Friday, May 31, 2013
Patrick Henry: Freedom Defender
Orrin Woodward reads and researches daily to bring the greatest issues from the past to life. LIFE Leadership members and customers learn so much about leadership, history, life skills, character, work-ethic, and relationships, that it is difficult to imagine any organization covering such a wide range of skills. Orrin's article on Patrick Henry is a great example of all of this. article on
Modern Interpretation of Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry, during the Revolutionary War, was considered one of the Top 5 leaders in Colonial America. Indeed, he was several times the governor of the largest State (Virginia), the most powerful speaker in any assembly, and a man of unquestioned character and rectitude. His love of freedom made him stand at the front of the line when England threatened the liberty of the states. His most famous line, “Give me liberty of give me death,” has fanned the flames of freedom around the world.
Interestingly, something changed after America’s victory over England. First, Patrick Henry refused to go to Philadelphia to participate in the Constitutional Convention saying, “He smelled a rat.” Second, Henry quickly joined forces with George Mason, Richard Henry Lee, George Clinton, and others in resisting the new proposed government. Although Patrick Henry felt changes should be made to the Articles of Confederation, he felt a total rewrite was unnecessary and a dangerous innovation.
In consequence, the same man, who several decades before, was the brightest star at the birth of the revolution for supporting liberty against oppressive taxation and arbitrary government force, now was publicly castigated, belittled, and shoved aside, for daring to speak out on the dangers he saw in the new government for oppressive taxation and arbitrary government force. In other words, when Patrick Henry spoke of liberty against English oppression, his support was heartily supported, but when he spoke of the same dangers in the new proposed government, he was severely criticized.
Patrick Henry understood human nature as well as any of the founders. In truth, his objections were valid and America today is suffering from all of the concerns, and more, that Henry expressed in the Virginia Ratification debates. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance and Patrick Henry defended liberty even at the price of his esteemed reputation, career advancement, and lasting legacy. Truth is truth and when one is afraid to speak truth, when so much is at stake, one becomes a coward. Patrick Henry was no coward.
Unfortunately, Henry, although seeing the problem with the current proposal, did not suggest a workable alternative. In politics, one of the oldest dictums is, “You can’t beat something with nothing,” and even Henry’s leadership could not overcome this law. Nonetheless, he fought to add a Bill of Rights (thankfully for America he won here), stronger states checks on federal government to resist consolidation (centralization), and stronger checks on the taxing power because he felt the power to tax was the power to control.
Oliver DeMille and I share in LeaderShift a proposal to address each of these concerns and more. Knowing that we cannot beat something with nothing, we proposed a workable alternative to the runaway inflation, debts, and federal consolidation. For instance, placing real limits on the power to tax, forbidding government to print fiat money, and decentralizing leadership away from Washington to the state and local levels. Instead of endless complaining about what’s wrong, perhaps it’s time to start doing something that is right. This is the LeaderShift! I have attached just a portion of one speech he made at the Virginia Ratification Debates that Patrick Henry gave in defense of liberty over tyranny.
Sincerely,
Orrin Woodward: LIFE Leadership
When I asked that question, I thought the meaning of my interrogation was obvious. The fate of this question and of America may depend on this. Have they said, We, the states? Have they made a proposal of a compact between states? If they had, this would be a confederation. It is otherwise most clearly a consolidated government.
The question turns, sir, on that poor little thing the expression, We, the people, instead of the states, of America. I need not take much pains to show that the principles of this system are extremely pernicious, impolitic, and dangerous. Is this a monarchy, like England a compact between prince and people, with checks on the former to secure the liberty of the latter? Is this a confederacy, like Holland an association of a number of independent states, each of which retains its individual sovereignty? It is not a democracy, wherein the people retain all their rights securely.
Had these principles been adhered to, we should not have been brought to this alarming transition, from a confederacy to a consolidated government. We have no detail of these great considerations, which, in my opinion, ought to have abounded before we should recur to a government of this kind. Here is a resolution as radical as that which separated us from Great Britain. It is radical in this transition; our rights and privileges are endangered, and the sovereignty of the states will be relinquished: and cannot we plainly see that this is actually the case?
The rights of conscience, trial by jury, liberty of the press, all your immunities and franchises, all pretensions to human rights and privileges, are rendered insecure, if not lost, by this change, so loudly talked of by some, and inconsiderately by others. Is this tame relinquishment of rights worthy of freemen? Is it worthy of that manly fortitude that ought to characterize republicans?
It is said eight states have adopted this plan. I declare that if twelve states and a half had adopted it, I would, with manly firmness, and in spite of an erring world, reject it. You are not to inquire how your trade may be increased, nor how you are to become a great and powerful people, but how your liberties can be secured; for liberty ought to be the direct end of your government.
Having premised these things, I shall, with the aid of my judgment and information, which, I confess, are not extensive, go into the discussion of this system more minutely.
