Your Song

Hello folks!

I had the opportunity to listen to Mark Hoog speak this past weekend at the Colorado Association of Libraries (CAL) conference on his leadership development series written just for children. The first book, "Your Song" is about a young boy who embarks on a journey to find his song. This, according to Mark's leadership plan is the first step: To "look within to find your gifts, talents, and self-esteem." I would change that last part say that it's important to look within to find your self worth rather than self-esteem.

Anyway, I thought I'd give a shout out to Mark for being one of the first writers in our generation to target a thriving audience in the area of leadership development. The children in our country and our world are growing up in a chaotic and less than ideal environment when it comes to cultivating a safe and healthy personal mindset. I believe that with these books and some good coaching from adults leaders, our children will be able to grasp the reality and importance of leadership with a level-headed approach that will cause many to follow amidst uncertain outcomes.

On another note, what about you? I believe these basic concepts within this book are not only applicable to children but to adults as well. Have you taken that time to look within yourself to see who you are? Do you know who you are? Do you like who you are? I'm not a huge advocate of coddling a person because they have "low self-esteem." I think it is much more productive to challenge a person within a safe environment to address that lowly-attitude. More often than not, I have found that one's low-self esteem is a form of perfectionism and unmet expectations. I say this from personal experience. I found that once this issue was confronted in myself in a safe environment, I was able to let those go and move on to a life of reality while embracing all of me.

Just before I finish, I would like to mention that I keep bringing up safe environments for a reason. When anybody has not gone through the inward journey of finding out and accepting who they are, there are usually walls, blockades, memories, etc, that have prevented them from getting there thus far. I have seen people break down irrationally in some very public places because they came to the realization of what they missed...at a bad time. A safe environment/place allows the person to intentionally tackle and weed through their junk before it takes over them, if it hasn't already.

Well, that's all for today! Enjoy the rest of your day :)