“Awakening the Leviathan”

“You are living in the wonderful time of awakening; this is the time when more people will come into conscious realization of their own value” - My Awesome Voicemail

Joan called, excited about something she’d read, because I was the fortunate person to first cross her mind. I couldn’t help but think about how many folks are living disengaged, drowsy life, and, for some, they are sleep walking. This disengaged and drowsy lifestyle has made them numb; numb to all that is great and valuable, not only in themselves, but also in life and others.

How can one justify such an existence? Ever wonder what story they tell themselves each day? How they put stylus to scroll and document their life – with a straight face? What kind of blatant disregard for self would such an act take? When they look at themselves in the mirror, do they know who that stranger is? Or have they become so accustomed to seeing someone else in the mirror and being alright with it?

Want to know who “they” are?
They are…you…me. Every single time we devalue ourselves with toxic relationships, dysfunctional behavior, or our moral campus fails to point True North. With each of these relationships and behaviors, we are signing a lullaby to the Leviathan within. That Giant inside each of us that stands with a shield of courage and a sword of action; defending who we really are to the death, if need be.

So, how are YOU justifying such a life? What story are YOU telling yourself? Are you putting stylus to scroll with a straight face? Have you such a blatant disregard for yourself? So much that you know you see someone else in the mirror but claim her to be you?

(c) 2009, Dr. Kozhi Sidney Makai. No part of this blog post may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the copyright holder.

Discernment and Recognition

Anyone can tell what time it is

It takes more to tell what season it is

- Frankie Mazzapica

As we continue to wade in the waters of the financial hurricane of 2008, it's quite easy for us to feel (perhaps rightly so) that the waters won't subside. It's easy for us to feel that we've lost everything - including all hope. We're concerned about how we'll provide for our posterity and wonder if there's any end in sight.

Though the three decades of my life may not be much, I have found that little, if anything, is random. I have found that there is purpose in everything; even, and especially, when we cannot see it. The Significant Life® begins with the recognition that, without purpose, life becomes meaningless; it becomes a mass of random occurrences that are unrelated and, therefore, have no value. Such a world, I cannot believe in...

Wise King Solomon noted that to every thing there is a season; the challenge for you and I lies in being able to recognize which season it is. For instance, it would be foolish to venture outside dressed in shorts and a t-shirt at the height of a mid-western winter or dressed in long Johns and heavy coats in August in Texas. All metaphors aside, without this discernment, we lose out on opportunities. A good friend of mine always says that "the opportunity of a lifetime is only available for the lifetime of the opportunity;" that means that if we do not grab a hold of it, the opportunity passes. How can we grab a hold of the opportunity if we do not understand the urgency that comes with certain seasons?

I do not know what season of life you are in; sowing...reaping...nurturing...studying...maturing...I don't know. The consequences of my lack of knowledge pales in comparison to your lack of knowledge about the season you are in. "What you don't know won't hurt you" it's been said. I say: What you don't know can kill you!

It's time to take ownership of your growth and development. Growth and development that requires not only the knowledge but an understanding of the season you're in. During a famine is the wrong time to enjoy excess; the season isn't right. Yet, like ants, the summer is the best time to store up for the winter. Without this discernment and wisdom, our efforts are useless as they contain no purpose and direction - we become wasteful of not only our goods, but also, and sadly, our potential...

Do you know what season it is?

(c) 2009, Dr. Kozhi Sidney Makai. No part of this blog post may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the copyright holder.

Pawns and Tools

"If people are not on your path, then they're in your way"

- Summer Sanford

We graduated college together. So, when we met again about six years later, it was a loud and boistrous reunion. We were good friends in college but had simply lost contact after graduation. Interestingly, though, once we met again, it was as if we had never missed those years. Now, we connect on a regular basis, do business together, and even plan on playing golf together.

During one of our lunches, the words above were so potent that I had to stop lunch and our discussion to appreciate their weight. Subsequently, I typed them into my PDA and would not allow another word as I did so. Summer had basically diagnosed the cancer that is at the center of the human condition...one that blights our "crops" each year.

