You’d never guess I have
anything to do with maturity.
I just don’t look the part
and that suits me fine.
I’m all about surprise. Oh,

don’t get me wrong, I have
nothing to do with anybody’s
resolve or refusal to grow; I’m just
one of the underrated influences
sent by God, or as some

more fashionable
than I would say, fate.
But I’m the one who does
the job, knows who sent me,
and I’m no accident.

My nickname is Needle, and
my point makes the tip
of Sir Galahad’s lance
seem as blunt as a boxer’s glove.
The space I pierce sometimes

would defy detection
by an electron microscope,
yet I’m often present to
prick one’s balloon the size
of a dirigible. You know from

experience I have a sense
of humor and can be as ironic
as a rainbow . . . my message
as clear as a firehouse bell:
Stop. See what you’re missing.

Look at you
with all your seams
holding you in to
perceived perfection,
when you’re really a
fat lady in a corset
who’s been rolled.

Ok, that may be harsh—
speaking about your physique
that way—but the truth is
you’re caught up endlessly
in a doofuss game where,
more than anything,
you’re hurled like the
regurgitation of a drunk—
one way or another—
a masochist to be sure.

You let yourself be rubbed raw
by a monomaniac at target practice
who’s so fickle he couldn’t care less
when you die of only a dirty face.
He just demands your subservience
of convenience till you’re spent.

Batters want no more than to—
you guessed it—batter you,
and when they’re lucky enough,
from their view,
to do it well,
you become an egg-shaped victim
that ends up in the greasy clutches
of a frivolous collector
and braggart who couldn’t
care less what you’re made of.

Think again about all those times
that you’ve been drilled into the dirt,
stained by the grass,
bunted into ignominy,
tossed around between innings
in brainless ceremony,
and when you show up
at a play of the game
the least bit early or late,
you forfeit acclamation
among the attendees and
divide them between
manic bedlam or abject
depression and expletives.

I can’t help but remind you,
if you’d given more thought
to your shape and exhibited
more patience, you could
have grown into a cannonball
and blown a hole in something.
Even if you’d been only a runt
you could have been a B-B and
blinded somebody in one eye
or at the least hurt a puppy.

Yeah, I know, there’s always
the bean ball, but where’s that
gonna get you with 40,000
people watching?

Not to mention TV.




Copyright© 2009 by Allan J. Cox All rights reserved

She sits in the far corner of the room,
looking across . . .
and her eyes stick to
the edge of the door,
half-open.

She buckles from its hard right angle,
its knife of a crease
reaching from its top
all the way to the floor—
as if it were pressing against
the full length of her body.

This leaves her with a
bloodless, bruiseless wound,
the signs of which
are only inside.

Isn’t this light sentence odd since this door
is heavy as lead, ominous dark chestnut,
thrusts out a door knob that weakens her hand
and closes with the finality of a tight latch—
the kind that clicKs.

Light, you say?
Her wound, like ours,
is mostly of transition—gradual,
but not light.
Oh, how we could bore each other
with what we didn't but should,
have but shouldn't.

Could you believe this leaden door’s edge is her gate to joy?

Close a door.

Open a door.



Copyright© 2009 by Allan J. Cox. All rights reserved

Francis Anyaegbu- “I believe Generations for peace has given me the tools to help address some of the problems that exist in Nigeria especially in the areas of peace building and conflict resolution”.

(Lagos, Nigeria, 12th March 2009) International Youth Leader, Francis Anyaegbu has returned from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, after being certified as a Generations For Peace Pioneer following an intensive ten-day training camps, delivered by leading international peace education experts and sport coaches.

As a Generations for peace Pioneer, Francis learned specific skills aimed at teaching how to run dedicated sports programmes to promote peace and understanding in his country.

Launched by HRH Prince Fiesal Ben Al Hussein, president of the Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC), Generations for peace uses sport as a tool for uniting children and young people in communities which have been divided by conflict.

Generations for Peace trains leaders how to use sport to unite and inspire the young by building dialogue, understanding, tolerance and respect for others whatever their differences.