Is it necessary for your liberty that you should abandon those great rights by the adoption of this system? Is the relinquishment of the trial by jury and the liberty of the press necessary for your liberty? Will the abandonment of your most sacred rights tend to the security of your liberty? Liberty, the greatest of all earthly blessings give us that precious jewel, and you may take every thing else!
But I am fearful I have lived long enough to become an old-fashioned fellow. Perhaps an invincible attachment to the dearest rights of man may, in these refined, enlightened days, be deemed old-fashioned; if so, I am contented to be so. I say, the time has been when every pulse of my heart beat for American liberty, and which, I believe, had a counterpart in the breast of every true American; but suspicions have gone forth suspicions of my integrity publicly reported that my professions are not real. Twenty-three years ago was I supposed a traitor to my country? I was then said to be the bane of sedition, because I supported the rights of my country.
I may be thought suspicious when I say our privileges and rights are in danger. But, sir, a number of the people of this country are weak enough to think these things are too true. I am happy to find that the gentleman on the other side declares they are groundless. But, sir, suspicion is a virtue as long as its object is the preservation of the public good, and as long as it stays within proper bounds: should it fall on me, I am contented: conscious rectitude is a powerful consolation. I trust there are many who think my professions for the public good to be real. Let your suspicion look to both sides. There are many on the other side, who possibly may have been persuaded to the necessity of these measures, which I conceive to be dangerous to your liberty.
Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined.
Posted by OrrinWoodward
at 8:28 AM EDT
Updated: Friday, May 31, 2013 8:38 AM EDT
Monday, May 27, 2013
Edmund Optiz: Libertarian Pastor
Orrin Woodward, two-time NY Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, continues to read, write, and think about issues that matter. The following article on Edmund Opitiz is point in fact. LIFE Leadership has the best leaders, authors, and speakers in the leadership field bar none. Here is Orrin's article.
A man born into freedom is responsible for his life. He cannot blame his father, mother, siblings, environment, partners, or anything else besides himself if he is unhappy with the results. Yes, bad cards are dealt to good people; however, if one keeps playing the game of life, eventually he will receive new cards and develop a winning hand. Man, in other words, must build his life upon the proper principles to reflect his love of God, by serving Him and mankind. People are free to reject what I just wrote, but not free to reject the consequences of living life with improper principles.
Edmund Opitz
I am in the middle of reading a fascinating book by Edmund Opitz, the late Christian Libertarian minister, that is absolutely superb! I love books that make me think at a deeper level and all of Opitz’s books do this. He was an avid reader/thinker, servant of Christ, and lover of (economic, political, and spiritual) liberty. Over the years, I have read most of the classic Christian books like Calvin’s Institutes, Luther’s Bondage of the Will, Augustine’s Confessions, Jonathan Edward’s Freedom of the Will and many others. These books, and my personal leadership journey, led me on a three year study to determine how to explain God’s sovereignty and man responsibility. Since I knew both concepts to be true, I had to comprehend how I could explain this to my own satisfaction and others.
This study was crucial for me as I wanted to be a leader who led people to truth in all areas of life. Consequently, I knew I had plenty of homework ahead of me to get the answers to help others do the same. Mercifully, after hundreds of books read on the subject and thousands of hours of thinking, the breakthrough came. In sum, I do believe man has freedom of will, but, since man’s will is fallen, he wills against God until he is regenerated. I summarized these thoughts on man’s free will and fallen nature in a short quote, “Man is free to will what he wants, but, in his flesh, doesn’t want God.” Anywhere we see man desiring God we know the Holy Spirit has been at work regenerating the mind, heart, and will.
Everyone is free to agree or not agree with what I just wrote, I only share it to explain my three years of pondering one of life’s paradoxes as a lead in to Edmund Opitz’s thoughts on freedom. Think through his thoughts and share why you believe you are responsible to God and mankind and how you live this philosophy in your daily life?
Human beings are virtually without specific instincts. There is no servo-mechanism in men which automatically keeps the human organism or the species within the pattern laid down for human life. Men have to figure things out and, by enormous effort, learn to conform their actions to the relevant norms in the various sectors of life. This absence of instincts in man constitutes the ground for man’s radical inner freedom, the freedom of his will. . .
Men, however, vary enormously from each other at birth, and the differences widen as individuals mature – each into his specialized individuality. And each person has the gift of freedom so radical that he can deny the existence of the creative forces which produced him. This human freedom makes it not only possible but mandatory that man take a hand in the fashioning of his own life. No man creates himself, but every man makes himself, using the created portions of his being as his resources. This is what it means to say that man is a responsible being.
. . . Of all the orders of creation, only man is a responsible being, who can change; everything else, every horse, dog, lion, tiger, and shark is what it is. Only man is, in any measure, responsible for what he is. Man makes himself, and, therefore each person is morally responsible for himself.
