I started the day reading the Proverbs of king Salomon. I was so surprised to read, just a while ago, the latest post from best selling author Orrin Woodward on the same subject.
“What a coincidence”, I said to myself.
On his blog, Woodward is asking us to “seek for freedom”.
I appreciate and want to add value to you by sharing Orrin Woodward’s thinking. I like the way he tied leadership, wisdom, and the Life Leadership community.
Inc. Magazine just selected him and his best selling co-author Chris Brady in the Top 50 leadership and management expert in the world.
The key word in Proverbs is wisdom, which an author defines, as the “ability to” live life skillfully”.
Life Leadership is our tool to develop that skill set to live the life we’ve always wanted.
Read Orrin Woodward’s post below:
Roosevelt Jean-Francois
Seek Freedom
by Orrin Woodward
Life is less like a box of chocolates and more like a box of jalapeños. If you don’t apply wisdom, what you do today may burn your butt tomorrow.
I read a tweet recently from Brian Powers on life, chocolates, and jalapeños. I changed the quote slightly to tie it to the importance of wisdom and the quote above resulted. Life truly is about gaining wisdom in the 8F’s so that one can learn to handle any situation with peace and grace. Since everyone experiences the ups and downs in life, wisdom is the key delineator between successfully navigating the storms of life or being added to the growing list of shipwrecked lives.
The Free Dictionary defines wisdom as the ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting; insight. If wisdom requires on to judge between truthfulness and rightness of one’s actions then one must believe that there is truth and right in the world. After all, how can one discern truth and right when one is a relativist and rejects the notions of good/evil, truth/error, and right/wrong?
LIFE Leadership begins with this foundational principle to seek wisdom. The Bible states, “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” and the transformation for many begins with the recognition of a moral order in the world. For without this moral order, seeking wisdom is a fools errand as one would have rejected the goal (discerning truth) before one begins the journey.
One of the many things I love about the LIFE Leadership community is it is difficult to remain a relativist when one attempts to lead. Leadership, at its essence, is buying into one’s purpose/vision and then selling it to others. This purpose/vision must be inspirational and rational in order to be bought into with conviction by the community. However, a relativist struggles with conviction. This isn’t surprising when one considers that a relativist’s statement of faith centers around, “nothing is true absolutely.” Of course, my quick rejoinder is, “are you absolutely sure that nothing is true absolutely?”
This is the quandary for all relativist who attempt to lead a community. If he answers my question by saying, “I am absolutely sure,” then he has disproved his own statement of faith. If he says, “I am not absolutely sure,” then I say, “great, let’s help you start reading, listening, and associating, so you can be sure about what you believe.”
At the end of the day, it’s the leader’s certainty, and the conviction that comes from this certainty, that creates the passion around the purpose for other’s to follow. Thus, knowing why you believe what you believe is foundational to all leadership.
How has LIFE Leadership helped you develop wisdom in life and discern truth and right in today’s relativistic age?
Sincerely,
rooseveltjeanfrancois 
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