A little note to self.....

From the hotel entrance. The island is part of Iran. Note the flags.

Seminar participants.

Recognition - is nourishment for motivation, so please give recognition to deserving people as often as he or she deserves. A standing ovation given to me by the forty participants at a Seminar here in Kish island this morning refueled my own self-motivation to continue doing what I enjoy doing ......"Helping others surpass their own potential".
I did not give a lecture on new Leadership concept, nor did I give a fiery speech on politics or revolution. Nothing like that. Instead I took them through a path of self-discovery; of what really matters to them as a person, and as a professional. I facilitated so they discovered their own 'hidden pearls'. I urged them to share those moments in their lives when they followed their instinct and did something wonderful - and helped them re-call how free and liberating they felt. I also reminded them of those moments when the were held back, inhibited mainly by fear and by opinions and dis-approvals from others. I made them write down a list of those lost moments - moments of "If only I have ......then I...............". We took time to pause and reflect whether they still wanted to pursue any of those items on the list. Not surprising, they admitted that there have been blessings in disguise too for what they didn't do. But a proper closure made a difference....we deleted and cleared our bins of regrets.

Picture of dinner with a few of the participants - above first night, and below second night.

For us Muslims, we are blessed with higher order Faith in "There is a reason for what happened, and surely He knows best". But we owe it to ourselves to also understand what happened using logic and rationale, instead of leaving everything to, "Never mind - there must be a reason". Logic helped us to connect the dots of what happened or didn't happen and their consequences. Hindsights of such dots...are important for our own evolution, learning and growth.

I closed the session by asking them to make a pledge to themselves - what they want to do which will impact the lives of others around them. Those pledges were written and sealed in an envelop which I will send back to them six months from today.....
These are professionals who do 'sales' as a living. I made them realize that 'selling' does not help anyone except the sales-person. But 'helping' someone can result in good sales. My question therefore was what were they going to do to help those people they serve?

I told them a true story of Little Johnny who worked as a packer at the end of a cash-counter in a supermarket. Little Johnny suffered from down-syndrome, but his spirit was high and his care for his customers came from his heart. He wanted to make a difference.....
So one night he got an idea. With the help of his dad, Little Johnny made hundreds of rolled up papers each written with his "quote of the day". Each time he packed a customer's shopping bag, he would place one of his quote of the day rolled-up paper into the bag.
Soon, customers came looking for more of little Johnny's quotes. They shopped more frequently. His counter always attracted the longest queue. Sales of the store increased. Little Johnny has made a difference - because he wanted to!
What would little Johnny do in a situation you are in...?
Have you touched someone's life lately....?

When was the last time a member of your own family applauded you? Or you applauded them?

(written this while waiting for a flight back to the people I miss - and they are waiting for me at home)