Post Conference Thoughts

It is amazing how a well run conference re energizes the participants, whether they be part of the faculty or whether they are among the presenters.  Regardless of the category, it appears the second annual conference of Optimist International Nepal was  very successful.

But this was not all work an no play.  Sunday was a day of learning for me as a couple of my Optimist friends here took me on a tour of the city and then into the mountains where roads are in places barely passable and have more twists in them than a pretzel.  There are also holes in the pavement where you could get a small car stuck if you weren't careful.  And we saw something that is not for the faint of heart which I was half tempted to try.

But again, I was only half tempted. While the conference has ended and the sightseeing is about over, the Optimist news out of Nepal will continue to be positive.  It was announced at the conference there will be two new Optimist Clubs in the country by the end of June, a second Club in Biratnager and a new Club in Damak.  Plus, work is underway for a second Junior Optimist Club in the country to compliment the one already in Pokhara.

You should also know the sightseeing tour was not all work and no play.  While at the View Point, 5,500 feet above the Pokhara Valley in Sarangkot, I started talking with two gentlemen who are Nepali nationals.  Just so happens that now,  one lives in Virginia and the other in Colorado and after some conversation, both are very interested in trying to start Optimists Clubs when they get back home later this month. I'll definitely be having conversations with both of them.

Nepal is fast becoming a stronghold for Optimist International in Asia.  The members here are passionate, committed, and full of energy. And it was heartening to see entire families that made the journey to Pokhara for the two day event. The Optimists here  have no intention of stopping anytime soon which puts a very positive spin on the idea of a "Global Perspective for Promise Yourself."

Now.....on to Thailand.

Marshmallows and Tennis Balls in Nepal

I thoroughly enjoy making presentations which is why it was so much fun to present workshops on communication and leadership at the second annual Optimist International-Nepal conference May 3-4. I break several rules with regard to  Power point protocol and general public speaking guidelines all in the name of making workshops interesting and something participants  will remember while actually learning something.

So it was Saturday during a Leadership workshops which appropriately followed a Q &A via video conference with Optimist International President Rebecca Butler Mona.

The workshop that day focused on the five, or six characteristics of leadership.  One of them is innovation.  Strong leaders are innovators and that's where tennis balls come into play.  The room is divided into three groups.  Each group forms a circle and each is given a tennis ball to pass around the circle.   After a minute or so, you add a second tennis ball to the circle and then a couple minutes later you add a third tennis ball.  So you get this...

People having fun.  And the argument goes that if you are enjoying yourself and are of a positive attitude, you are more receptive to learning.

It is kind of like that with the marshmallow challenge.  It 's a teaching tool that has been around a few years at Optimist International, to help people get to know each other and to teach, collaboration...another one of those characteristics of leadership. The rules are simple; takes 20 strands of spaghetti, some tape, some string and a marshmallow.  The goal is to build the tallest freestanding tower with the marshmallow on top so it stands for at least five seconds.  They did very well at the conference as you can see...despite me having to correct a couple of the teams who borrowed a couple of other marshmallows to shore up their tower.

So whether it be laughter through innovative practices or team building through collaboration, Optimists in Nepal have a better understanding of at least some of the characteristics about leadership.

Until next time....

One of Those Absolutely Perfect Days

It's not often you can see the words that are found in the title of this blog. But it really was an absolutely perfect day from the beginning of the Optimist conference in Nepal to the end of the day and a last cup of coffee or iced tea as the case may be.

The Optimists in Nepal really do know how to put together a conference. There was pomp and circumstance and traditions were upheld. Representatives of each of the seven clubs in the country provided the conference with an update about what their club has been doing to positively impact the lives of young people in their area.

I had the privilege of presenting a workshop on effective communication skills and will present a second one on Saturday with regard to leadership. Most of not all of the 60 participants at the conference were eager  and willing to learn. They want to become better people and better Optimists and my sense is they will continue down that path for months and years to come.

The conference adjourned for the day around 2 PM. This left a little time to see some sights around Pokhara. We walked down dozens of stairs to go at least part way down into one of the deepest caves in Southeast Asia. The only issue was going back up the stairs but I was able to make it without too many pulled muscles.

The he next stop took us up switchback type road to an area where cars were parked on the side of a mountain.... and there were more stairs. I didn't remember to count how many there were but my legs will tell you there were quite a few,  After a six minute climb,  we found ourselves face-to-face with the World Peace Pagoda.  It is a place held in reverence by many because of the statue of Buddha which sits near the top of the pagoda. And as you can see from the photo, the area  provided a fantastic view of the city of Pokhara.

