ROOSEVELTJEANFRANCOIS

Leadership • Language • Justice • Purpose

Haitian Creole Legal Language Specialist, storyteller, and community builder helping you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and create meaningful impact.

Tag: rooseveltjeanfrancois.com

  • Confucius philosophical leadership learning: The Great Learning!

    What the Great Learning teaches is: to illustrate illustrious virtue; to renovate the people; and to rest in the highest excellence.

    The point where to rest being known, the object of pursuit is then determined; and, that being determined, an unperturbed calmness may be attained to.

    tglTo that calmness there will succeed a tranquil repose. In that repose there may be careful deliberation, and that deliberation will be followed by the attainment of the desired end.

    Things have their root and their branches. Affairs have their end and their beginning. To know what is first and what is last will lead near to what is taught in the Great Learning.

    The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the world, first ordered well their own States.

    Wishing to order well their States, they first regulated their families.

    Wishing to regulate their families, they first cultivated their persons.

    Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified their hearts.

    Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts.

    Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, they first extended to the utmost of their knowledge.

    Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things.

    Things being investigated, knowledge became complete.

    Their knowledge being complete, their thoughts were sincere.

    Their thoughts being sincere, their hearts were then rectified.

    Their hearts being rectified, their persons were cultivated.

    Their persons being cultivated, their families were regulated.

    Their families being regulated, their States were rightly governed.

    Their States being rightly governed, the entire world was at peace.

    From the Son of Heaven down to the mass of the people, all must consider the cultivation of the person the root of everything besides.

    It cannot be, when the root is neglected, that what should spring from it will be well ordered.

    It never has been the case that what was of great importance has been slightly cared for, and, at the same time, that what was of slight importance has been greatly cared for.

    Confucius, The Great Learning.

  • Hell: ‘Whatever you fear most…’ an oustanding Edwidge Danticat’s folk story!

    I am reading Edwige Danticat. Her recent memoir “Brother, I’m dying” is amazing. She tells her family story in poignant way. She combines her story with the story of her dad, her uncle, her countries, her travels, her neighborhood, her grandmas.to free herself, and to free us as well to tell our own story, and to live the life we want.

    She used the power of words to include  folktales, stories that she heard from her parents to make good learning lessons from life.

    “Hell” is one of those stories told by Danticat’s Granmè Melina.

    12501577_114057308995588_315286960_n(1)Here is the story. Enjoy… And share with friends, fans, and family.

    A man, one day fell asleep and woke up in a foreign land where he knew no one and no one knew him. Finding himself on his back in the middle of a dirt road, filled with strangers, he looked up at the blurry faces around him, which were framed by a gloomy gray sky, and asked, “Where am I?”

    “You’re where you are,” answered a booming voice.

    “Where’s that?” he asked.

    “Where you need to be,” replied the voice.

    “I din’t ask to be here,” the man said, “wherever it is.”

    “No matter how you ended up here,” said the voice, “here you are.”

    Tired about the roundabout conversation, the man said, “I want you to tell me right now where I am. If you don’t, I’m going to be angry.”

    “Who cares about your anger?” answered the voice. “No one is scared of you here.”

    Truly upset now, the man said, “Tell me where I am right now!”

    “You are in Hell,” replied the voice.

    And since these were long time ago, the man didn’t know what hell was, even though he could already see that it was not a happy place.

    “What is hell?” he asked.

    “Hell”, replied the voice, “is whatever you fear most.”

    A story told by Edwige Dandicat in “Brother, I’m dying.” Thanks again Edwige to share with us the power of words and storytelling.

    Roosevelt Jean-Francois

    Fulbright Scholar, Connector, Speaker

     

     

     

  • Remember your story, carry your story, and tell your story!

    “I hope that you will always remember your story, and that you will carry your story with you as proudly as I carry mine.” First Lady Michele Obama told a graduating class of 100 students, giving the commencement address to Santa Fe Indian School.

    Mrs Obama

    She personalized the history of the African American experience, and shared her family’s roots in 19th century American chattel slavery. Her remarks seemed geared toward moving beyond a sense of connection between her and the audience, which was already palpable in the hall, to something deeper, something more akin to identification.

    I am the great-great-granddaughter of Jim Robinson, who was born in South Carolina, lived as a slave and is likely buried in an unmarked grave on the plantation where he worked.

