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LEADERSHIP MATTERS
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March
2010
Issue: 38
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Welcome
to Leadership Matters
Perspective is
not a dirty word
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For
some reason it has never sat well with me when I am talking about
what people take from my keynotes to suggest that perspective is a
likely outcome. I hear it often enough from audiences but I
certainly never use the word myself. If people reflect upon their
life, be it where they currently are or their journey to date and if
they feel they could do more, try harder or achieve more with less -
that is a personal reflection.
For a period, each time I would leave the orphanages
at Baan Tharn Namchai, I would walk away feeling quite heavy in
knowing there was a need to do more and that I should be working
harder to improve the lives of the kids. I indeed was taking
perspective on what they were achieiving or more importantly the
smiles on their faces whilst they achieved the many wonderful things
that they do.
Without so much as feeling sorry for the kids, I was
just getting some perspective.
The funny thing though with perspective is that you
can keep changing your views by what you are comparing your situation
too. There is a saying that kind of fits well, "I cried because
I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet". That's
perspective in a nutshell.
So I met some kids a couple of days ago who
metaphorically speaking had no shoes, feet or legs for that
matter. To the point where I would have met more of them, but
last year seven of them died through lack of affordable
medication. Their deaths were preventable.
To call Baan Tharn Namchai in Khao Lak where we have
built the homes for the kids 'orphanages' is almost to do them a
disservice. They are big beautiful homes filled with well fed,
happy kids who play each afternoon when they come home from school.
What I saw a couple of days ago is what I guess most
people would consider an 'orphanage' might look like. The look
of the orphanage and the kids is one of tiredness and having come out
the other side of a pretty hard battle, that's because every day for
them is a battle. Their director, founder and sole income
generator has terminal cancer and each day is a battle for her.
The smiles of the kids living in this orphanage in the
Yasothon Province are equally as beautiful as those of ours living in
Baan Tharn Namchai. They are just innocent kids who have found
themselves in a pretty horrible situation, through no fault of their
own.
The kids at Yasothon, don't even have their own clothes.
At the end of the school year they take their one set of clothes and
shoes, they are washed and put into a plastic bag for someone
younger. On a very basic level the kids are stripped of their
own clothes, they don't even own them. How often can we not
find the clothes we are looking for because they are hidden amongst
all the others we don't wear, or is that just me?
I am not suggesting we are not entitled to the life we
lead or the comforts that come with it - to get what we have, we have
too work hard and there is a level of entitlement. I certainly
enjoy the finer things that life has to offer that is for sure.
But the bed is softer, food more delicious and
holidays that much more enjoyable when taken with a slice of
perspective.
So I have come to accept that perspective is not a bad
word, it doesn't have to sound offensive or arrogant, when used
appropriately is it quite the stimulant. When was the last time
you got a decent serve of perspective - watch out though it can have
some unexpected side effects.
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Peter Baines
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BIG
NEWS!!!!
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One
of the things that we have recently done is create a Ning community.
For those who have no idea what that is, don't worry neither did I
until a few weeks ago. But I have since embraced it. I
describe it as a mix between Facebook and our Hands Website.
It allows two way communication and posting of material. If you
would like to contribute to the discussion we are having, jump onto
the Hands Ning and have a look, we welcome your contributions.
Hands Ning
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Hands
Update
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There is a great deal happening on
the Hands front. In a little over six weeks time we will gather for
our second night of inspiration at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Steve Waugh
room on the 27th of May. On the back of the success of last year,
the boys have pulled together what will surely be another brilliant night.
Not one to be big on auctions at charity dinners, this time I am
excited. It is going to be an auction filled with experiences that
you can't buy off the shelf. Sydney Hands Dinner
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