Moravian College
- Neumann College
- Northeastern University
- Ohio Wesleyan University
- Parkland College
- Pennsylvania College of Technology
- RIT Leadership Institute
- Robertson Scholars Program (Duke & UNC-CH)
- Rollins College
- Ron Brown Scholar Program
- Saint Xavier University
 
 - Salt Lake Community College
- Samuel Merritt University
- Southeast Missouri State University
- Southern Oregon University
- Southern Utah University
- St. John Fisher College
- St. Norbert College
- Suffolk County Community College
- Texas Christian University
- Texas Women's University
- The College of New Jersey
- The College of The Bahamas
- The Qatar Foundation
- Tulane University
- University of Alabama 
- University of Alabama- Tuscaloosa
- University of Florida- University of Illinois at  Urbana-Champaign
- University of Indianapolis
- University of Maine at Farmington
- University of Maryland-College Park
- University of Massachusetts Boston
- University of Minnesota
- University of Missouri
- University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
- University of North Carolina-Greensboro
- University of North Texas
- University of Northern Iowa
- University of Tennessee
- University of Texas at Austin
- University of Texas-Dallas
- University of Utah
- University of Washington-Tacoma
- University of West Georgia
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- Urban Prep Academy-East, Garfield Park
- Utah State University
These national session participants were not sponsored by an institution but attended through their own efforts:

- Christian Gbewordo
- Ashley Hollingsworth
- Brian Travis
- Klazina van den Berg
- Ryan Wall
- Resa Ware
- Alyssa Yang



Help Others Lead With Integrity

Can you learn how to change the world in six days?  We believe that you can.
 
Whether it is through large-group instruction in the Learning Community, or through the intimacy of our smaller Family Clusters, our participants benefit from a multi-dimensional curriculum.

At The LeaderShape Institute, participants are exposed to a new world of possibility – a world where creativity and risk-taking are encouraged – where there are no boundaries to the amount of good one individual can do.
They return to their respective communities with infectious energy and tangible plans for fostering immediate positive change.

For more information about bringing The LeaderShape Institute to your campus/organization contact Mike McRee at 800.988.LEAD (5323) or lead@leadershape.org.
 


Paul's Recommendation

When I was just out of college, I was looking for the short cut to everything.  Short cut to happiness, short cut to wealth, short cut to quality relationships.  I was an infomercial’s best customer because I would stay up late and watch those commercials where I could be a millionaire by the end of next week.  I bought lots of courses, listened to lots of tapes (OK, I still have many of them), and got discouraged when I didn’t get immediate results.  The staff gives me a hard time because I still have some Anthony Robbins books, tapes, etc. in the office.  So the other day I was cleaning out my office (very therapeutic when you feel you aren’t accomplishing a lot that day) and started re-reading one of his books.  I came to a page that I had dog-eared, highlighted, and wrote all over.  The passage dealt with the concept of motivation and what drives us to make changes in our lives AND what stops us from making changes in our lives.  Pretty simple lesson...we will do more to avoid pain, than we will to gain pleasure.

On the surface, a pretty simple, perhaps even mundane concept, but think about how powerful that statement is.  We will do more to avoid pain, than we will to gain pleasure.  I started to think about that concept as it relates to leadership and how many times we don’t take the lead because of the perceived “pain” of making the effort, going the extra mile, being alone.  As a follow up to this lesson, Robbins goes on to say that we need to make the vision of what we want so clear, so vivid, so meaningful that it will overcome this tendency to avoid pain first and foremost.  Sound familiar to anyone that has attended a LeaderShape program?  I’ve been thinking a lot about how do I reframe my vision, my life, so that it is to gain pleasure, and not just to avoid pain.  So whatever book you have up on your shelf that you haven’t read in awhile, or even if you are watching those infomercials, let’s think about what we are avoiding because of the perceived pain and how we can turn that around so that we focus on the pleasure we will gain.  I’m sure the process must be more enjoyable – and isn’t the process what we really want to enjoy anyway?  Taking short cuts only robs us of the learning along the way.

Amazing what you can find when you look at something with a new perspective or just clean your office...
 
Paul
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LeaderShape | 1802 Fox Drive, Suite D | Champaign, IL 61820