With each project, I am more and more convinced that people aren't really what their companies claim them to be - "our best asset." Perhaps it's because you cannot "truly" put people on the balance sheet. Whatever the reason might be, it does sound good, though; almost makes the management team sound like they actually care. I question their veracity!

Too many people - good people - have been used as tools and pawns on the corporate chess board. Sucked dry, only to be booted to the curb, these individuals who were "our best asset" are now nothing more than a faded memory. As we traverse the tumultuous post-economic collapse landscape, both management and "people" will have to recognize that every, single pawn is a potential queen...

...a queen that can move in multiple directions with unlimited distance. That means that "people" have to take ownership and personal interest in their growth and development (and stop playing the victim or simply being indifferent); and management has to step up and put their money where their mouth is. If people are their best asset, then they will have to develop them and get them involved. Without this partnership, people remain "in the way" or just another tool or pawn for another's agenda...

Are you a pawn?

(c) 2009, Dr. Kozhi Sidney Makai. No part of this blog post may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the copyright holder.

Giving: It Really Starts a Chain Reaction

"We need to give people what we rarely get"

- Frankie Mazzapica

I am overwhelmed by the desperation I see in the eyes of my audiences with each trip. While their demeanors hold and posture the socially-acceptable "everything is alright," their eyes say otherwise.
They are starved for acceptance, recognition, and...here it comes...love...

On a recent trip, a friend smiled brightly because of "the way you make friends everywhere you go." I thought nothing of it possibly because I have worked at making it a habit to not only greet all who attend to me in stores, restaurants and other places of business, but to ask them their names and thank them personally. "Thank you, Deb," I might say. Or, "you really are the best, Tim." It is S.O.P in my world and now seems to flow out naturally and with ease...

To many, this might be posturing; being overzealous and manipulating people. To me, however, it is the way of life. I once heard it said that "a wise man knows everything, but a shrewd man, everyone." I count myself neither wise nor shrewd, but I find that all people need is a little encouragement and they will surprise you. There is enough negativity in the world and I always hope and believe that the little T.L.C I give others might be the one thing that turns the tide of the battle against indifference

When we allow ourselves to be conduits for compassion, joy, and laughter, we literally change the world. Think of the world as a tossed salad; every part of it creates a whole that can not only be delicious, but also wonderful for your body. Add a particular ingredient (almonds, a little fruit, etc), and it becomes a party in your mouth! That is the same thing that happens when we add depth to the lives of others with our laughter, smiles, and sincere interest in them. We, you and I, have the power to alter a waiter's shift and to change the course of generations. But, to do so, we must speak up...

Have you spoken up lately?

(c) 2009, Dr. Kozhi Sidney Makai. No part of this blog post may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the copyright holder.

Curiosity “Killed” the Cat?

If we lead with questions rather than answers, curiosity can strip us of an agenda and stop us from holding so tightly to our own ideas and beliefs that aren’t able to consider others’
- Marcum & Smith in “Egonomics”

Like Bristol, I was “born with a huge bump of curiosity.” I have always tinkered. As a child, I tinkered with electronics (much to the chagrin of my parents), electricity (all it took was one shock and I never tinkered with it the same way), irrigation systems (oh, mommy just loves to tell this story), and so many other things. Today, I still tinker; the only difference is that I now tinker with ideas…

From the moment a book was first placed in my hands, I became an avid “thought-tinkerer.” I could not believe that there was only one “best way” or that “conventional wisdom” was correct. I remember arguing with my 3rd or 4th grade teacher that blood was not red – that is, not until it was out of the body. Of course, this is not true; but seeing the color of veins, I was certain blood itself was not red. I may have been wrong, but the curious fires in my soul were simply stoked by each discovery and revelation.

I was often told that “curiosity killed the cat” – I suppose that is what adults do to stop the questions from eager and questioning children: we say anything to stop them from asking another question, especially “why?” Fast-forward some 20 years and I find myself no different; I still want to know “why” and the fires of my curiosity refuse to become embers and ashes...