    I am the great-granddaughter of Fraser Robinson, an illiterate houseboy who taught himself to read and became an entrepreneur—selling newspapers and shoes.

    She spoke of values, claiming the shared values of respect, perseverance and integrity, three of the ten core values of the Santa Fe Indian School. She remarked on the hopeful, positive trajectory of the school and the accomplishments of its students.

    Our story is about who we are. When we talk about our experiences, what we see, feel, do, fear, like with our own words, we create our own life.

    Don’t try to be the next so and so. Be the first you. Remember your story, carry your story, and tell your story.

    Your story makes you you.

    Roosevelt

     

     

     

     

  • Tell your story with your own words, and live your life.

    What we talk about is our story. Our story is about who we are. When we talk about our experiences, what we see, feel, do, fear, like with our own words, we create our own life.

    We market ourselves by telling our story.

    Marketing is storytelling, said best selling author and blogger Seth Goddin.

    The story of you built you.  Your story makes you you.

    Sometimes the way you see yourself isn’t exactly the way others see you. Not as good as you think you are. Not as bad as they think you are.

    Tell your story. Tell it on purpose.

    Roosevelt

     

  • The YouEconomy: Stop being only a consumer and start being an owner!

    The YouEconomy: Stop being only a consumer and start being an owner!

    I just read this morning a very important report on the YouEconomy to be published in the next issue of Success Magazine. I invite you to dig deeper and to join this global movement that is revolutionizing how we live, work, and play.

    rjf-1Here are some notes I took from this special report released online by Success Magazine: Introducing to the YouEconomy. 

    The YouEconomy is the growing global network of people who are taking the future of work into their own hands.

    Folks in the YouEconomy are applying their experience in new ways, learning new skills and tapping into endless resources for training and support. They’re designing their lives, carving out time for family and building professions based on their passions. Along the way, the friends they’re making, people they’re meeting and places they’re seeing are enriching their lives beyond what they thought was possible.

    The YouEconomy is an umbrella over a handful of movements with disparate labels. Parts of it, along with other developments toward economic freedom and flexibility, have been referred to as the sharing economy, on-demand economy, gig economy and freelance economy.

    The YouEconomy encompasses all ages, ethnic backgrounds and education levels.

    As diverse as the people in the YouEconomy are, they generally have three things in common:

    – They have more control over how they spend their time than the average employee.
    – They have more control over their income than the average employee.
    – They are actively learning and exploring new ways of creating prosperity.

    If you recognize your dream in this list, that’s good news. The YouEconomy offered hope and happiness.

    Create. Innovation is at the heart of the YouEconomy. ¨we’re living in a world where people can become businesses in 60 seconds.”

    How in the world do you start?

    • First, evaluate your potential.
    • Consider your passion.
    • Evaluate your skill set.

    Your next step is to click on this link – Introducing to the YouEconomy-  and read, re-read, re-reread this special report, take your own notes, share and engage in conversations with your friends, fans, and family.

    Enjoy your learning experience and share,

    Roosevelt

     

     

  • Leadership & the power of a few: Every body can. Only a few will.

    Last Tuesday, I was speaking at a leadership meeting in Fort-Lauderdale, and I quoted best-selling author Malcom Gladwell, a New Yorker reporter, who published the book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference.

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    I am a great fan of Gladwell. I read most of his work. And I encourage you to do your own work by digging dipper yourself in his literature. As a community builder, I am sharing with you some of the thoughts I picked from Gladwell‘s book which I used in my speaking engagement last Tuesday.

    The Tipping Point describes How ideas, products, messages, and behaviors can spread as fast as viruses do.

    The very same way we can have a flu, measles, or HIV contagion, we can also create a positive contagious effect with a small group of people.

    Everything can change all at once. This is like an epidemic. Gladwell coined the concept of “contagiousness”. This is what is called in mathematics a geometric progression.

    A virus doubles , and doubles, and creates a huge effect, a tipping point, a sudden change.

    The Tipping Point, Gladwell said, is the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point of any endeavor.

    3 rules of Epidemics

    Epidemics are a function of the people who transmit infectious agents, the infectious agent itself, and the environment in which the infectious agent is operating. When something happens in 1, 2, or 3 of these ares, an epidemic tips, Gladwell acknowledged.

