Why Be Outstanding?

Dear Why Team member, 
I hope this weeks message finds you well and will be of encouragement to you. ​

Audio: 🗣

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The other day, an article’s title caught my eye: Be The "Go To" Person At Work, Even At Home”. The author was encouraging the reader to adapt to change and be indispensable and outstanding in any situation.
Be Outstanding?!
Why? 
To reap the possibilities, for you and those you seek to serve. And to be outstanding, we need only "stand out" from the crowd. One can accomplish this at home, by being an outstanding serving spouse, parent and/or at a larger scale by serving the community. 
Notice the operative word: Serving. 
Being outstanding with selfish desires can soon turn followers away. However, those who are outstanding with loving positive intentions, leading by example in their service to others, can find themselves increasing their positive impact across time, rather than losing it. And it all starts with thought - with the will to serve others from our overflowing cups.

Leaders think differently, as they must, otherwise, how could they successfully lead the herd?
By thinking like the herd? 
No, by thinking differently from the herd, standing out from the herd; often empowered to do so by having experienced the pain of living herd-like in their thought and behavior. 

My Mother once told me that only dead fish go with the flow :-)

Outstanding individuals and outstanding organizations achieve their results, first and foremost, via outstanding “serving” thought. 
Think differently and you will behave differently.  

The article mentioned above portrays leaders as the ones who “play the long game, one moment at a time, by doing the right things for the right reasons, every step of the way”. 
How can we make more of the right steps? Consider Louis Pasteur’s insight, “Fortune favors the prepared mind".  In my experience, nothing has prepared my mind more for fortune than asking "Why" questions.  And I am not just talking about financial fortune, but also fortune of insight, fortune of understanding.
In a "What" and "How" world, we need only ask "Why?" to be outstanding.  Asking "Why" of ourselves first, calls us to examine our motivations, to discover if we are coming from a place of fear or a place of love. In our world today, it appears that we need only come from a spirit of love to be outstanding. 

Fear seems to now be our norm; thoughts of being less-than, thoughts of not being enough, can drive our behaviors to be more self-focused rather than other-focused.  When we know that we are enough and have received more than enough - we then are more empowered to give of ourselves more freely, more abundantly - we can more generously give of our time, our money and our lives to causes beyond us.  

Consider, "My heart beats be-cause."
 
For what cause is your heart beating? 
Why? 
Whom may your life, and capacity to love, serve this week? 
Recognize that most of our behaviors are born from our habits of thought.  Observe more your behaviors and especially those that really lift your spirit, and then ask "Why?" 
No doubt by asking the question, doing the personal inquiry into what really causes a positive beat to your heart, will empower you to stand out even more from the crowd to make a greater difference in the world. 

Be Outstanding!  
Ask the question "Why?" 

and become even more of what the world needs now.

Make it a great week,

Steve Luckenbach
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