Why did the LIFE Leadership founders start our leadership company? Because we want to teach people how to be responsible to their duties in life. Unfortunately, today, we live in a world today where it’s becoming popular to pass the buck. Reality TV shows spew gossip and finger-pointing in an attempt to deflect blame from themselves; radio shows are filled with child-like rants rather than thoughtful solutions to today’s challenges; and free market competition is scorned by Big Business, apparently only allowed on the sports field. Nonetheless, leaders have a responsibility to run against the current of decline, doing their duty by creating a LeaderShift. Whether a leader is recognized, rewarded, or even remembered, it is simply the right thing to do.
Sincerely,
Orrin Woodward
Posted by OrrinWoodward
at 2:04 PM EDT
Friday, May 24, 2013
An Audience of One
Chris Brady shares another oustanding article on living life for an audience of one. Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady have been partners for 20 years and have produced phenomenal results together. Their latest venture, LIFE Leadership, is in the process of revolutionizing the leadership field. Here is the Chris's article.
She knocks on the door to my office and waits until I motion her in. Politely she asks with expectant eyes if I'd like to visit her "gum store." For once making the right choice (trying to remember if I've put her off earlier for the same request) I rise from my work and take her by the hand.
Her big brown eyes and freckled face are all delight as she tours me around the various flat surfaces of her bedroom, each delicately decorated with candies and gums of many colors and varieties. On one particular tray she has segregated Chiclet candies by color, arranging rows of them in a clever striped pattern. On another featuring one lone piece of gum on a tiny silk pillow, she has affixed a sign that reads, "Some of our gum is even royal!"
Everywhere there are signs, and prices, and even games to be played. Displays have been crafted with boundless creativity and flare. Her marketing skills as a 9 year-old are so far ahead of most adults that I consider hiring her on the spot to write ad copy for our company. "And here are some magazines I put together, Daddy," she says, offering me two well-researched handcrafted gems replete with explanations and diagrams showing how gum is manufactured. Throughout each magazine are clever ads and jingles, one-liners and specials. I marvel at the bud of talent inborn.
She is my only daughter, all sweetness and flair, with her own style and dramatic expression. She is precious to me beyond description. And perhaps to her, I am (in addition to her mother) the only audience that counts. Her happiness increases as she sees that her work has pleased me. Later, she again enters my office and hugs me. "I love you so much," she says.
The creative process is exhilerating. We conceive an idea, lay out our plans, and begin work under the most naive of expectations. The mere act of putting things together as we see them rushing into our mind is invigorating. In this delicate early phase, we are alone with the stream of conciousness and can hardly answer its call quickly enough.
Eventually, however, our peaceful cocoon of creativity must clash with the violent opinions of the real world. And usually we are not treated very kindly. Know-it-alls and pedants, critics and cynics swoop in to pluck the joy from our freshly birthed creations - feeding on our receding happiness like parasites without a food source of their own.
And it hurts.
In fact, many who are stung by the unfeeling mud from the masses retreat within themselves and carefully hide the candle under a bushel, having learned the lesson not to bring it out in front of others ever again. It is tragedy in the true sense of the word. When one's creativity is snuffed by harshness, innocence is lost. Something dies. The world is a little less beautiful.
But a true artist doesn't perform for the world. A true artist creates because it is what she does; who she is. All she has to do is remember who her true audience is. It's not the world, or its teeming masses of unthinking envious critics, or even its well-meaning coldhearts. No. Her real audience is her father, her Father in heaven. He is the One who embedded those talents and creative capacities in her to begin with, and it is for His pleasure she should give life to their impulse. Just as I attempted to do in the sincere expression of my approval and affirmation for my daughter's "gum store," God does for His children; for those who are called according to His purpose. He is never harsh or unkind in his praise of our sincere use of talents for His glory. And He is never too busy. Having thus pleased Him, we should thereby be insulated against the opinions of mere mortals. After all, it wasn't for them.
So express those truths you hold deep inside. Create, write, paint, build, design, assemble, as for a king. His is the only opinion that counts. He is your lone audience; the audience of One.
Sincerely,
Chris Brady
Posted by OrrinWoodward
at 3:33 PM EDT
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Leader as Entrepreneur
Orrin Woodward, two-time NY Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, shares his thoughts on entrepreurship, leadership and life. If a person wants to be a better entrepreneur then he should focus on becoming a better leader. Here's the blog post.
An entrepreneur must be a leader. Why? Because he or she must build and lead teams of people to accomplish the task, satisfy the customer, and do so at a price that leaves profit for the team members. In other words, ineffective leaders soon prove to be ineffective entrepreneurs because the customer isn’t satisfied nor the teams paid well. Nonetheless, many would-be entrepreneurs start business while ignoring the importance of leadership to the health of their enterprise.
Entrepreneurs should enter into markets where they feel they can satisfy the customers better than their competitors. For instance, Jack Welch, in his early days, was called “Neutron Jack” because he refused to be in a business sector where he couldn’t improve to either #1 or #2. His philosophy of business led him to get out of markets where he couldn’t be the best, and move into markets where he could be the best, thus maximizing profits for the company and ensuring employment for the workers. Incidentally, few seem to understand that only a profitable company can maintain its workers. Since profit is the life-blood of any business, when a company is losing money, it’s similar to a patient losing blood. In both instances, death results if the bleeding isn’t checked.