    1.- The Law of the Few (People)

    2.- The Stickiness Factor (Infectous Fator)

    3.- The Power of Context (Environment)

    Thetippingpoint

    Gladwell taught an American history lesson to illustrate his point on #1 The Power of the Few.He named John Hancock, and Samuel Adams as the two original men who stood up against the British soldiers in the colony of Massachusetts. Their actions were followed by Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, and 56 other men who organized the First Continental Congress which led to the Declaration of Independence.

    He also wrote about the courage of Paul Revere who spread the message for the community to wake up and be ready to fight for freedom. Paul revere spread this message thru word of mouth: the most important form of communication.

    Gladwell questioned: “Why some ideas and trends and messages tip and others don’t?”

    “The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts,”  Gladwell said mentioning that these few people are around us. They are:

    1.- Connectors. Those who develop the skill to know  lost of people. They have a natural gift to make social connections. They develop curiosity, self-confidence, sociability, and energy. Connectors  are in the habit of making introductions.They are the equivalent of a computer network hub. They are people who “link us up with the world…people with a special gift for bringing the world together”. They are “a handful of people with a truly extraordinary knack [… for] making friends and acquaintances”

    2.- Mavens. Those who accumulate knowledge and want to tell you about what they know.They are avid readers, lecturers, teachers. They are “information specialists”, or “people we rely upon to connect us with new information”. They accumulate knowledge, and know how to share it with others. They  want to solve other people’s problems, generally by solving their own”. As Malcolm Gladwell states, “Mavens are really information brokers, sharing and trading what they know”

    3.- Salesmen. Those who master the art of communication and persuasion. Those who can spread an emotional contagion. They  are “persuaders”, charismatic people with powerful negotiation skills. They tend to have an indefinable trait that goes beyond what they say, which makes others want to agree with them.

    As I told my audience last Tuesday, I am glad to be part of Life Leadership Compensated Community, a premier leadership media and education company aiming at setting people free to live the life they’ve always wanted.

    We have a message worth spreading which gives us the #2 Stickiness Factor. People are addictive to TV likes zombies which entice them, and seduce them to live in debt, Life Leadership is creating a new media addiction, by providing content and association to escape what best selling author and leadership guru, Orrin Woodward called the Financial Matrix.

    Life Leadership has #3 The Power of Context. Context matters. Life Leadership CEO and best-selling author Chris Brady delivered a recent talk he names THE Shift of a Life Time. The environment today is ready for a new message of hope and truth to set people free.

    harriet-tubman-pictures-1

    It was 1:00 am, today, I, with some other friends, were leaving the woods of Immokalee, South West Florida. Under the cover of darkness, thru word of mouth, we were spreading the message of self-directed leadership education, entrepreneurship, inviting some families to join us in the underground railroad to escape the matrix. We are the new conductors like abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who led hundreds of enslaved people to freedom along the route of the Underground Railroad.

    Here are some poignant quotes fro Harriet Tubman:

    Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.
    I freed a thousand slaves I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.
    I grew up like a neglected weed – ignorant of liberty, having no experience of it.
    financialmatrix
    We  want to do the same thing. We want to free thousand of families from the matrix, which is a web of debt, and enslave people. We hope to bring them our Financial Matrix night pack of messages  which include information to read, to listen,  and to associate with like minded connectors, wavens, and salesmen. We want them to be aware, to have consciousness of their being a new modern slave of consumption, and to be part of a community of learners, earners, who dare to dream, to set their aim high, and to not wish to win the power ball, but to work as hard as they can to become Power Players, and to live the life they’ve always wanted.
    This is not for every body. But every body can. Only a few will.
    God bless,
    @rooseveltjf
    #rooseveltjeanfrancois

     

  • Leadership, Ethics, and Money Production

    New York Times bestselling author of And Justice For All, and  Guinness World Record Holder for largest book signing ever, Orrin Woodward,  just released a blog post on  the Cobden Centre’s Andy Duncan reviewing  Jorg Guido Hulsmann’s book The Ethics of Money Production.

    In Woodward’s opinion, the number one battle for freedom begins with checking the Five Laws of Decline (FLD) destruction of the monetary system by the State elites.

    “What is the point in checking government through representative government, separation of powers, term limits if the government can have access to practically unlimited funds?”, he asked.

    ajfa-bookOrrin Woodward’s book And Justice For All spells out how the elites plunder the production of society. Since Adam Smith and Jean Baptiste Say, economists have recognized the 3 factors of all production – labor, land, and capital. The elites have plundered all three factors of production.

