Want to know how to re-invent your organization? Start by reinventing yourself!

As if the non-stop economic challenges of the past three years weren’t bad enough, a hidden crisis is beginning to emerge from the economic rubble that has taken residence in so many people’s lives: Organization and business leaders have to deal with a challenge for which they are completely unprepared, and in most cases, have never encountered or been trained to handle. 

Organizations are increasingly recognizing that today’s turbulent times require nothing short of continual deposits of innovation in order to experience reinvention. Weathering the rough waves of today’s cyclones is simply not enough; organizations must be poised to design and integrate repeatable processes that regularly renew their firms before the next crisis hits. The inertia that stems from the processes normally takes hold once everyone achieves a definite buy-in, moving in the same direction, doing the same thing and at the same time. This type of renewal must begin with the leaders themselves. 

For generations, the United States had a culture that supported entrepreneurialism and the creation of new growth businesses. Regions like Research Triangle Park in North Carolina and Silicon Valley in California represented the embodiment of this culture. Today, individuals and the organizations that also support this form of growth – entrepreneurialism, new creations and positive energy – must develop this ability as well. 

Leaders and organizations alike need to understand the arrangement stemming from the economic rubble that defines the way forward for the future; they must understand the importance of building a “dual core” culture that excels at building new growth opportunities, while harnessing the full potential of existing businesses. It’s a tough challenge. Consider the seemingly paradoxical demands this challenge places on leaders’ plates: 

• I must focus on running operations with strategic and flawless execution without stifling creativity.
• I am valued today for my successful existing business, but tomorrow’s ideas are critical for long-term success.
• Attention to detail and focus on numbers has allowed me to progress in my career, but too much detail- or number-orientation can crowd out innovation.
• If I am to achieve the successes that I am striving, I must be prepared to do that which I have never done in my past.  
• I must leverage current capabilities, my strengths, to win over my own vulnerabilities, my weaknesses, to win my Future Picture, while helping others to find their voice.  

These challenges call into mind the old words of F. Scott Fitzgerald: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the same mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” Passing Fitzgerald’s test requires that leaders manage two different “gut instincts” at the same time, one more operational and one more entrepreneurial. Few leaders do this well, and even then, one side of the gut usually dominates. 

Importantly, individual leaders who can personally pass Fitzgerald’s test often can’t crisply articulate how they do so, which inhibits their ability to develop and select the next generation of leaders. The good news? Researchers, such as Harvard’s Robert Kegan in his book “In Over Our Heads,” have mapped out the stages of inner development that one must traverse to be an effective multi-selved leader. 

However, the bad news? Kegan’s research also demonstrates what we instinctively know; only a tiny fraction of adults, even the leaders of global firms, reach a self-development stage where they can confidently confront paradox. It seems counterintuitive that achievement-oriented individuals haven’t naturally achieved personal development levels that allow them to master these kinds of challenges. The problem isn’t a lack of basic intelligence, desire, or capacity. Rather, they haven’t developed the ability to grapple with paradox because they haven’t needed to. 

Additional research, such as the works of author Damian D. “Skipper” Pitts, a United States Marine turned business consultant, discusses in his book “Success TRAPS: Awaken your Realized Potential for Lasting Fulfillment,” the phenomenon known as The Paradox of Achievement: The Art, Discipline, Practice and Purpose of the Shifting Individual. He suggests that change, like it or not, is the most predominant fact of our age. “Shift Happens!” None of us can prevent it, but ALL of us must deal with it. To do so, he offers five disciplines to integrate into our lives to overcome the paradox: 1) improving personal proficiencies, 2) adopt  transformational thinking, 3) learn to swim in blue oceans, 4) paint a Picasso on the canvas of life – legacy, and 5) achieve professional mastery – character. 

He believes that these five disciplines create new waves of experimentation and advancement – and, hopefully, “shifting individuals” where “people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire.” “Emerging from the economic rubble is similar to trying to reassemble the fragments of a broken mind to see a true reflection,” he says. We must learn to think, interact and see the connectedness of all things that are significant in new and different ways. Before we can re-think and redesign, though, we must see things differently: “If you want what you do not have, you must be prepared to do what you have not done!” Everything we “see” and “know” is filtered through our internal structures Skipper calls “a shift of mind.” We accept the things that “fit” our preconceived notions of right/wrong, good/bad. Anything that doesn’t fit, we just do not see and accept. Peter Senge reminded us of an old adage; “The eye cannot see the eye.” So, we must learn to see new things. 

There’s no silver bullet to address the challenge of paradox, but the following three tips can help leaders begin the necessary process of personal reinvention. 

1. Personalized development: Work with a human resources executive to develop a personalized development program. Integrating or designing an Emerging Leaders Program can help leaders improve their ability to grapple with paradox. Consider using tools such as Pitts’ Success TRAPS program to help accelerate your and your team’s ability to change. 

2. Expose yourself to new experiences and challenges: Start a “nights and weekend” activity rife with ambiguity. University of Southern California Professor Morgan McCall describes how a manager’s capabilities come from attending “schools of experience.” Helping a family member with a small business, launching a volunteer program at work, or spearheading an activity in the community can be ways to gain exposure to new sets of challenges. 