Accordingly, leaders are constantly studying the vital signs of their business, ensuring the business is not bleeding to death. In fact, leaders must be PDCA champions, constantly making adjustment in the areas where it can have the most impact. They don’t just change things to make change, however. Instead, they listen, study, and analyze until they determine which area of change could have the biggest impact on the bottom line. Then they do something unheard of in our modern world, namely, take massive action to drive the team and business forward.
Whenever I study a business, the first question I ask is: Who is the leader? If an effective leader is in charge, he can overcome lack of capital, lack of resources, and still beat competitors who have plenty of both. Why? Because leaders constantly are developing innovative ways to solve problems while managers focus on the same methods that worked before. I love the saying: If it isn’t broke, then break it and make it better.
When my co-founders and I started LIFE Leadership, we did so with little funds or resources, but we had a superbly talented leadership team. I knew that the leadership team would quickly build the leadership products that could compete with any leadership team anywhere. Interestingly, over the last 18 months LIFE Leadership has become a $50 million dollar conglomerate through building the highest quality personal development products in the industry.
For example, anyone serious about being an entrepreneur ought to purchase and apply the principles from the Mental Fitness Challenge personal development program. The 13 Resolutions are found in my All-Time Top 100 Leadership book RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions for LIFE. If applied daily, they will radically change the leadership capabilities of any hungry student. In fact, I have hundreds of emails from satisfied customers who did just that.
In summary, if the reader wants to be a successful entrepreneur, then he must be a successful leader. Building a company without building one’s leadership is a fools way to launch a company. For no company will rise higher than the leadership within the company. America needs leaders to create the LeaderShift! What part will the reader play? Here is another segment of the article on the role of entrepreneurs.
Sincerely,
Orrin Woodward
Entrepreneur as exceptional leader
Hans Karl Emil von Mangoldt (1824-1868) developed the notion that entrepreneurial profit is the rent of ability. He divided entrepreneurial income into three parts: (1) a premium on uninsured risks; (2) entrepreneur interest and wages, including only payments for special forms of capital or productive effort that did not admit of exploitation by anyone other than the owner; and (3) entrepreneurial rents or payments for differential abilities or assets not held by anyone else. The first part is a return on risk taking; the second part from capital use and production effort, and the third part from ability or asset specificity. Alfred Marshall (1842-1924) carried forward Mangoldt’s notion of rent-of-ability by adding the element of leadership to “entrepreneurial” responsibilities. Marshall’s entrepreneurs “must be a natural leader of men who can choose assistants wisely but also exercise a general control over everything and preserve order and unity in the main plan of business. In fulfilling this organizational function, the entrepreneur must always be “on the lookout for methods that promise to be more effective in proportion to their cost than methods currently in use”. Marshall noted that not everyone had the innate ability to perform this entrepreneurial role as these abilities are so great that very few persons can exhibit all of them in a very high degree. Accordingly, he termed the entrepreneurial rents specifically as a “quasi-rent”, which is a return for exceptional natural abilities, which are not made by human effort, and enable the entrepreneur to obtain a surplus income over what ordinary persons could expect for similar exertions following similar investments of capital and labour in their education and start in life.
Posted by OrrinWoodward
at 1:25 PM EDT
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Financial Fitness
George Guzzardo spells out the recipe for financial health in this blog post. George has worked with Orrin Woodward for over 20 years and has applied leadership, financial, and liberty principles to achieve success. Indeed, George is an excellent example of the LeaderShift in action as he went from a non-reader to one of the biggest readers in the LIFE LeaderShip organization. Here is the article.
How many of us have heard of someone who was climbing the corporate ladder only to discover that they were on the wrong ladder? In the modern world many of us are realizing that learning is not measured by examinations any more but by experiences that we grow from. That is why there is a buzz about the opportunity to learn from Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady with the release of the up and coming ‘Financial Fitness Pack’. This is a pack of CD’s and workbook that will provide information about the ‘Offense’, ‘Defense’, and ‘Playing Field’, of personal finance.
Many of us have a difficult time understanding today’s modern economy and how it effects us, but if we arm ourselves with more knowledge founded from good economic principles we can prepare ourselves for any change. The ‘Financial Fitness Pack’ will provide principles to help prepare for the unexpected. Charles Handy writes a story about the Peruvian Indians who seeing the sails of the Spanish invaders on the horizon put it down to a freak of the weather and went on about their business, having no concept of sailing ships in their limited experience. Assuming continuity, they screened out what did not fit and let disaster in. Today there are rules that govern science, reading, writing, and speech but there seems to be some confusion about the rules that govern economics. The Oxford dictionary defines principles as basic truths or general laws about cause and effect. Learning solid financial principles can help us with our household economics.
