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A Steady Walk (Free in the Story)

May 2, 2012 by Jeff Brunson

The trust you seek in any situation begins within you.

I talk, and write (profusely it seems), about presence and being present−the unfolding of things in and around us. And yet, volumes could be filled with what I still have to learn about being with in the unfoldment. Lately I have realized the importance of consciousness with each step; a detachment from my need to understand (my own private version of control). Step-by-step, I am holding the joy found in the blessings of experience (one-by-one).

In a reflective time, I have learned what it means to really contemplate and participate in the unfolding flow: “Take a long, loving look at what really is.” I learned this definition of contemplation from my study of the works of Richard Rohr, who also says that, “Contemplation is a way to hear with the spirit and not with the head.”

For me, I suppose it is simply part of my spiritual wiring, but I must learn continually on my journey and share this with you through story and storytelling. For those close, I issue my apology; for both the constant of this and that it is most likely to continue. But you see, this is my love. My desire (fueled by love) is my energy for spiritual service. My intent (guided by love) is confident freedom in spiritual service. My unfolding confidence swirls in the commerce of storytelling.

Yes, building a story with you is my love applied.

Free in the Story

Inside you begin as the seed of trust sprouts,
determined in the spirit with each step.

The gift of intuitive instinct guides focus,
each path individually unique.

You move along a purposeful path,
blessings of experience strengthen resolve.

Resonate voice scripts the scenes of life,
a courageous yes to what is true.

Enlightened in trust you have learned,
love flows through a serving purpose.

−J. Brunson

Storytelling
21st Century Skill: Storytelling
Book 1, Chapter Six: Love

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A Purposeful Teacher (Expertise)

April 18, 2012 by Jeff Brunson

No longer am I satisfied by (and was never fulfilled by) divisional thinking with everything. What a distraction from the Story!

It was both challenging and freeing to realize I was not my opinions. Simply put, opinions come only from what is external to you: they are not representative of who you really are. If you are not judicious, these externally generated assumptions may saturate to a degree that feels internally authentic. They never are.

A common characteristic of any teacher I most remember is how he connected with us in the learning moment. The teachers that have long since been deleted from memory are those who, sometimes angrily, spewed forth opinion (a.k.a. judgment).

The teacher of purpose seems to embrace the authenticity of the student and how each individual connects for optimal learning in the moment. This is hard work. To the purposeful teacher, she is simply doing what she does best. I have yet to meet a leader who, when clear on purpose, does not also become a teacher within the realm of passionate expertise. These leaders teach from principle and lovingly expect application of what is learned.

For these leader/teachers, the message of impact is when the students become natural teachers within their own passionate expertise. Effective leadership is confidently doing the work of your spirit, eliminating distracting, divisional thinking, and modeling purposeful focus in the story.

Your Magic

It began in unaware impact;
the way you connected me to reality
and waved a wand of alignment.

In the light of personal vision,
each is a special expert.
Rebranded for balance and purpose,
you gave individual validation and holistic profit.

Now aware and authentically conscious;
in the macro, you lead me;
in the micro, you hear me.

I now know my own impact;
I gift others with powerful reality
and share magical joy in alignment.

−J. Brunson

Spiritual Service
21st Century Skill: Collective Facilitation
Book 1, Chapter Six: Focus

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Service with a Purpose (Reflecting on Presence)

April 11, 2012 by Ricardo

A lot of people talk about being present these days.  Eckhart Tolle’s “A New Earth” first made that concept real for me a number of years ago.  I remember thinking to myself that this idea of blocking out external distractions and focusing on the energy of the moment was very similar to what an artist, in the traditional sense, does while in the currents of creative energy.  I cannot begin to count the number of times I have lost myself in the flow of illustrating or painting.  Heck, even mowing the lawn or building a closet organization system can easily sublime from mechanical activity into flow. This is the essence of presence.  We just don’t recognize it as such because it generally does not include other people.  These days, the discussions into which we introduce the concept of presence revolving around being present for others so that we may serve them authentically and in the way they need us most.