The day ended with a stop at a coffee shop.  And while there was some coffee and some food what really made the day was the conversation. Even though I sometimes could not understand a word that was being said because my hosts were speaking Nepali, you could tell everyone was enjoying themselves and the opportunity to share conversation with one another. And the Adirondack style chairs made it that much easier to kick back and relax for a few moments.

Day to the conference is Saturday.  These are exciting times…

Half Way Around the World in 47 Hours

 There are so many experiences to relate after 47 hours of travel.  That is the time frame from leaving my home in arriving in Pokhara, Nepal via stops in Chicago, Istanbul and Kathmandu. International travel is chaotic, exhilarating, cause for some anxious moments and breath-taking. 

It’s chaotic because you are at the mercy of others’ schedules and many times you are in an unfamiliar environment.  Just try going from one terminal to the international terminal at Chicago’s O’Hare airport.  You leave from your arrival gate and then figure out exactly where to exit security, which is something you'll regret doing later, in order to catch a shuttle bus that will take you from one terminal to the international terminal. Then there is always the issue of exactly where you can pick up the shuttle bus. Having done that, you get to the international terminal and then start regretting coming out of security because you now have to go through security in order to get to the gate for your international flight. All in the span of an hour and a half.

While this is chaotic it can also be exhilarating because in the end you're going to wind up in a place where you've never been. I was struck almost with awe as the plane was about to land in Kathmandu Nepal.  I was  looking out the window of the plane, seeing the houses, and thinking to myself," My goodness I'm about to land in Kathmandu."

Anytime you travel overseas there is the immigration issue that you have to address. And it took what seemed to be forever to get through the process in Nepal. This in no way is meant to be disrespectful to the Nepalese people but the process can be confusing for someone who is experiencing it for the first time. You have to stand in line in order to register to get your visa. You then have to stand in line to pay for your visa. You then have to stand in another line to meet with the immigration officer who make sure your papers are in order and then provide you with the visa. After all that,  you have to go through security to enter the country, and then finally find your luggage which is been available for the better part of an hour. An hour spent going through immigration.

My Optimist friends in Nepal were very gracious and very patient. They took me from one area to the next and always with a smile on their face. They escorted me from the international terminal to the domestic terminal and made sure I got where I needed to be. I was treated equally well by other Optimist friends who greeted me at the Pokara airport and then took me to the hotel where I would stay for the next four days.  The final leg of the journey is one I will always remember as we crossed the narrow portion of a lake to get to the hotel.  

Take a look at the video

Periodically over the next 10 days  there will be updates to the blog for this journey that I've titled, " A Global Perspective for 'Promise Yourself." Be Well..

Staying the Course Despite Rejection

Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”

                                                                                                                            ― Winston S. Churchill

I have a very hard time accepting the fact that something cannot be done.  It is perhaps the reason I am so persistent in the position I hold at Optimist International.  My position is designed to, with the help of others, to create initiatives and programs for our members to use that will help the organization turn the corner and reverse the two-decade trend of declining membership.  Other service organizations are in a similar situation.

It’s not easy.  It’s frustrating and disappointing at times.  I see potential if there would just be some persistence in the area of focus yet people who hold the potential in their hands get stopped dead in their tracks because of negativity or someone rejecting their message.  A couple of quick examples seem to be order.

 I recently made a presentation to establish a new Optimist group in the Pacific northwest.  The presentation seemed to have generated some interest among some of those in attendance but everything stopped when a respected member of the group says he saw no benefit to his group working to establish an Optimist group.   This appeared to be the consensus at the moment but I later learned there were people who could not make the meeting who were very interested.   Enter plan B.  After learning the group did not want to do something collectively, my inner voice told me to pursue the few who did individually while trying to combine their interests with an outside group in the community.  This is still a work in progress but it demonstrates how a “No” produced another course of action.

Similarly, I had been having a heck of a time trying to connect with a prospect in person because schedules would not line up and life got in the way for this individual.  The door apparently had closed.  But then the voice spoke up.  “Why don’t you try to meet via SKYPE or some other electronic means?  I had been so focused on meeting this individual in person that I had completely overlooked the other option.  Enter plan B.