Speaking as he arrived back home in Nigeria, Francis said: ‘I learned a tremendous amount during the camp from a wide range of experts and I believe that Generations For Peace has given me the tools to teach more trainers and help address some of the problems that exist in Nigeria. I will now be able to provide specific sports training to youth leaders, teachers and coaches in states such as Lagos and Abia where young people are desperate to learn about the science of sport. I will then launch a summer peace camp, for young people from violence prone communities in these states to promote understanding through competition’

‘It was great to meet so many people from a diverse range of cultures and backgrounds and share our experiences. It underlined how the conflicts we have all encountered follow similar themes and how important it is to understand and respect a wide range of opinions and outlooks.’

HRH Prince Feisal was delighted with Francis’s impact at the camp and said: ‘I believe Francis Anyaegbu will prove to be a fitting advocate for Generations For Peace and help us create a legacy of peace through sports across the world. The Generations For Peace Camps programme continues to grow and I am confident we can have a lasting and significant impact on promoting peace throughout the world’s trouble sports.’

While at the training camp, Francis was coached in athletic disciplines and learned skills aimed at promoting teamwork and sporting excellence which can be passed on to new trainers and young people back in Nigeria.

He also undertook workshops focusing on promoting peace which involve cutting through social barriers such as religion and gender, and learned about the challenges faced when implementing peace programmes. Leading academics, world sports officials and coaches, former professional players including NBA Great –Rolando Blackman and Olympic Gold medalist Jenny Azzi and other trainers ran sessions.

Francis will now be responsible for cascading his newly-learned skills to individuals and groups in Lagos and South Eastern Nigeria extending the impact of the programme to a wider audience in the region.

In addition to host country- U.A.E, they were joined by leaders of youth from Nigeria, Iraq, Palestine, Oman, Lebanon, India, Yemen, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Somalia. In total, 60 delegates enjoyed interactive classroom sessions combined with practical sports covering rules and skills in four sports: Football, Basketball, Softball and Volleyball. The curriculum stressed peace building; focusing on the need to build tolerance, and understanding so that youth from communities in conflict can find common grounds rather than be divided by differences.

Generations For Peace has succeeded in bringing together like-minded individuals and partners who believe that commonalities outweigh differences and that planting the seeds of peace is a shared responsibility for all. The cascade programme has resulted in growing numbers of Generations For Peace projects being instigated in the countries to where graduates have returned to after their training. The Camps also teach participants how to train other trainers, who can then plan and implement sporting programmes with children through a series of workshops, interactive seminars, presentations, debates, role-play and sporting sessions. Topics cover leadership, teamwork, building dialogue, tolerance and respect, anger management, conflict transformation, peace education, working with children & youth, self confidence, sport, religion and politics. Peace Pioneers are expected to train at least 20 trainers every year; work with at least 100-200 children annually; be an advocate for peace and to promote Generations For Peace; and to support other Peace Pioneers.

-Ends-

I, Collaboration, go to the field.
When I work with those who sweat,
there’s no spoiling our efforts.
When people shed their false selves,
their fears of being known in a
way not known before
and become spendthrifts with their gifts—
gifts they doubted, but which, because
of me, they now claim boldly,

the clearing appears.
Imagine your task—outreach,
school, business, friends, governing,
health, recreation, communication—
and that you have brought together
a small core of people who want
to do right and bring their

talents to it.
I insist, if I am to be present,
and mark my words—if I’m not, you’ll likely fail—
that we have this understanding:
We not only don’t expect to agree
on any issue that matters, but we won’t

permit that.
Think about it—what’s more absurd than
we gather bright, caring, well-trained,
done-their-homework contributors and
expect them to be of one mind on

issues of significance?
I’m not a concept. I’m to be grasped, in your face,
a little god, even, and just like the Big God
of the Old Testament, I’m jealous.
My devil and yours, too, should we choose
to go to the field together,
is, hear me, do hear me—

consensus.
Oh, come on, I know consensus is a given
in all discussions these days,
but I’m telling you, it’s poison,
lacks courage and insufficient spadework.
Some decisions make themselves because we
can give them time, let them evolve.
Others are made by people who see things

because I’m there.
Lowest common denominator maneuvering
and group-think—real issues getting passed over,
and biting us in the ass later. That’s what