We cannot allow our curiosity to die; it is essential to our personal and professional growth. Without it, there can be no creativity…no progress. “Highly curious people are different than you might imagine,” say Marcum & Smith, “they have a unique ability to bring both openness and order to conversations, not excluding either in the way they think.” What a life we can create when we allow our curiosity to become the key that unlocks a whole new world of ideas and possibilities! You see, “curiosity gives us permission and courage to test what we think, feel, and believe to be true, reminding us we don’t know everything about anything” (Marcum & Smith).

Less than 1/2 of 1% of the U.S population has a Ph.D. I feel very privileged to be one of them; yet, all that I have discovered is that I know so little. That knowledge is what keeps me searching for and seeking ways to improve the human condition…

Are YOU curious?

(c) 2009, Dr. Kozhi Sidney Makai. No part of this blog post may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the copyright holder.

Those Pesky “Little Things”…“Trifles”

Men are led by trifles
- Napoleon

Think naught a trifle, though it small appear
Small sands make the mountain, moments make the year
And trifle, life
- Young

It is interesting to note how little we pay attention to the “little things” – I know…a silly pun and play on words. But, seriously, you’d be amazed how a lack of respect for “little things” costs lives every day. In the United States, it is estimated that around 7,000 people die each year from medication errors – many of which are from that little thing called sloppy handwriting. Is it just me or we’ve just accepted the “fact” the doctors have poor penmanship? Trust me, “little things” matter!

Don’t believe me?
A Stamp Act to raise 60, 000 British Pounds produced an American Revolution and war that cost Her Majesty’s Government  100, 000, 000 Pounds!
Galileo conceived the idea of measuring time when the janitor in the cathedral at Pisa left a lamp swinging. It’s steady swing was the impetus for an idea that changed the face of humanity…
Thomas Edison conceived of the phonograph when he pricked his finger while singing to the mouthpiece of a telephone. Quite literally, that is all the story to the idea of the phonograph.
Shall I continue?

Your life is a series of moments; trifles, to the untrained and unappreciative eye. The thoughts you hold captive today, become the lifestyle you embody tomorrow. The lack of focus and effort you exhibit today, become the fruit of your life’s tree in the near future.
I know that your economy (thus said since yours and another’s is different) may be falling as fast as lead in a pond, but it’s the small things you do that matter the most right now – beginning with the things you’re meditating on, believing in (basically, where you place your Mentergy). It is in those “small” things that you will find your success and redemption from a shaken foundation...

What are you now going to pay attention to?

(c) 2009, Dr. Kozhi Sidney Makai. No part of this blog post may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the copyright holder.

Belief: A Dimension of Mentergy

“Belief is the motivating force that enables you to achieve your goal” – Claude M. Bristol in “The Magic of Believing”, circa 1948

One of my favorite Scriptures is: “If you can believe, all things will be made possible to you.” An old Latin proverb says: “Believe that you have it, and you have it.” It’s amazing how what we use our mental capacities for determines what we have, both in the physical and metaphysical world. While some of my readers may equate this thought process of belief to pretty much an attitude, it is not. Attitude and Belief are related (as we will see next week), but they each produce different crops, if you will…

Suffice it so say, for now, that our mentergy is wasted when we either have “no” beliefs or negative beliefs. Successful people, regardless of their field of endeavor, are amazing believers! They see and believe in the buildings they erect, they believe in and see the efficient workforce they employ, and certainly believe in and see the fulfilled lives they hope to live. This belief in themselves can be an invigorating and motivating tool to spurn people into action.

I find that it is only when I have lost my belief – at the core, lost my faith – that I hit the hardest stretches in my journey. When I have lost faith in myself, have no belief in myself or the work I do, I tend to become a drag to be around (and, yes, even KOZHI hates to be around me!). This lack of belief gets me into trouble because I begin taking steps backward and shying away from the God-given mission for my life. Sadly, this is the point when I have lost so much…

What are you losing, my friend? Have you no belief? In yourself? In humanity? In hope? Will you now do something about it? Or will you exercise your right, yet again, to not believe in yourself and the greatness lying dormant within you? Or will you, with a victorious shout, step out of your comfort and fire up your latent energy?

(c) 2009, Dr. Kozhi Sidney Makai. No part of this blog post may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the copyright holder.