Today government is guided by its economists not its citizens. There is a stereotype that good economic information must come from Ivy League graduates. Not true. Looking back through history you will find that the word economics comes from Greek origin. It is derived from ‘oikos’ = household, and ‘nem’ = administer or organize. Xenophon writes that ‘oikonomikos’ describes a gentleman landowner who understands the proper use of wealth. The ‘Financial Fitness Pack' will provide a major breakthrough for those wishing to take greater control of their finances by providing what I feel will be the highest quality information for the least amount of cost ever before in the modern world or even the ancient world. Here is a summary of just a few areas you will learn from the Financial Fitness Pack:
The offense of ‘Financial Fitness’ will describe:
- The mind set and moneyview of the financially fit.
- Why you need to have long - term vision.
- The advantages of putting multipliers on you wealth.
- Harnessing the power of compounding to work for you.
The defense of ‘Financial Fitness’ will describe:
- The habits of saving and budgeting.
- The benefits of practicing delayed gratification.
- A strategic plan to get out of debt.
The playing field of ‘Financial Fitness’ will describe:
- Command vs. market economies and why it matters in history.
- The history of money.
- How inflation works.
- The role and significance of entrepreneurs.
- Predicting and preparing for economic downturns.
The workbook will provide examples and worksheets of an actual Financial Action Plan. This will come with an 8 CD pack to support your overall financial learning experience.
The famous inventor and educator Buckminster Fuller said that this type of preparation was to “help with the forward days of our lives.” He described wealth as the “progressive mastery of matter by the mind.” This meant that wealth, or value, is produced not by matter but the ideas that transform it. It’s not always work that produces wealth but working under the right principles. We now live in the information age and it’s critical that we get the right information. Just listen to those who have been surprised by unexpected changes in the economy. Crisis does not have to be the reason we learn. The LIFE business is committed to providing cutting edge quality information that is cost effective. By learning timeless principles we can prepare ourselves for the inevitable changes we know will come, but on the other hand we can influence the future, if we know where we want to go and what we want it to be. God Bless, George Guzzardo
Posted by OrrinWoodward
at 3:21 PM EDT
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Julius Caesar: Leader of Change
Orrin Woodward's life has gone from peak to peak in various fields. First, he had four patents and won a national benchmarking award as a top systems engineer. In addition, he was half-way through his MBA from the #2 business school at the time - U of M in Ann Arbor.
However, the entrepreneurial bug hit him and he started his leadership engine and launched in the second phase of his life. He built his community to over 20,000 people at events, but when his supplier changed the contract on him, he announced his resignation.
After several years of lawsuits, attempting to free himself from his former supplier, Orrin and the other LIFE Founders finally launched LIFE Leadership. The rest, as they say, is history in the making. Orrin is a modern-day reformer who refuses to sell out his convictions for convenience.
Orrin Woodward is now a two-time NY Times bestselling author with Launching a Leadership Revolution and LeaderShift and his first solo book RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions for LIFE made the all-time top 100 leadership book list. Evidently, his convictions were worth fighting for.
In each generation, there are a few men and women who refuse to follow the herd, willing to forge their own trails through life. Below is an article from Orrin's blog on Julius Caesar from historian James Froude. Caesar certainly blazed his own trail. The article is attached.
In my ongoing reading of the classics and the leaders of Greece and Rome, I stumbled across a gem of a book by James Froude on Caesar. I had read much on Caesar, but the interpretations of Froude’s works left me with a much better appreciation of the challenges Caesar faced and what he attempted to do to reform the faltering Roman Republic. Caesar, like everyone else, certainly wasn’t perfect, but his mission was solid and his results were amazing given the constraints he was placed under. Caesar in his day, and in his way, attempted to expand the benefits of the Roman Empire to all provinces and end the Five Laws of Decline working upon the Roman Senate. Successful in politics, war, and leadership, he was assassinated by the threatened Senate. However, his reforms were still implemented, albeit belatedly, delayed by another round of civil wars before Augustus assumed leadership.
Interestingly, Caesar attempted to restore civil peace and was killed and, at nearly the same time, Jesus was restoring spiritual peace and was killed. Evidently, reformers, who threaten the status quo beneficiaries of the Five Laws of Decline, are rarely welcomed by the threatened groups. 
Even so, right is right, justice is justice, and peace is peace. As Teddy Roosevelt said, “There is no peace without justice.” Accordingly, each citizen ought to strive to check the FLD in his life and community, promoting peace with justice for posterity’s sake. The LeaderShift will demand nothing less than our personal best in this area.
Here is a portion of James Froude’s summary.
Sincerely,
Orrin Woodward
Caesar’s Assassination
“We have killed the king,” exclaimed Cicero in the bitterness of his disenchantment, ” but the kingdom is with us still;” “we have taken away the tyrant; the tyranny survives.” Caesar had not overthrown the oligarchy; their own incapacity, their own selfishness, their own baseness, had overthrown them. Caesar had been but the reluctant instrument of the power which metes out to men the inevitable penalties of their own misdeeds. They had dreamt that the constitution was a living force which would revive of itself as soon as its enemy was gone. They did not know that it was dead already, and that they had themselves destroyed it.