consensus is.
So let me say it straight,
now that you’re moving toward me:
Ripening won’t come without true voice—
or as one sandpapery toiler puts it—
without fierce conversations.
Free-handed, we sow the seed of

the fertile field.
When I’m present, there’s no dumb idea.
But are you ready for the paradox?
Our trust in each other, complete,
so that when your idea is dumb, and a toiler
has no hesitation saying so, you’re not offended,
nor is she next day when she tries to flap

her broken wing.
Here’s the secret: Pouring out your heart—
and anyone doing the same—may not win
the choice at the table’s head this time,
but make no mistake, your pence pushes
clarity forward, a work worthy

of the gods.
Do you want my mantra?
I give it freely, knowing its worth.

Collaboration without consensus
is the soul of organizational truth.

Copyright © 2009 by Allan J. Cox. All rights reserved

I am your root.
I have no name.
I have many names.
I am what makes you real—like no other person.
Here in the dark, I can fool and flood you with imagination.
Who are you meant to be?
What journey awaits you?
Stay with me
and you’ll take within your grasp
three sustaining stones,
satisfied they’re your truth
and please you inside . . .

I am: _________
Life is: _______________
My life purpose is: _____________________

Look, there, at Sam.
He walked with me in the dark,
crafted his plain understanding:

I am a participant
Life is a full arena
My life purpose is to play well with others

Sam is a global treasure,
at home in his work,
gift to his people,
guide to his customers,
friend to cultures.

Long lost,
young years a shambles,
early work life blighted by hurts and betrayals,
two marriages withered and dissolved.

I waited.
The drought nearly killed us
both.
He came to himself—meaning
he came to me,
and said, in time,
“Life lived real
is life lived in surrender.”

I’m not in your life

to be a herald of career,
hobbies,
image,
reputation,
whatever,
whoever,
wherever—but,

the resonance
of the way you live
each day.

“What is rooted is easy to nourish,”
says the Tao Te Ching.

Be attentive.
What is your life’s love?
What does it want from you?
Surrender to it.
Nourish yourself in me.




Copyright © 2009 by Allan J. Cox. All rights reserved.

This monthly blog, now a bit over a year old, seldom generates responses. I didn’t plan it this way, and I don’t know in any depth why this so, but for now that’s the way it is. However, you might want to scroll down to last month’s blog, “Future Shock Unbridled,” This one did prompt responses, though not through the format provided on the blog itself. They came from people I know personally, who emailed me directly, and from friends on Facebook. Many felt moved by the way our future is crashing in on us, but others wanted to know what I meant by “eternal truths,” with which I concluded the blog. They seemed to be saying, “Give us examples!”

My point was that the unbridled future is not capable of scuttling our eternal truths, and they have given us, up till now, largely unarticulated strength. Here’s a run-through of some eternal truths that occur to me rather quickly. There are many more, and you may have some suggestions of your own. If you’d like to share them, the blog format itself would bring them to the attention of many more than if you contact me directly. Either way, I’d love to hear your thoughts. They can become your articulated strength and your wand over troubled waters for the years ahead. 2009 is the first one. Happy New Year!

1. Ultimately, seeking power fails.

2. Let all illusions go.

3. Yielding is the way of wisdom.

4. The right thing is the appropriate thing.

5. Everyone needs to go through dark nights of the soul.

6. Impatient, you can ruin what almost arrived.

7. Each is one with the universe.

8. If we don’t forgive our enemies, we become them.

9. The future causes the present.

10. There are times to trust people who aren’t trustworthy.

11. Learn from the wise and step out on your own.

12. Life lived too intensely is life lived poorly.

13. “Let it happen” wears better than “Make it happen.”

14. Take your stand, then be quiet.

15. A flipped penny can shape alternatives as much as any larger coin.

16. If you want to know what a person (including yourself) is committed to, don’t listen to their words; watch their feet.

17. Geography is destiny.

18. If God, the All, has always existed and always will, then we are participating in eternity right now.

19. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, but attentive meandering often brings superior results.

