Today I came across this “call to action” from a strong leader from days gone by. It really resonated with me as being a big step towards Defying  the Box that we as a country have created for ourselves. I like how he call’s people out and challenges them to do something, as well as questioning the way we are doing things. These are critical steps for Breaking Free. Questions everything that is not working or feeling good to you, and explore different possible solutions, don’t just sit there accepting it, or complaining about it.

Remember Lee  Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes?  He’s now 82 years old and has a new book, ‘Where Have All The Leaders Gone?’.

Lee Iacocca Says:

‘Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up with what’s happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder! We’ve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we’ve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can’t even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, ‘Stay the course.’

 

Stay the course? You’ve got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned, ‘Titanic’. I’ll give you a sound bite: ‘Throw all the bums out!’

 

You might think I’m getting senile, that I’ve gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.

 

The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we’re fiddling in  Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving ‘pom-poms’ instead of asking hard questions. That’s not the promise of the ‘America’ my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I’ve had enough. How about you?

 

I’ll go a step further. You can’t call yourself a patriot if you’re not outraged. This is a fight I’m ready and willing to have. The Biggest ‘C’ is Crisis! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C’s of leadership, with crisis being the first.)

 

Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It’s easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else’s kids off to war when you’ve never seen a battlefield yourself. It’s another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.

 

On September 11, 2001, we needed a  strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A hell of a mess, so here’s where we stand.

 

We’re immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving.

 

We’re running the biggest deficit in the history of the country.

 

We’re losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.

 

Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble.

 

Our borders are like sieves.

 

The middle class is being squeezed every which way.

 

These are times that cry out for leadership.

 

But when you look around, you’ve got to ask: ‘Where have all the leaders gone?’ Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the  point.

 

Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?

 

We’ve spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.

 

Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm.

 

Everyone’s hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn’t happen again. Now, that’s just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you’re going to do the next time.

 

Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when ‘The Big Three’ referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?

 

Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.

 

I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn’t elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don’t you guys show some spine for a change?

 

Had Enough? Hey, I’m not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here.  I’m trying to light a fire. I’m speaking out because I have hope – I believe in America. In my lifetime, I’ve had the privilege of living through some of  America ‘s greatest moments. I’ve also experienced some of our worst crises: The ‘Great Depression,’ ‘World War  II,’ the ‘Korean War,’ the ‘Kennedy Assassination,’ the ‘Vietnam War,’ the 1970′s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11.

 

If I’ve learned one thing, it’s this: ‘You don’t get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it’s building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That’s the challenge I’m raising in this book. It’s a “Call to Action” for people who, like me, believe in America’. It’s not too late, but it’s getting pretty close. So let’s shake off the crap and go to work. Let’s tell ‘em all we’ve had ‘enough.’

 

Make your own contribution by sending this to everyone you know and care about. It’s our country, folks, and it’s our future. Our future is at stake!!

 

Today I received a newsletter from  James Author Ray, the authour of the book Harmonic Wealth. He shares his 10 tips for thriving in the upcoming year  IN SPITE OF the economy and the place of fear that many people are residing in. 

Typically, this kind of thing would inspire me to take the idea and put my own spin on it, but when I sat down to do it, I came to realize that I like how he puts, so here it is:

James Author Ray’s Ten Tips for Thriving in This Economic Winter

1. Clearly define what inspires you. 

There’s a big difference between taking action out of inspiration versus desperation. Use this season as an opportunity to hibernate into the recesses of your own mind and define what you choose to create in your next spring. 

 

2.Control your focus. 

Energy flows where attention goes. Are you focusing on lack or opportunity? 

 

3. Feed your mind.

 What’s your constant mental diet? Do you spend hours in front of the scare news or are you reading good books, attending more positive seminars, watching uplifting DVDs and listening to powerful CDs? 

 

4.Strengthen your body.

 Your physical health and vitality have a tremendous impact on your performance as well as your mental and emotional fitness. Exercise releases stress as well as strengthen your body and mind. 

 

5. Inventory your friends. Doom and gloom attracts more doom and gloom. Jettison those “energy vampires” around you and surround yourself with opportunity seekers. 

 

6. Quiet your mind. 

Take time to meditate daily and to slow down if only for a few minutes. Ten to fifteen minutes of meditation will relieve hours of stress and increase creativity and resourcefulness. 

 

7. Rid your life of escapist activities. 

Overindulgence in TV, sleep and alcohol only accelerate the problems you’re attempting to avoid. 

 

8. Make a daily gratitude list. 

Focusing on all the good, gifts and God in your life puts you in the right line of thought, feeling and their subsequent actions, which will attract and create more good, gifts and God. 

 

9. Change your attitude.

 Realize that everything that’s happened in your life thus far is here to serve you, teach you and help you grow. Find the lessons in your past results, forgive yourself for anything you could have done better and apply the lesson to move forward and create a better future. 

 

10. Get resourceful.

 For the next three days, go to a place where you can have uninterrupted time… Come up with 20 new ideas to grow your income, create new results and improve your life. You cannot leave your spot until you have twenty. And no editing! All ideas are good ideas.

 Do this for three successive days with 20 new ideas each day. 

Now take your list of 60 unique ideas and pick the three to five most powerful and leveraged ones to put into action. Pick these three to five based on: ease of implementation, rate of return and speed of return. 

 

And so during this winter season, remember: It’s not about resources… there are plenty of them. It’s about resourcefulness. Get resourceful and get busy.

There is not something you’re supposed to do. There’s not something that you should do. There is only that which you are inspired to do. And how do you get inspired except by the contrast? It’s the life experience that gives you the idea of the desire, and then as you focus upon the desire, the Energy flows.

Excerpted from an Abraham-Hicks workshop in Philadelphia, PA on Tuesday, April 14th, 1998