The constitution was but an agreement by which the Roman people had consented to abide for their common good. It had ceased to be for the common good. The experience of fifty miserable years had proved that it meant the supremacy of the rich, maintained by the bought votes of demoralized electors. The soil of Italy, the industry and happiness of tens of millions of mankind, from the Rhine to the Euphrates, had been the spoil of five hundred families and their relatives and dependents, of men whose occupation was luxury, and whose appetites were for monstrous pleasures.
The self-respect of reasonable men could no longer tolerate such a rule in Italy or out of it. In killing Caesar the Optimates had been as foolish as they were treacherous; for Caesar’s efforts had been to reform the constitution, not to abolish it. The Civil War had risen from their dread of his second consulship, which they had feared would make an end of their corruptions; and that the constitution should be purged of the poison in its veins was the sole condition on which its continuance was possible. The obstinacy, the ferocity, the treachery of the aristocracy, had compelled Caesar to crush them; and the more desperate their struggles the more absolute the necessity became. But he alone could have restored as much of popular liberty as was consistent with the responsibilities of such a government as the Empire required.
In Caesar alone were combined the intellect and the power necessary for such a work; and they had killed him, and in doing so had passed final sentence on themselves. Not as realities any more, but as harmless phantoms, the forms of the old Republic were henceforth to persist. In the army only remained the imperial consciousness of the honour and duty of Roman citizens. To the army, therefore, the rule was transferred. The Roman nation had grown as the oak grows, self-developed in severe morality, each citizen a law to himself, and therefore capable of political freedom in an unexampled degree. All organizations destined to endure spring from forces inherent in themselves, and must grow freely, or they will not grow at all. When the tree reaches maturity, decay sets in; if it be left standing, the disintegration of the fibre goes swiftly forward; if the stem is severed from the root, the destroying power is arrested, and the timber will endure a thousand years. . .
In ages less visionary which are given to ease and enjoyment the tendency is to bring a great man down to the common level, and to discover or invent faults which shall show that he is or was but a little man after all. Our vanity is soothed by evidence that those who have eclipsed us in the race of life are no better than ourselves, or in some respects are worse than ourselves; and if to these general impulses be added political or personal animosity, accusations of depravity are circulated as surely about such men, and are credited as readily, as under other influences are the marvellous achievements of a Cid or a St. Francis.
But enough and too much on this miserable subject. Men will continue to form their opinions about it, not upon the evidence, but according to their preconceived notions of what is probable or improbable. Ages of progress and equality are as credulous of evil as ages of faith are credulous of good, and reason will not modify convictions which do not originate in reason. . .
He fought his battles to establish some tolerable degree of justice in the government of this world; and he succeeded, though he was murdered for doing it. Strange and startling resemblance between the fate of the founder of the kingdom of this world and of the Founder of the kingdom not of this world, for which the first was a preparation. Each was denounced for making himself a king. Each was maligned as the friend of publicans and sinners; each was betrayed by those whom he had loved and cared for; each was put to death; and Caesar also was believed to have risen again and ascended into heaven and become a divine being.
Posted by OrrinWoodward
at 7:42 AM EDT
Updated: Thursday, May 16, 2013 7:54 AM EDT
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
LeaderShift Book Signings
Orrin Woodward, now a two-time NY Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, wrote this article to thank his amazing fans that attended the first round of book signings. Two NY Times bestsellers is extremely rare and only a handful of authors in the leadership field have achieved this coveted standard.
LeaderShift is a smash hit across North America and the Five Laws of Decline are becoming a topic for mainstream discussion. Rumor has it that Orrin Woodward is doing a second round of book signings in Houston, Dallas, Wichita, and St. Louis in early June. Life is good for those who sieze the day!
LeaderShift by Orrin Woodward & Oliver DeMille
The LeaderShift Book Tour is just one location away from wrapping up and I wanted to take a moment to thank all the amazing people who came out and supported the book signings and meetings afterward. We had several locations with over 1,000 people showing up for the book signing! Oliver DeMille and I are truly am blown away by the encouragement, hunger, and attitudes of the communities across America and Canada that we visited.
Western Society is at the crossroads between chaos on one side and coercion on the other. What we do as citizens is crucial to the future of freedom in North America. LeaderShift was written to launch a shift in the dialogue taking place. No longer can North America afford party splits that paralyze real change. For instance, in America the labels Republican, Democrat, and Libertarian must be replaced by a new label like: Concerned Leaders of America.
We are concerned because any leader, taking a cursory look at the facts, can recognize the drift towards more coercive government within society. Sadly, however, as government increases, the need for leadership influence decreases. Consequently, leaders and entrepreneurs check out of political society, leaving liberty, the lifeblood of Western Civilization’s greatness, suffering from the debilitating effects of neglect.