20. Collaboration without consensus is the soul of superior performance.

21. It’s up and down on the Merry-Go-Round.

22. Small decisions confirm a larger agenda.

23. Nothing has to be possible. Anything can be possible.

24. Truly great ideas don’t come of age without debate.

25. Good intentions are a substitute for performance.

26. Permanence is proof of adaptability, so far.

27. One of life’s most serviceable questions is “Says who?”

28. A value is what we live by, not merely profess, whether it’s positive or negative.


All the best,

Allan

In the past week, a classmate of mine from high school sent me this video:

DidYouKnow300.wmv

I don’t know how much this has made the rounds; you may have seen it. Also, this kind of thing—shock value info—is something we’ve grown used to, but the medium itself has taught us that the very last one we saw, that’s much like this one, is now out of date!

This one concludes with the question,

What Does It All Mean?

When I forwarded this video to a group of clients and personal friends, a savvy client got back quickly to me with his answer: We need to staff out IT departments with 13 year old Indians. This reminded me immediately of a meeting in which I sat about 15 years ago and listened to the CEO of the 4-H Foundation state that their organization had just completed and posted their new website and the project was headed by a 13-year-old member. How about it? That CEO, about age 55, was way ahead of his time!

I’m immodestly going to offer my responses to this question, too, but before you read them, if you haven’t seen the video, please watch it now. It comes fast and powerfully.

***************************************

OK, here’s a smattering of my reactions to what I saw. . .

--All my life, I’ve heard (and believe), as do you, we use only a small fraction of our mental capacity. We’re up to handling “information overload” in this exponential era a whole lot more than we realize.

--You’d better be hard-nosed about what you’re going to attempt to process because much of this information is duplication—new words and presentations for what you already know. Not everybody is creative. Some are just saying the same thing as the next guy. And don’t forget: A lot of people are answering questions nobody’s asking. Last of all, you’ll want, habitually and simply, to ask, Says who?

--You’re being exposed to more, which means you’re also forgetting more. Since half-way through college, what you learned in the first half is obsolete, forgetting can’t be all bad.

--Bermuda is #1 in broadband internet penetration? How in the hell did that happen? We better find out fast. Biggest isn’t always best.

--We have 5X more words in our language than in Shakespeare’s day? For sure, less is more. That man’s works were relatively short, too. He said it all in small space.

--Facebook reached a market penetration of 50 million people in two years? Be a part of that—at least until a better deal comes along.

--India has more honors kids than we have kids. Well, no wonder . . . look at that birth rate. Gotta be the bell-shaped curve!

--If you’re one in a million here, you’d be one of 1300 such in China. I’d rather be that here, and so would many of them. Good supply of brilliance is coming out of China, and they speak English, too. Welcome aboard. And India, well, maybe them as well. I know a fabulous Indian physician whose five-syllable last name is lyrical. With him involved, health-care for his patients is positively euphonious. I guess we better get it right on immigration.

--Read the New York Times front-to-back for a week and you’ll be exposed to more information that an 18th Century citizen was in a lifetime. I don’t know about you, but I just don’t learn that fast. And what about so many of those Times half-brained editorials? Talk about misguidance . . . You have to counter that with those from The Wall Street Journal. You have to move adroitly between left of Stuart Smalley and right of Attila the Hun. If you really want to sample good journalism, look up Andrew Sullivan’s treatment of Obama in the December, 2007 issue of the Atlantic Monthly. That piece was prescient.

--By 2049 a $1,000 computer will have a greater mental capacity than all humankind together. Don’t worry; by then, many of us will have had close encounters of the third kind and be models to the rest of the world and perhaps a few other planets to boot.

--Job changes, career mobility and variation of organizational human makeup taking place at breakneck speed? Relax. Somebody’s minding the store, and statistically speaking, she didn’t arrive yesterday. No kidding. That’s a number you can (pardon the expression) bank on.

--All those text messages? Do you have something better to do while waiting for that slow elevator? You know, reverse cultural lag? The people are out in front of the technology. Hell, nothin’s perfect.

--Hey, what really gets my attention is preparing for jobs that don’t exist and dealing with problems we don’t even know are going to be problems. Bring it on, man. Now, that’s exciting!