 Usually, there is always going to be a Plan B. I’m arguing that Plan B keeps the door open for our goal or objective but we have to be persistent in both listening for such a revelation and being willing to act on it when it happens.  This then, brings into play perseverance because our willingness to be persistent creates the desire to stick with something until there is a positive result. This formula has worked time and time again when it comes to membership recruitment or development of a new Optimist presence in a community.  By getting into this practice, you will find more and more of your projects will reach a satisfactory level of completion, your objectives and goals will be attained and you will find yourself doing a happy dance more frequently.

This is not a formula solely for community service groups.  Any leader worth his or her weight in pretzels should know alternatives are necessary for any initiative because nothing ever goes completely as planned.  The characteristics of persistence and perseverance work in community service work, the legal profession, finance, construction and so forth.

  So let’s go to work shall we?   

The Inner Voice Will Guide You

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

                                                                                                                                Calvin Coolidge

NO.    There are not a lot of us who do not like hearing that simple two letter word.  It means we can’t do something we wanted to do. And, sometimes the word is used because what we are thinking of could actually bring harm to ourselves and others.  But, in the context of achieving a goal or objective in the professional or personal realm, I argue it is an opportunity to invoke the art of being persistent and to chart a different course in order to attain the goal or objective.

 One of actor Denzel Washington’s many starring roles came from the dark drama “The Book of Eli.”  There is a scene showing him sitting around an open fire with co-star, Mila Kunis, and the conversation is about how he survived after “The War.”  Mr. Washington tells the story of how one day he heard a voice from inside that set him on his journey regarding the Book and how the voice told him he would be protected during the journey.  The key is that he listened to the voice.

Our internal voice, which some call a person’s  conscience, is a guiding beacon each one of us has access to but we have to listen when it speaks to us.  The”Voice” (not to be confused with the television series)  is almost always right and can point us in the correct direction to go.  Christians call it the Holy Spirit.  Your voice can help overcome NO by suggesting a new direction that likely will help attain the goal or objective established at the beginning of your project.  Often times it’s referred to as Plan B or Plan C. 

I argue there is nearly always a second or third path to achieve the objective if Plan A isn’t working but we have to listen for that direction and then act on it when we hear from our inner voice.  Sometimes doors of opportunity will close but it usually means another door of opportunity is about to open.  When it does, we have to use persistence to go through it so we can accomplish the goal at hand.

A case in point the next time we connect.   Be well.

The P&P Combo to Accomplish Your Goals

       We give up too easily. Time and time again stories can be heard from people who had all the best intentions in the world of getting a project done or achieving a career or personal goal only to later be stopped short of achievement because of a myriad of factors.  Granted, there will always be times when surrender is the only option left, but it consistently, at least in my opinion, is an option exercised too quickly.   My argument is supported by an excellent, recent, article in Inc. Magazine, titled, “Seven Reasons Why People Give Up  on Their Goals Too Early.”

 A lot of us have done this before.  We set out to get into shape.  We purchase a membership to a health club and we embark on an effort to improve out physical condition or lose weight.   The initial stage amounts to a bunch of sore muscle that don’t seem to go away with a few more trips to the gym.  So,  we give up. ”I just can’t do this anymore”…..or I’m getting nowhere fast”….”I don’t have time to spend a half an hour or an hour working out” can be heard under our breath.  Excuses come easily; achievement does not.  So, no sooner did we begin our self-improvement project then we abandon it, frustrated and dejected and wondering why we ever had this hair-brained idea to begin with.

There is a word that starts with a “P” that can provide a partial answer to this situation.

Perseverance: “Steadfast in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success,” according to Webster.    To persevere, then, flies in the face of what is commonplace in our society today, which is an expectation of almost instantaneous and positive results. 

There is a second “P” word worth mentioning that is equally useable when we hit a roadblock.

Persistence:  “continuing firmly or obstinately in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition” 

 Most people like the concept of getting it done quickly when it comes to attaining our goals and reaching our objectives.  They look for the easy path.  Rarely is that going to happen which is why persistence and perseverance are critical components of getting a project completed successfully. We have to maintain a mentality that at times says, “No,  is not “my final answer.”   It instead becomes an opportunity for new ideas, new directions and new opportunities for success.  These two words starting with “P” can be, should be and will be critical in achieving goals set in our professional and personal lives as well as those sought after achievements in our community service lives. 

More on this new direction in the next post. I have to go to the gym now.