Here is the trap in these discussions: much emphasis is placed on presence directed towards others but not enough is placed on presence directed towards the self.  We focus on Step 2 but leave out Step 1.  Let me explain what I mean.

A very wise friend (hint: it was Jeff) once told me, “You cannot do for others what you are not prepared to do for yourself.”  Great observation.  It’s essentially a re-write of the old adage that you cannot love others until you love yourself.  In order to be present for others, we must learn to be present for ourselves.  We must learn introspection before we can be prepared to authentically engage in “extrospection” for others.  Not a real word, by the way, but you get my drift: look inside before you look outside.  Jeff’s reminder to me and to others is to take the time to take care of yourself so that you will be refreshed and in the proper state of mind to even begin to think of taking care of others.  This works on many levels and in just about every circumstance.

Relax.  Breathe.  Listen to yourself.  Allow the quiet and the focus on yourself to nurture your own growth and development.  Being present for others is essential to service and to leadership.  It is much easier to do when you have created the quiet, sacred space inside of yourself from which your purpose can flow…

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Service with a Purpose (In Your Presence)

March 26, 2012 by Jeff Brunson

A lack of purpose, of meaning−is the precise suffering of suffering! … The soul can live without success, but it cannot live without meaning.
−Richard Rohr

If you desire to know purpose, then discover the gift you offer in the world. Your gift−entrusted into your being in the beginning−is a beacon directing you to purpose and meaning. If there is any rhythm, or order, to one’s purpose, it is in the freedom of authentic presence.

“Being with” is a phrase that has become a part of my consciousness−making me more attentive to flow and true freedom. To simply be with is by nature the purest act of connection from one to another. It is about being present in the presence of another.

In being present, I move not because of expectation, but in expectation. There is something to be gained in your presence; in the flow of your unique story. I delight in the expectation of what I may learn about you. In the enchantment of connection, we are joined together−affixed by individuality.

Honor your transition from the old confidence to the new confidence. It is a transition of intention and not many enter it. The transformative journey requires great courage and spiritual stamina. It is in this space between the old and the new where you bring to light authentic success−your gift and the essence of you.

Liberation (Delight in Your Presence)

To be special in this world,
to be uniquely who you are,
is rhythmic freedom and flow.

In the safety of friendship,
in the simplest form of love,
I like all of you I know.

In your presence I delight,
an engaging sequence of creation.
With distinctiveness in full right,
we share authentic liberation.

−J. Brunson

Being With
21st Century Skill: Giving
Book 1, Chapter Five: Presence

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A Foundation of Service (A Confident Connector)

March 15, 2012 by Jeff Brunson

I have prayed for years for one good humiliation a day, and then I must watch my reaction to it. In my position, I have no other way of spotting both my well-denied shadow self and my idealized persona. −Richard Rohr, Falling Upward 

Who are you? Really?

Trust me, the real you is the one needed in your network−the true space of service.

Connection is indeed an art. Inspirational art does not exist when we are hidden behind a false-self. The humiliation (the falling) keeps our art honest, and true. Steven Pressfield says, “Do your art.” Seth Godin says, “Ship it.” While I completely agree with them, I add a warning: Do not do either without the connection to who you truly are−the real self; intended from the beginning.

Before being a connector, there is the obvious (I hope) work of connection with who you really are.

I have been in a pool of deep consciousness for the past two weeks as I write this. What a wonderful submersion. This I wish for you. And whether they consciously realize it or not, those in your network deeply desire you to be connected with your idealized persona before attempting to connect with them at a serving level.

Free to Serve

A question haunts;
Have I properly served in what you need?
Accountability beckons;
There is power no doubt in a voice freed.

No excuse are distractions of a day,
a voice silenced in the fray.

Refocused and ready I now stand,
authentically offering the serving hand.

An assertion made;
Important you are and free I remain.
A promise kept;
To serve you and the collective terrain.