    “The central planning of the financial system is inconceivable, illogical, and inconsistent since its underlying presuppositions run counter to our alleged free market system,” Woodward said.

    Thomas Jefferson, in 1816, from his Monticello estate, was calling the attention of Colonel Charles Yancey, on “…deluded citizens… clamoring for more banks, more banks… We are under the bank bubble …, and as every nation is liable to be, under whatever bubble, design, or delusion may puff up in moments when off their guard.”

    Jefferson added in this letter his famously known quote: ” If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”

    “The functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty and property of their constituents.  There is no safe deposit for these but with the people themselves ;  nor can they be safe with them without information.  Where the press is free, and every man able to read, all is safe.” (Thomas Jefferson letter to Colonel Charles Yancey).

    I am glad to be part of the Life Leadership Compensated Community led by Orrin Woodward who has authored and co-authored  multiple books and sold millions of them in the quest to lead people to the truth.

    One of my hero, as I told a group I was speaking to last week-end, in Maryland, is Dutty Francois (Bookman). He started with book reading, and  led the haitian slaves rebellion against their masters in 1791 which culminated to Independence in 1804. Yes, Haitians were  free, but remained largely ignorant with a mass of slaves who did not know how to read.

    Fortunately, we can invest the time to read and understand today. And, LIFE Leadership intends to play its part in educating society in the 8F’s of life to play its part in the restoration of liberty.

     

    God bless,

    Roosevelt

    Below is a portion of Andy Duncan’s review.

    book

    The book is divided into three beautifully-written main parts:

    • The Natural Production of Money
    • Inflation
    • Monetary Order and Monetary Systems

    These three parts cover everything you might think of, from the invention of metallic money all the way through to the end of Bretton-Woods and then the later creation of the Euro.  However, the heart of the book is a sequence of four chapters — in the second part of the book on Inflation —with two of these chapter titles, alas, unfortunately insisting on the use of American spellings and the appalling employment of the letter ‘zed’; the chapter content, however, is still very good, even if has fallen under the unwelcome control of an American spell-checker:

    • Legalized Falsifications
    • Legal Monopolies
    • Legal-Tender Laws
    • Legalized Suspensions of Payments

    When you are the elite organisation calling yourself ‘The State’, you have a monopoly on law in a particular territory; it is with this power that you can subvert and distort the natural order of private property, thus leading to the impoverishment and helotry of everyone else within that territory, under your rule, even leading to the ridiculous notion that any debt this elite runs up — to maintain their position of privilege — is somehow ‘owed’ by the subjugated population, despite no-one ever asking their opinion about whether this debt should have been taken on by the elite and despite all the benefits of the spending of that debt going directly into the grasping hands of that same privileged elite.

    The whole problem with money is the state’s imposition of legal privileges for bankers, given to bankers in return for the promise that they will always soak up the debts of politicians, to enable politicians to enslave their populations over time in a Procrustean bed of warfare and welfare, to the ultimate benefit of the politicians and their friends, and to the detriment of everyone else.

    These chapters make clear how that mechanism of monetary enslavement operates, and therefore how we can break that mechanism and become free again from the appalling bondage of government bonds. It is with the removal of these legal privileges and a restoration of the natural order of private property rights that we will be able to put the wheels back on the cart, get moving again, and put the politicians back in their place,

     

     

     

  • Leadership in the ocean of life: drifters, surfers, drowners, and sailers!

    What a great pleasure I had this last week end in Silver Spring, Maryland, to teach and to learn leadership and life issues with the Bread of Life Bible Fellowship Ministries led by Senior Pastor David Faustin and his spouse First Lady Yolaine Faustin and their outstanding team.

    I shared with them the following insight, reported by New York Times Bestselling author, Chris Brady, in his Life Leadership Essential Series’s book “Wavemakers: how small acts of courage can change the world.”

    Brady quoted Roy H. Williams about the four kind of people you meet on the vast and tumultuous ocean of life.

    rjf

    1.- Drifters. Those who drift just go with the flow. The wind and the waves control their speed and their direction. The drifter quietly floats along and says, “Whatever”. In our Haitian Creole we would say ¨JPP¨(Jan’l Pase l’Pase).

    2.- Surfers. Those who surf are always riding a wave, the next big thing. They stay excited until the wave fades away, then they scan the horizon for something new. Surfers don’t usually get anywhere, but they make a lot of noise and put on a good show.