--Finally, the people who really know how to live into the future live mostly by the eternal truths. Oh yeah, they’re still with us and not going anywhere.

All the best,

Allan

When I first meet with a CEO to begin work with her or him as coach, I make it clear that the emphasis of my work is on behavior. Let’s understand that I’m fully cognizant this is a very talented and accomplished person who’s my new partner in a wonderful undertaking. To be in this position as CEO they already are in the 99th percentile of the executive population.

But I still see them as people whose final topping out on claiming their singularity, in other words, their true value proposition to the world, is work they have yet to do. I look at a CEO and say, “You’re a 7/8th man and we’re here for you to claim that final 8th. I doubt even you know what a phenomenal impact it will have on this company when you fully own yourself and go that final distance.”

If this idea resonates for you and you wonder how you might put the pieces together in the human puzzle and claim your final 8th, whether you have your eye on the top job in a corporation or are curriculum director of a large urban high school, I have some ideas to share with you.

A couple of weeks ago I addressed the University of Chicago Booth School of Business Entrepreneurial Roundtable and covered this topic. A link to the video of that presentation appears below. Of course, I’d be delighted if you find it useful.

http://yourinnerceo.blogspot.com

All the best,

Allan

When I first meet with a CEO to begin work with her or him as coach, I make it clear that the emphasis of my work is on behavior. Let’s understand that I’m fully cognizant this is a very talented and accomplished person who’s my new partner in a wonderful undertaking. To be in this position as CEO they already are in the 99th percentile of the executive population.

But I still see them as people whose final topping out on claiming their singularity, in other words, their true value proposition to the world, is work they have yet to do. I look at a CEO and say, “You’re a 7/8th man and we’re here for you to claim that final 8th. I doubt even you know what a phenomenal impact it will have on this company when you fully own yourself and go that final distance.”

If this idea resonates for you and you wonder how you might put the pieces together in the human puzzle and claim your final 8th, whether you have your eye on the top job in a corporation or are curriculum director of a large urban high school, I have some ideas to share with you.

A couple of weeks ago I addressed the University of Chicago Booth School of Business Entrepreneurial Roundtable and covered this topic. A video of that presentation appears above. Of course, I’d be delighted if you find it useful.

Allan

In the early 70s I read an intriguing book, The Natural Depth in Man, by distinguished psychologist Wilson Van Dusen (1923-2005). In one of its chapters Van Dusen strongly espouses the benefits of meditation with these words: “Those who have spent even twenty minutes a day meditating over a period of months are visibly different. They seem calmer, integrated, all together. It is as though they collected themselves and they remain collected.”

The whole book was a powerful one for me, but especially this particular observation, though it did not have the immediate effect on me that I became a meditator. Yet from memory alone, when I decided to write this blog, I went to my office and pulled out the disintegrating paperback for the exact wording I’ve just shared with you. It’s never been far away from my thoughts..

I don’t know if I’m a true mediator today, but for many years now, I have each morning entered my day within a contemplative framework. I read a passage from the Tao Te Ching, sometimes a Psalm, sometimes a few lines from one of a wide range of favorite poets, and always a reading from a volume I’m about to describe for you that’s dear to my heart. Does this make me a better person? I can’t answer that but can tell you I wouldn’t dream of starting my days any other way.

The little book I speak of is All the Days of My Life . . . a yearbook of found sentences for the human journey. It’s a spiral bound book of a sentence or two for each day of the year, following the seasons and months. It’s published by the Iona Center in Healdsburg, California, a not-for-profit formed by the husband-wife team of Marvin and Nancy Hiles, who in turn are the authors-editors of this and other offerings. You can buy it from Iona for $15.00 book, shipping $2.36, tax for CA residents $1.09.

Until now, as with the Tao Te Ching, when I complete the book, I simply start over because its messages are always worth re-visiting, and have new meanings for me each time I encounter them.

But I have additional good news if my thoughts in this blog have any appeal for you. Marv and Nancy have just completed a new volume that will be available for shipping as of September 1. This one is a little more ambitious apparently and is titled An Almanac for the Soul. It’s a 300 page, spiral bound volume that contains essays, breath prayers, author bios, illustrations and photos, and an excerpt for each day of the year from a wide variety of sources—literature, poetry, journals, and so on, offering life’s vitality from the perspective of contemplation.

