“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when dreams come true at last, there is life and joy. ” Proverbs 13:12
By John E. Schrock, Businessman
Underline the key concepts found in this principle.
Fear is a motivator. It is an important one, but it is used primarily to establish order and parameters. If we control people by fear only, we are poor leaders. Good leaders understand the importance of rules that are feared, but also understand that the "law worketh wrath." Man cannot live by the law alone - sooner or later he will rebel. In order to develop a long-lasting, successful family, business, or society, we must design a system that gives every one (1) personal dreams, (2) opportunity and (3) hope.
If we have no dreams and see no opportunities, we lose hope. And when we lose hope, we get angry and feel unfulfilled, which may turn into despondency and will cause some to even commit suicide. As long as there is hope, we can, and most of us will, keep on going. Hope comes from seeing possibilities, and possibilities come from active and creative minds.
God made us in His image to have ideas and to be creative, to calculate and analyze situations. When leaders try to stifle this creativity, sooner or later people will analyze the unfairness and break away from its control. We cannot stifle individuality forever. Communism was a good example of this: Their system was built on keeping everyone equal and having all things in common. Their idea was, "Give a man food, clothing and shelter, and he will be happy." This sounds good as a philosophy, but it does not work because we are not all designed to be the same. We are all created equal, but our outcomes will be different because each one of us can make choices. We have different gifts, temperaments and creative ideas. This means some will pursue more than others, thus bringing different levels of understanding and opportunities.
To foster inspiration, we must create an environment where minds can work freely within a set of parameters. The parameters become the framework or guideline for creativity.
To motivate means to stimulate the mind and spirit of a person. This is what we call motivating by leading the minds of men and women. This is done by presenting dreams and possibilities to them, which will inspire them to pursue their future. They will be motivated from within, rather than controlled by external laws. They are led, not driven. This becomes their purpose or motive (reason) for living. If we give people an incentive or dream within the framework of our personal goals and ambitions, both will benefit. Our intent for inspiring others will always have to be for a win/win situation. Otherwise it would be considered unfair and will boomerang on us.
All good leaders will use incentives and dream-planting for motivating 10 to 1 over fear. They know fear must be a part of leading, but only as a last resort. Good leaders will focus on incentives and dream-planting, which creates a powerful force within their employees, so they become self-motivated. They will need less management because they will be working as unto themselves.
This principle is part of the one year character development program: Foundations For Achievement.
Thoughts to Ponder:
Each day of our lives, we make deposits in the memory banks of those we meet. That becomes our reputation..