    3.- Drowners. Those who drown seem to stay in the center of a storm. It doesn’t matter how often you rescue them, they’ll soon be in another crisis, crying, “Help me, save me.¨

    4.- Sailers. Those who sail are navigating toward a fixed point. They counteract the wind and the waves by adjusting the rudder and shifting the sails to stay on course.

    Having your immovable fixed point in life is detecting your purpose, your reason why, your sense of meaning. Sailers know why their destination.I told the group there are two important days in their life: the day you were born, and the day you discover why you were born.

    We had a conversation on defining leadership, the difference between leadership and leaders. We shared contents on vision, mission, and values, as well as the concepts of being dependent, independent, and interdependent in building communities.

    During the break, I had some time to interact with some of them. Drinking coffee, and eating fruits, I had some one on one short conversations and gathered some feedback on the first part of my presentation.

    Then Carline Brice, a seasoned professional with the OAS, who chairs the Public Relations Ministry at Bread Of Life Bible Fellowship Ministries, told me what she wanted to do for  the second part of the event. She did well. First, she congratulated me for the presentation, she mentioned one chapter of my book ¨Leadership Sur Le Vif: des idéés pour le changement et la création de Richesse¨. Then, she asked me to engage each one  present in the audience in a conversation about their commitment in the church, their strengths, and their weaknesses.

    It was fun to listen to each and every one lowering their guards and to talk freely about who they are, their strenghts, and weaknesses.

    As I told Senior Pastor David Faustin, I have been meeting a lot of groups in our community, this is one of the best I met so far. This also bears a responsibility, not to lower the bar and move forward.

    God bless,

    Roosevelt

  • Leadership, Culture, & Values!

    I am scheduled to speak this week-end at a leadership conference in Washington DC at a 100 + members faith-based organization. My core speech will be about leadership development, corporate culture, and values. My goal is to inspire members of this organization to engage themselves and other members in continuing self-directed leadership education, and to passionately create a culture of added values to the benefit of their community.

    I am indebted to the Life Leadership Company to have included authors Randy Ross, and David Salyers’ book Remarkable! as part of my recent leadership subscription. I will be using their ideas on cultural transformation as well as New York Times best selling authors Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady’s book Launching a Leadership Revolution to define leadership.

    What can we do to craft a culture where we believe the very best in our people and call out the very best from our people? That’s the question the authors are asking in their remarkable book understanding trust as a key factor for progress.

    ¨Where trust is high, resistance is low. Therefore, change and progress come quickly. Conversely, where trust is low, resistance is high. Therefore, change and progress come slowly¨, they said.

    Our values define us. They find expressions in our daily decisions. We see the world through our unique lens, which are crafted by the prioritization of certain values.

    What we need to do reach our full potential is to allow our values to drive our business. We need to define, articulate, and embody our values. The more our values are in alignment as a team, the more value we can create for everyone. Unity is a powerful in driving productivity.

    Serving is about creating value for and not simply seeking to extract value from every encounter, endeavor, and relationship.

    Relationship implies a desire to stay engaged with others. Nothing of long-lasting positive value ever happens by force.

    Ross & Salyers define culture as “the collective expression of the values, thoughts and behaviors that individuals bring to the organization.”

    Every teams or organizations have a culture. We can have a culture by design or by default. The only real competitive advantage any organization has is the culture that it fosters.

    Culture is the single most important factor in the success of any organization and must be the highest priority of leadership

    A company’s culture is its greatest competitive advantage, and will either multiply a company efforts, or divide both its performance and its people.

    Ross & Salyers said “the most important issue facing any business it to intentionally craft a Remarkable! Culture of value creation. Everything else is secondary. “

    We develop a sense of satisfaction when we understand who we are and how we can best bring value to every relationship and every endeavor we invest ourselves in.

    The authors argue that “strong organizations always put people ahead of profits because they know that if you do right by your people – internally and externally – then the profits will follow.”

    Great organizations create powerful relationships through the superior value they bring to the marketplace.

    Each time we make a decision; there is a short term and a long term dimension that must be considered. Many decisions have a short term gain but carry a long term loss; while other decisions may have a short term loss, but ensure a long term gain. (Rooss & Salyers)

    The impact of culture in any organization cannot be overstated. The culture is the single most important factor in the success of any organization and must be the highest priority of leadership.

