Make a new friend every day

(Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at the launch of a special initiative, ‘Nonviolence: No Higher Calling’ in San Diego, California, on March 25, 2013.)

We need to live in the space of friendliness.
Just walk into a classroom and ask the kids, ‘How many friends do you have?’
We have to educate our children to be friendly. This is the way to end aggression. Give them a commitment to make one new friend every day, and you will see how their whole attitude changes.

Non-violence needs not be cultivated. It is natural, but today we need to cultivate it because we have moved far away from the tendencies of natural living. Children think they have to be aggressive to be a hero. This concept needs to be changed.
We need to bring back dignity and pride in non-violence. I would say, when we connect with different communities that will create a sense to belongingness. Fear, anxiety and insecurity will drop away from society. Love and compassion will take the front seat. And time has come for that love and compassion, which is the real nature of all of all human beings, to shine forth. We need to move away from the beast nature that has taken over our society.

There is not a single human being devoid of compassion. It is simply hidden. It needs to be brought out.

 

Integrity > trust

 The Benefit of Integrity:  Trust

 The bottom line when it comes to integrity is that it allows others to trust you. And without trust, you have nothing. Truth is the single most important factor in personal and profession relationships. It is the glue that holds people together. And it is the key to becoming a person of influence.

Trust is an increasingly rare commodity these days. People have become increasingly suspicious and skeptical. Bill Kynes expressed the feelings of a whole generation when he wrote;

 

We thought we could trust the military but then came Vietnam;

We thought we could trust the Politicians, but then came Watergate;

We thought we could trust the engineers, but then came the Cballenger disaster;

We thought we could trust our broker, but then came Black Monday;

We thought we could trust the preachers, but then came PTL and Jimmy Swaggart.

So who can I trust?

At one time you could assume that others would trust you until you gave them a reason not to. But today with most people, you must prove your trustworthiness first. That’s what makes integrity so important if you want to become a person of influence. Trust comes from others only when you exemplify solid character.

“Becoming a Person of Influence”

John C. Maxwell  Jim Dornan

 

Character is made in the

small moments of our lives.

—  Phillips Brooks

People today are desperate for leaders, but they want to be influenced only by individuals they can trust, persons of good character. If you want to become someone who can positive influence other people, you need to develop the following qualities of integrity and live them out every day:

• Model consistency of character. Solid trust can develop only when people can trust you all the time. If they never know from moment to moment what you’re going to do, the relationship will never deepen to a confident level of trust.

• Employ honest communication. To be trustworthy, you have to be like a good musical composition; your words and music must match.
• Value transparency. People eventually find out about your flaws, even if you try to hide them. But if you’re honest with people and admit your weaknesses, they will appreciate your honesty and integrity. And they will be able to relate to you better.

• Exemplify humility. People won’t trust you if they see that you are driven by ego, jealousy, or the belief that you are better than they are.

• Demonstrate your support of others. Nothing develops or displays your character better than your desire to put others first. As our friend Zig Ziglar says, help enough other people to succeed, and you will succeed also.

• Fulfill your promises. Never promise anything you can’t deliver. And when you say you’ll do something, follow through on it. A sure way to break trust with others is to fail to fulfill your commitments.
• Embrace an attitude of service. We have been put on this earth not to be served, but to serve. Giving of yourself and your time to others shows that you care about them. Missionary physician Sir Wilfred T Grenfell held that “the service we render to others is really the rent we ray for our room on this earth.” People of integrity are givers, not takers.

• Encourage two-way participation with the people you influence. When you live a life of integrity, people listen to you and follow you. Always remember that the goal of influ­ence is not manipulation; it’s participation. Only as you include others in your life and success do you permanently succeed.

It has been said that you don’t really know people until you have observed them when they interact with a child, when the car has a flat tire, when the boss is away, and when they think no one will ever know. But people with integrity never have to worry about that. No matter where they are, who they are with or what kind of situation they find themselves in, they are consistent and live by their principles.

INTEGRITY

BE TRUE TO YOUR IDEALS, VALUES AND LIFE PURPOSE

Be accountable for your choices and actions in life.

Expect that you will not always live up to your expectations.

Be aware of your character benefits and traps.

Be willing to make mistakes, learn and correct.

DON’T blame others or your life situation for not getting what you want.

Become clear on your own values and live your life in accordance with these.  What is important to you?  Why?

BE TRUE TO YOURSELF

Honour yourself and who you are and don’t limit yourself to who you think you are.  You are inevitably far far more!

Life is a process of BECOMING.  Who/what are you willing to become?  Are you prepared to do the work? Be accountable?  Take the required action?

N.B.  Do whatever you need to do to RESOLVE YOUR PERSONAL HISTORY.  If you don’t – your history will run you!

BE YOURSELF

This means transcending the conditioned limits of society,

going out into the world,

being absolutely magnificent.