−J. Brunson

Do Your Art
21st Century Skill: Networking
Book 1, Chapter Four: Voice

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Others and Your Purpose (A Personal Reflection on Pictures)

March 8, 2012 by Ricardo

In 1563, Paolo Veronese painted The Wedding Feast at Cana. It depicts a famous Bible story in which Jesus performed a miracle at a wedding feast by turning water into wine. The painting is absolutely massive in scale. It measures 267 x 391 inches and is a brilliantly-painted late-Renaissance masterpiece. It is on display in the legendary Louvres in Paris.

The painting fills an entire wall. No other works sit beside it. The two walls flanking it contain paintings, but they might as well have been the watercolor finger paintings of a 5-year-old child. They pale in comparison to Veronese’s breathtaking picture. His painting is filled with color and light, ornate architecture and intricately detailed people. 130 figures grace the scene. The painting struck me dumb with awe. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have stood in front of it, transfixed, and been able to study it in person late one August afternoon. It is one of the most incredible works of art I have ever seen.

And you probably have never heard of it. To be honest, I’d never heard of it either until I stumbled upon it while on a pilgrimage of sorts.

You see, there is another notable painting in that particular room of the Louvre. It is displayed, all alone, on the wall opposite The Wedding Feast at Cana. It hangs in the middle of a wall and is encased in glass. A velvet rope and several museum employees ensure that the thick and perpetual crowd swirling in front of it maintain a respectable distance. The wall the painting hangs on is massive, making the entire display look almost ridiculous. However, it is the reason so many people pay the entrance fee to visit the Louvre. There are a handful of such iconic works at the Louvre, but none draw as many admirers as this portrait of a single, solitary figure. It is La Gioconda, better known as the Mona Lisa.

When, where, and how you display your picture makes all the difference in the world.

You are an artist just as surely as Leonardo da Vinci and Paolo Veronese. The story you tell throughout your life is akin to the portfolio of work that the master artists of the Renaissance left behind. Our stories are articulated in a series of pictures that we generate throughout our lives. We are at once artists building the portfolio and art historians curating a collection of inspiring and beautiful works. The gallery is yours to build. Showcase your works very carefully, very deliberately. Although, in scale, The Wedding Feast at Cana is a large envelope compared to the Mona Lisa as a stamp, there is no doubting which of the two represents a more powerful experience for visitors to the Louvre.

While Mike did not set up the perfect story, he told it in the perfect setting. Articulating your purpose and engaging others is all about displaying your art in just the right way.

Posted in Strategic Storytelling | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Others and Your Purpose (Push and Articulation)

February 28, 2012 by Jeff Brunson

It seems all they needed was a picture.

Mike is a dedicated supervisor of the town’s water division. Excellence is in his nature. For months he tried to communicate to his staff how to leave a resident’s yard in a near perfect state after a required excavation. One day he turned his truck onto the street where his crew had completed a job and were in the process of gathering up things around the site. Mike brought his vehicle to a screeching halt, jumped out, and shouted, “Don’t move!” He instructed each person to look around the site one aspect at a time while he carefully painted the picture of a perfect job.

Mike helped his people clearly see what was good and excellent. In the picture he gave them was the gift of why. Mike’s previous messaging did not connect because it missed the why component.

The sequence of why, what, and how is important as you lead others from clarity to engagement to connection. Why is the beginning and it is not a one-time proposition. It is a perpetual dialogue; a new conversation with life. After the initial push, pull them along with the energy of the story−the articulation. In doing so, you add to the gift of why by completing the sequence through what and how as the story unfolds.

Mike did not set up the perfect story. He was simply present enough to know it when he saw it−and to then tell it.

To Be Led (A Leader’s Presence)

In time of virulent insecurity, a swarm devours thought;
the hum drowns out voice.
Deaf to the distraction, you focus where you ought,
guiding me to a new choice.

Trusting what is best for one is best for all,
from failure you refuse to protect.
Your courage fortifies accountability to stand tall;
I now succeed in what I select.

Energized by learning, and driven by a need to share,
you helped me clearly see what is good indeed.
Now I offer in the whole this extension of care,
and lead others to listen inside for what they need.

−J. Brunson

The Reach of a Story
21st Century Skill: Messaging
Book 1, Chapter Three: A New Confidence

Posted in Strategic Storytelling | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments »

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