    I am glad to be invited to add value and to invest my talents and speaking ability in this faith-based organization leadership retreat in Washington DC. As discussed with the event planner, leadership is not acquired in a day, but is developed daily.

    This will be a commencement. My call for action is to have potential leaders of this organization engaged in our self-directed continuing corporate leadership education system for the upcoming 6 months.

     

    God bless,

     

    Roosevelt

  • Leadership, acceptance, & appreciation: I accept you the way you are, and I appreciate you for who you become

    I accept you the way you are, and I appreciate you for who you become. This is the title of a speech I will present today at VOICE Toastmasters club in Fort-Lauderdale, Florida. I have the pleasure to share with you the content of my upcoming speech. Enjoy.

    Last Thursday, I went to the dentist. I entered the office, put my name on the waiting list. The secretary, with a nice smile, asked me for my insurance information and ID card. I pulled them from my wallet and handed them to her. She made copies, handed them back to me, and invited me to have a sit while waiting for my turn.

    I shared the space with other 8 people.  Some were watching TV, others were skimming at magazine pictures. I prefer reading my own book.  I usually carry a book with me wherever I go.

    I had Les Giblin’s book “How to have confidence and power in dealing with people¨. I discovered his triple-A formula for making and keeping friends. This is my pleasure to share with you this triple-A formula which is resumed as follow:

    1.- Accept

    2.- Approve

    3.- Appreciate

    Acceptance is lesson # 1 learned from Les Giblin. You are who are. I  accept you the way you are. I want you to continue to be yourself around me. I accept you as a human being with your mistakes, flaws, and your shortcomings.

    Reading this reminds me a story reported by best selling author Orrin Woodward in his book “Resolved: 13 resolutions for LIFE” which displays the power of acceptance.

    A water bearer in China had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole, which he carried across his neck. One of the pot had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot was only half-full. For a full two years, this went on daily with the bearer delivering  only one and a half pots of water to his house.

    Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect for what it was made to do. The poor cracked pot was ashamed of its imperfection. It was miserable to accomplish only half of what it was made to do.

    After two years of feeling a bitter failure, the poor cracked pot spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. Ï am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you. I have been able to deliver only half of my load because this crack on my side causes water to leak as you walk the way back to your house. Because of my flaw, you have to do all this work, and you don’t get the full value of your efforts”, the pot said.

    The bearer said to the pot , ” Did you notice there are only flowers on the side of your path, but not on the other side? That’s because I have always known your flaw. So, I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day, when we walk back, you water them.  for two years, I have been able to pick up these beautiful flowers, to decorate the table. Without you being, just the way you are , there will not be this beauty to grace the house¨.

    Thinking about this story while I was reading Giblin’s book brought a bright smile in my face in the dentist room. My neighbor look at me wondering what am I wondering about.

    I continued my self-directed education to lesson 2 which is approval. Acceptance doesn’t mean approval. I accept you the way you are doesn’t mean I approve everything you do. If acceptance is withholding criticisms, then approval is releasing compliments.  Approval moves beyond acceptance and extends to acclaim for your specific gifts, talents, abilities, and actions. I invest the time to look for your good qualities, your positive attributes, and I approve you by sharing what I admire about you.

    Orrin Woodward said “regretfully , many times, these good words are spoken only at a deceased friend’s funeral, but why wait for the funeral to tell a friend what is admirable about him?”

    “Approval is the shining of one’s light into another’s darkness; although the words cost little, their value to others is priceless¨, the leadership guru wrote.

    Lesson # 3 is Appreciation. This triple-A formula is like a buffet. Acceptance is the appetizer, approval is the main dish, and appreciation is the dessert.

    I accept you the way you are, I approve you for your special talents, and I appreciate you for who you can become. You are unique, not just another face in the crowd. I appreciate you. I value you.

    When something depreciates, it loses value; but when something appreciates, it gains value. What gives value to you is your rarity, your uniqueness. My appreciation for you helps you gain value.

    I learned to really appreciate you, I should share all the good I can find in you with others. I should help you to turn up your positive voice  while simultaneously reducing your negative voice. I want you to believe in yourself and live the life you’ve always wanted.

    The secretary called my name. I got into the dentist room, laid on the dental chair, opened my mouth for the cleaning session, with this poem I just read on my mind:

    “A friend is someone who knows you as you are, understand where you have been, accepts who you have become, and still gently invites you to grow”.