I love America; I love Western Civilization; and I love liberty. Oliver and I met thousands of people who feel the same way on our travels across North America. Thank you for purchasing the book and reading it. But I have another question. Will you help us launch the LeadersShift? Let’s change the dialogue going on in North America by having the leaders, at all levels within society, read the book and wrestle with its implications. Leaders must initiate the crucial conversations needed to shift the Power Pendulum back into concord. If not us, who? If not now, when?
Society matters; liberty matters, you matter. Fifty years from now, history will record what we did when our country was sick and in need of help. Let us choose wisely.
Sincerely,
Orrin Woodward
Lansing Center LeaderShift Launch
Posted by OrrinWoodward
at 7:34 AM EDT
Updated: Tuesday, May 14, 2013 7:42 AM EDT
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Ineffective Leadership?
This is a funny blog post by Orrin Woodward on a humorous Christianity Today article. Leadership is a given in life; whether it's effective or ineffective is the question.
While doing some research, I ran across this article from Christianity Today on the “Seven Habits of Highly Ineffective Leadership.” The list was so good that I had to post it here and share a few thoughts. For instance, everyone can read this list and realize the futility of attempting to lead when violating these principles; however, understanding and applying are not one and the same thing. One of the key objectives of the LIFE business is to break through from mental assent to physical application of the top leadership principles. Associating with other leaders who are applying the proper principles makes it easier for others to do the same. Imagine if a whole community were to apply leadership to the 8Fs of life. I believe it would start a LeaderShift to change our localities, states, provinces, nations, and eventually the world. If it’s possible to do this, then leaders ought to plan, unite, and aim to do it! In any case, all leadership change begins on the inside. Read the seven ineffective traits and ensure this list isn’t true of you.
Sincerely,
Orrin Woodward
1 – Don’t plan ahead
Don’t fall into the trap of writing down your goals and objectives, or even worse, handcuffing yourself to specific times when you’re supposed to feel obligated to do them. Instead, respond to things as they come up. Put off big projects until you have large chunks of uninterrupted time to accomplish them, or when you feel inspired. Then try to complete the task with one herculean effort.
2 – Go it alone
If you need to have someone checking up on you, it’s a sure sign of your incompetence and lack of self-control. Independent-minded people make the most progress when they bypass the team and do their own thing. Accountability is overrated.
3 – Aim low
Only arrogant people set lofty goals. Those who dream big often end up flat on their face. At the end of the day, it’s much better to aim for mediocrity and reach your goal rather than trying to do something extraordinary, and becoming frustrated when you can’t quite accomplish it. Better safe than sorry. Those who risk the most never experience the security of living in the status quo.
4 – Point out the mistakes of others
People need to be aware of their failures or they’ll never be able to change. So, keep an eye out for others’ missteps or mishaps and then leak the word to the rest of your employees or volunteers. Be specific and stern. Don’t give the person a chance to explain his actions since that’s usually just a way of denial or shirking responsibility. It’s even more beneficial to make the shortcomings of others public, so that other people in the organization can keep them in line.
5 – Mentally relive old failures
If you lost a job or got a demotion or didn’t get the position you were vying for, brood over it. Dwelling on past mistakes, unresolved conflict, and ongoing disagreements will help give you perspective on your current situation. Obsessing over negative experiences helps you avoid them in the future.
Get into the habit of thinking about hurtful conversations you’ve had and coming up with things you wish you’d said, or clever comebacks that might’ve ended things right then and there. It’ll give you that fire and motivation to speak up more authoritatively next time around.
6 – Wait until the last minute
You never know what the future holds so why waste your time doing things that might not even end up being necessary? Who knows, you might get fired, quit, or die and you’d just have wasted all of that time on that project. It’s much more beneficial if you just put off working on something until the consequences of not doing it outweigh the effort it takes to do it. If other people hassle you about this, it just shows that they’re not as good at working under pressure as you are.
7 – Take things personally
If people criticize your work, they are, in essence, attacking you. Criticism of a project you’ve worked on is a direct assault on your intelligence, personality, and character. As a matter of self-respect, it’s important that you don’t let them get away with that. If you don’t stand up for yourself, you might come across as a pushover.
So, show your strength and conviction by defending every idea you have. Rather than “choosing your battles,” remember that if someone criticizes your decisions, actions, or suggestions, they’ve already chosen to attack your personal self-worth. Don’t let them get away with that.
Posted by OrrinWoodward
at 7:48 AM EDT
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Life, Money, and Time
The following is a wonderful example of having the time, money, and lifestyle to travel with family. Orrin Woodward and his family took a six day hiatus to Barcelona to see a championship league game between Barcelona and AC Milan. This is a perfect example of Chris Brady's A Month in Italy, where he describes sometimes you have to go slow to go fast. Orrin Woodward, although a high-achiever, having recently achieved an extremely rare feat for an author of having two of his book reach the NY Times bestseller list, still understands the importance of family and fun. Indeed, this is what LIFE and LeaderShift are all about.
