The Power Struggle

READY8 “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” ~ Jimi Hendrix

AIM8 Love is such a powerful emotion. It draws people in, solidifies their commitments and binds hearts together, forever. You can love people, pets, food, material things, money, power and so many other things. Giving love and being loved in return can be a wonderful and positive experience; however, loving money, material things and power have the opposite result.

How many of you have known people whose positions at work, in the community or with an organization went to their heads and caused a change in their behaviors? Suddenly, the people we thought we knew started acting differently and didn’t treat us the same as before. What changed? For some, the power and authority that comes with leadership positions are so stimulating that they simply didn’t know how to adjust their actions to accommodate the new attention they received. For others, the new power and authority makes them feel as if they can boss people around and talk down to others. Being in a leadership position doesn’t make them any different than the rest of us. They simply have the power to make more decisions than those they are leading. No matter if they are doctors, lawyers, the CEOs of successful companies, presidents of school’s PTAs, volunteer council members or concerned parents, they put their pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the titles after our names or the amount of money we were paid were symbols of hard work and effort, not licenses to treat others as if they are less than important people?

Can you imagine what it would look like if the people in positions of leadership loved the people they led and expressed their love and appreciation on a regular basis? What would that feel like to work with and for a person who genuinely cared about us? Whether it’s for a paycheck or a volunteer organization, the commitment and effort of the people involved would be magnified as a direct result of the power of love. What an amazing vision! Just think what we could accomplish if we replaced the love of power with the power of love!

FIRE!8 Each one of us in is a position of leadership over someone…a child, an employee, or even a volunteer parent. Today, express your love to at least one of those people either verbally or in writing. Let down your guard and show your love towards him or her. That small act will go miles and miles.

Be Excellent!
Lori

*Thanks to my friend, Gwendolyn, for spotting the bumper sticker that sparked my inspiration for this message.*