An Almanac for the Soul is available only from Iona Center for $25.95. For one copy please add $4.80 for shipping via USPS Priority Mail (1-3 day delivery) or $2.58 for Media Mail (5-9 days delivery). Tax for CA residents is $1.88. Please contact Iona for special orders and international shipping. I’ve already ordered my copy and look forward to it as the companion and supplement for All the Days of My Life.

If you have any questions and need more information, just contact Marv and Nancy directly. They’re fabulous people and would take delight in hearing from you..

Marv and Nancy Hiles
Iona Center
PO Box 1528
Healdsburg CA 95448
(707) 431-7426
ionacenter@comcast.net nancyhiles@comcast.net marvsam@comcast.net

New member Helge Keitel got me to thinking with his response today to “Passage of the Week 3” on our Your Inner CEO Community forum:

http://yourinnerceo.ning.com

He wrote, “There is just a narrow trail between "The valley of death" and "business as usual and/or success." It's important to walk among skeletons, to understand the size of the corporate graveyards. We like to speak about success, but need to know and understand the pain of how to survive in "the troubled waters."

I don’t mean to be morbid here, but it does seem that we often have to be forced to face not just our imperfections, but those attitudes, traits and behaviors in ourselves that virtually guarantee failure if we don’t—and then make necessary changes. When I coach CEOs, most who fall into the category of self-confident, sooner, rather than later, I look them in the eye and ask them to tell me their darkest-of-night fear. It’s not some threatening business situation I’m looking for, which all CEOs face rather routinely, but something that grips them in such a way that impairs or prevents their functioning up to full capacity.

The development of CEOs—and the growth of their companies—is most assured when they face the fears that wake them up in the middle of the night.

This word is not just for CEOs. For you, simply trying to do your best in your work, getting to the backside of such fears can bring great rewards. What may await you is an incredibly useful understanding of the hidden issues that are blocks to success for both you and your organization. If you look deeply enough you’re likely to find that it’s more than your tasks that haunt you. Boldly enquire if you’re troubled by a nagging suspicion that there’s a pattern to these blocks, and that you yourself may have a hand in erecting them. By probing carefully you can find and give a name to that pattern. With courage you can be rid of the blocks and reclaim unique strengths you’ve neglected that define your true singularity.

The next time you find yourself awake in the middle of the night, don’t just keep tossing and turning. Get up. Go to your favorite chair, turn on the light and sit. Then . . . Look. Look. Look. Look. This is your soul speaking truth to you. Don’t go back to bed until you find something that’s right under your nose.

Joseph Campbell called this the dark night of the soul.

But you and I have oodles to learn from him. Why? Because here in the Your Inner CEO Community, where as a group engaged in the study of the book of the same name, your first learning task is to articulate in 10 words or less—in non-business language—your crystal clear value proposition to the world. Taking our cue from brilliant psychiatrist Alfred Adler, we call this our “Style-of-Life.” SOL for short. This is a difficult task, and we enter into it experimentally and flexibly, actually in a spirit of play, because we’re not going to get it right, right away. But get it right eventually we will if we are to discover, articulate and bring our singular gleaming essence to daily living. This is value not limited to work, but applicable across our whole existence: work, love and community.

I’m confident Tiger Woods has not sat down and followed our guidelines to construct a formal SOL, but he is a meditative sort and clearly in a groove and very much at home with himself in the world. When you realize that not one-stroke difference occurred between the two finalists in the four rounds of the recent U.S Open Golf Tournament in San Diego, and that a fifth round was necessary, and even that required a sudden death extra hole to produce him the winner, you see how Tiger makes the difficult look easy. That he does it over and over again lets you know he’s tapping into something special.

Check out this piece on Tiger by David Brooks in the New York Times this past week:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/opinion/17brooks.html

The lesson is not to “Be like Tiger” any more than it was to “Be like Mike” a few years ago. It’s to look into your mirror in the morning and think “Be like me.”

Allan