My son Jeremy loves soccer. No, on second thought, he is a soccer fanatic! In fact, his passion for the players and the game has made me a fan from his sheer enthusiasm. Consequently, when the Woodward family was discussing potential vacation spots, Barcelona was always Jeremy’s request. His perseverance paid off and we planned a vacation to Barcelona to watch a live “football” game. Looking at the schedule, we realized the best game to watch would be Barcelona against AC Milan the week before our kids scheduled spring break. However, since our teenagers are all doing great in school, we talked with the school and were off to Europe.
Shortly after checking into our hotel, we were notified that the Barcelona team would be staying at the same hotel! Jeremy, with his jerseys in hand, parked himself in the lobby, along with his siblings and Laurie, for nearly eight hours to see the players up close. Thankfully, the team did enter the hotel and a couple of players signed Jeremy’s jersey. Proudly displaying his signatures, Jeremy stated that signing this jersey would certainly help the players on game-day. I wasn’t sure how he thought that, but didn’t say anything at the time.
Tuesday could not arrive fast enough as Jeremy was up, showered, and dressed by 7:30 am to get breakfast, hoping to see more players downstairs. (This soccer stuff is cutting into my vacation sleep! ) When we left for the Camp Nou stadium, Jeremy, and the other kids, were on cloud 9. The mass of humanity and the intensity at the football game were beyond my wildest expectations. I have never seen so many fanatics (I say that with all respect) in one place at one time. The fans had songs, cheers, and taunts, that erupted intermittently during the game as if on queue, even though there was no monitor telling them when or what to cheer.
Barcelona vs AC Milan
Barcelona had lost to AC Milan several weeks back and needed to not only win, but win by at least two in order to advance. The pressure was on, but the best teams and best leaders always respond well to pressure. Barcelona did not disappoint. Within the first seven minutes Messi made a spectacular give and go pass and break to the net, sending a rocket through the outstretched arms of the goalie to score. The crowd (over 94,000 strong) exploded and the Woodward family vacation was shaping up nicely. Later, another goal from Messi and Barcelona never looked back, winning 4-0 before the rowdiest crowd at a sporting event ever.
Interestingly, Jordi Alba, one of the players that signed Jeremy’s jersey, scored a goal just as Jeremy had predicted. One of the Biblical principles taught to our kids over the years is that you reap what you sow in life. Jordi sowed an act of kindness when he signed Jeremy’s jersey and he reaped a reward the next day. (No one can guarantee the reap and reward process will occur so quickly, we hope, however, that you will sow acts of kindness anyway since it is the right thing to do. ) At any rate, Jordi’s kind actions made a young man’s dream come true and for that I am thankful to our God above lining up all the pieces and to Jordi for sowing good seeds.
Well, enough writing for now, I have to get ready to go to the City Museum and see one of the best-kept ancient Roman cities unearthed under modern Barcelona. The LIFE Business is allowing so many people to chase and capture their dreams. I hope everyone is planting good seeds into others people’s lives on faith that over time people reap what they sow.
Sincerely,
Orrin Woodward
Alves and Alba Celebrate Signing Jeremy’s Jersey
Posted by OrrinWoodward
at 6:52 AM EDT
Updated: Wednesday, May 1, 2013 6:56 AM EDT
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Leadership Motivation
Here is a spectacular article from Orrin Woodward on the importance of motivating and engaging others to build teams. Orrin is a two-time NY Times and Wall Street Journal Bestselling with the recent release of LeaderShift. He, and his co-author Oliver DeMille are creating a LeaderShift within society.
Leadership Soft Skill: Motivating & Engaging Others
Leadership Motivation
The seventh leadership soft skill, according to the Center for Creative Leadership, is motivating and engaging others. This is the crux of leadership. For if a person cannot inspire others to achieve more, he is not truly leading.
Before leaders can inspire others, they must be inspired themselves. Reading, listening, and associating is essential for any leader because, as Ronald Reagan once said, “I am not a great man; I’m just committed to great ideas.” In essence, when a person swims in great ideas, the world-view, mindset, and attitude soak into him.
Unfortunately, few people understand this. Most run from business to business, seeking the shortcut to success. When actually, success is a matter of immersion into the greatest thoughts and leaders one can find. Why I love the LIFE community is that it provides the association necessary to learn the great ideas from great leaders so that people can do great things. The testimonies of the changed lives in LIFE is amazing even though I have been witnessing this first hand for years.
There is an old saying that expresses a candle must be lit before it can light another one. In the same way, a person must set himself on fire with great ideas and then light others on fire by his passion, belief, and vision. The greatest leaders, in other words, were first great followers. In fact, I have said for years that if you are too big to follow then you are too small to lead.
The world needs a leadershift. It won’t happen until enough people immerse themselves into the greatest ideas on leadership available today. Each generation has its own challenges that require responses. The founding generation responded by creating a company. The civil war generation responded by ending slavery. The WWII generation responded by winning a global conflict. Today’s generation must respond by launching the leadershift!
Sincerely,
Orrin Woodward
Posted by OrrinWoodward
at 10:53 AM EDT
Updated: Tuesday, April 30, 2013 10:55 AM EDT
Newer | Latest | Older
