Building Our Leadership Portfolio
Private Victory |
Public Victory |
1-Be Proactive |
4-Think Win-Win |
2-Begin with the End in Mind |
5-Seek First to Understand, Than to be Understood |
**The Builder
3-Put First Things First |
6-Synergize |
7-Sharpen the Saw
Words to Ponder
**The Retiring Carpenter
Habit 2-Begin with the End in Mind
An elderly carpenter was due to retire. He told his employer of his plans to leave the business and start a life of leisure with his wife and extended family. He would miss the money, but the time was right and he was ready to hang up his hammer. His boss was disappointed as the carpenter had been a loyal and diligent worker for many years, so he was sad to see him go.
He asked for one last favor, requesting that the carpenter could build one last house before retiring. The tradesman agreed, but it was soon clear that his heart wasn’t in it. He took shortcuts, used inferior materials and put in a half-hearted effort. In the end the final product was well short of his usual standards, a disappointing way to end his career.
When the job was finished, the employer came to inspect the work. After taking a look around, he handed the keys to the carpenter and said, “This is your house, it’s my gift to you.”The carpenter was shocked and embarrassed. If only he had known, he would have made sure that everything was perfect.If he had known the consequences, he would have demanded excellence from himself.
We’re not that different. We go about our business, working as we see fit. Some with passion, some without caring. Some with excellence, some with low standards.Some with diligence, some without effort. We are all in the process of building our own lives.
If you’re not happy with what you see, perhaps it’s a direct consequence of what you’ve been building over the years.
Begin with the End in Mind...Build Your Best Life Ever !Build wisely!
An elderly carpenter was due to retire. He told his employer of his plans to leave the business and start a life of leisure with his wife and extended family. He would miss the money, but the time was right and he was ready to hang up his hammer. His boss was disappointed as the carpenter had been a loyal and diligent worker for many years, so he was sad to see him go.
He asked for one last favor, requesting that the carpenter could build one last house before retiring. The tradesman agreed, but it was soon clear that his heart wasn’t in it. He took shortcuts, used inferior materials and put in a half-hearted effort. In the end the final product was well short of his usual standards, a disappointing way to end his career.
When the job was finished, the employer came to inspect the work. After taking a look around, he handed the keys to the carpenter and said, “This is your house, it’s my gift to you.”The carpenter was shocked and embarrassed. If only he had known, he would have made sure that everything was perfect.If he had known the consequences, he would have demanded excellence from himself.
We’re not that different. We go about our business, working as we see fit. Some with passion, some without caring. Some with excellence, some with low standards.Some with diligence, some without effort. We are all in the process of building our own lives.
If you’re not happy with what you see, perhaps it’s a direct consequence of what you’ve been building over the years.
Begin with the End in Mind...Build Your Best Life Ever !Build wisely!
Finish Strong
Swimming In The Fog Story
(A Tale Of Obstacles)…
The California coast was shrouded in fog that fourth of July morning in 1952. Twenty-one miles to the west on Catalina Island a 34-year-old woman waded into the water and began swimming toward California, determined to be the first woman to do so.
Her name was Florence Chadwick and she had been the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. The water was numbing cold that July morning and the fog was so thick she could hardly see the boats in her own party. Millions were watching on national television. Several times sharks, which had gotten too close, had to be driven away with rifles to protect the lone figure in the water.
As the hours ticked off, she swam on. Fatigue had never been her big problem in these swims – it was the bone-chilling cold of the water. More than 15 hours later, numbed with the cold, she asked to be taken out. She couldn’t go on. Her mother and her trainer alongside in the boat told her that they were near land.
They urged her not to quit. But when she looked at the California coast, all she could see was dense fog.
She had been pulled out only a half mile from the California coast. Florence had 20.5 miles behind her with 0.5 left to go…a half a mile…that is all.
Later she was to reflect that she had been defeated not by fatigue or even the cold – the fog had defeated her because it obscured her goal.
It was the only time Florence Chadwick ever quit.
Two months later she swam the same channel, and again fog obscured her view, but this time she swam with her faith intact – somewhere behind that fog was land.
Not only was she the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, but she beat the men’s record by some two hours! They said it was a miracle for a woman to accomplish such a feat.
Sometimes the experience of others can inspire us to face and overcome obstacles. Mrs. Groendyke shared this story with you to serve as an analogy and parallel for your own life. Dig deep to uncover the ultimate life lesson that can apply to you as you continue to the last day of school.
Who is Florence Chadwick representing?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What about the trainer?______________________________________________________________________
What about the Mother?______________________________________________________________________
What is the swim to the coast of California from Catalina Island representing?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What does the fog represent?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What is your personal fog (what is keeping you from grinding it out to the finish)?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
You have 8 months of school and training behind you with only a measly 27 days left to prepare for 5th grade. You have come so far and worked so hard…would you quit now?
There is not one person here that would like to see you quit now…not your parents, not your teacher, not your friends…
(A Tale Of Obstacles)…
The California coast was shrouded in fog that fourth of July morning in 1952. Twenty-one miles to the west on Catalina Island a 34-year-old woman waded into the water and began swimming toward California, determined to be the first woman to do so.
Her name was Florence Chadwick and she had been the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. The water was numbing cold that July morning and the fog was so thick she could hardly see the boats in her own party. Millions were watching on national television. Several times sharks, which had gotten too close, had to be driven away with rifles to protect the lone figure in the water.
As the hours ticked off, she swam on. Fatigue had never been her big problem in these swims – it was the bone-chilling cold of the water. More than 15 hours later, numbed with the cold, she asked to be taken out. She couldn’t go on. Her mother and her trainer alongside in the boat told her that they were near land.
They urged her not to quit. But when she looked at the California coast, all she could see was dense fog.
She had been pulled out only a half mile from the California coast. Florence had 20.5 miles behind her with 0.5 left to go…a half a mile…that is all.
Later she was to reflect that she had been defeated not by fatigue or even the cold – the fog had defeated her because it obscured her goal.
It was the only time Florence Chadwick ever quit.
Two months later she swam the same channel, and again fog obscured her view, but this time she swam with her faith intact – somewhere behind that fog was land.
Not only was she the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, but she beat the men’s record by some two hours! They said it was a miracle for a woman to accomplish such a feat.
Sometimes the experience of others can inspire us to face and overcome obstacles. Mrs. Groendyke shared this story with you to serve as an analogy and parallel for your own life. Dig deep to uncover the ultimate life lesson that can apply to you as you continue to the last day of school.
Who is Florence Chadwick representing?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What about the trainer?______________________________________________________________________
What about the Mother?______________________________________________________________________
What is the swim to the coast of California from Catalina Island representing?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What does the fog represent?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What is your personal fog (what is keeping you from grinding it out to the finish)?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
You have 8 months of school and training behind you with only a measly 27 days left to prepare for 5th grade. You have come so far and worked so hard…would you quit now?
There is not one person here that would like to see you quit now…not your parents, not your teacher, not your friends…