3. Expose yourself to new inputs and deposits: Consciously complicate your life by brushing up against other disciplines. It’s a long-held view that innovation often occurs when different disciplines intersect. Going to trade shows in unrelated industries, trading jobs for a week with a colleague at a non-competitive company, or even watching an old movie to glean insight for the future can expose leaders to new ways of thinking. 

Albert Einstein once defined insanity as doing the same thing and expecting different results. Einstein would surely raise his eyebrows at individuals and organizations that ask mono-focused, execution-minded leaders to spearhead reinvention efforts. Leaders need to start the process of personal reinvention soon, or suffer the inevitable consequences that lie ahead. 

Adapted from the works of Scott D. Anthony and Michael Putz

First Published on 6/23/2009 

Scott D. Anthony is President of Innosight LLC, an innovation consulting and investing firm with offices in Baltimore, Boston, Singapore, and India, and the author of The Silver Lining: An Innovation Playbook for Uncertain Times (Harvard Business Press, June 2009).  

Michael Putz is Director of Business Development and Strategy for Cisco Systems. He focuses on the leadership challenges of disruptive innovation and sustainable growth.

Unlock the Potential of Natural Program

Do you make the most of your own talent? Does your organization make the most of its talented, dedicated leaders? If they aren’t being used to inspire, mentor, coach, and train others, then it’s time to help them – and your organization – reach their full potential. 

People are the drivers that allow organizations to go from good to great. Our four-hour, half-day “Unlock the Potential of Natural Program” is designed to help you excel in leading others to spectacular performance through engagement, high-quality connections, coaching, strengths-based performance management and more. Whether you need to drive change within your organization, develop your management style or oversee others, the perspectives and practices you take away from this program will help you overcome the most complex leadership challenges – in a short amount of time. Discover how to unlock your potential, reveal the possibilities and facilitate a more positive performance in your people, your organization and your own individual leadership style. You’ll leave with more than a new outlook; you’ll have a new way of thinking. 

Takeaways 

This unique development program is based on the concept of human potential. Through this lens you will develop: 

• A leadership mindset that will allow you to coach and counsel for peak performance
• An increased ability to manage through potentially disruptive change
• An understanding of how to motivate yourself and others
• The ability to interpret uncontested opportunity so that you effectively manage relationships and achieve organizational goals
• An enhanced ability to utilize purpose to develop yourself and your team 

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Admission is selective and based on professional achievement and organizational responsibility. No formal educational requirements apply, but proficiency in written and spoken English is essential. Executive Education programs enhance the leadership capacity of the managers enrolled as well as their organizations, and DPI expects full commitment from both. While participants devote time and intellect to the learning experience, sponsoring companies agree to assume fees, provide for reasonable expenses, and relieve individuals of their work responsibilities during the program. 

PROGRAM FEE: The $149 program fee covers tuition, books, case materials, and action-learning activities and participants gifts. Payment is due prior to program start date. If admission is within 30 days prior to the start of the program, payment is due upon receipt of the invoice. Cancellation policies are outlined in the information provided to applicants upon admission. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact our course consultants at:

DPI Executive Education Programs

C/o: Success Naturals

Email: info@successnaturals.com

Telephone: +1-877-838-3753

Fax: +1-267-937-2280

Unlock the Potential of Natural; your Wake-up Call – it’s your LIFE!

One topic of continuing interest across society is how do I/we unlock the potential for significant success using my own natural abilities? This discussion also moves into a higher level discussion about “what is potential?” Yet, that is a discussion for another article that is soon to follow. It is a more complex topic and I would rather help you to unlock the potential you currently possess. 

In the tough and uncertain times that we are now living, this is an important issue being discussed and considered by most and how some researchers of personal performance have indicated we human beings are only getting 8 to 10% of our true potential. If this is true, and there is truth in the research, then we have a huge upside to engage! 

So, let’s take a look at a simple human pleasure and what we can learn from its natural power; a scented candle. From its teachings, its aromas, the wick and its fueling power illustrates four simple steps you can employ today to unlock your potential and improve your workable steps to achieve and exceed your own defined understanding for success in life. It all begins with a simple quote: 

“Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation and a slight hint of faith from the aroma of creativity; burning your inner flame allows you to create from within. Dare to dream by lighting your creative wick; your own fragrance of sweat and the light within your eyes will be the action taken towards the achievement of success.” 

Four Steps to Unlock your Potential 

1. Know and Understand “Self” 

Here we are talking about the image that stands in the mirror each morning and the depth of the reflection to understand personal awareness of your natural strengths and weaknesses. Amidst the desolate landscape of fallen great individuals, people across every corner of the globe have sat quiet in the darkness of a small bedroom and began to wonder: why is it that success is so hard to achieve, takes so much time to attain, and yet has the potential to fall with a mighty blow – quickly? Well, the answer can be traced to a word that most have never heard before – Putrefaction: decay, breakdown rotting. 

Have you ever sat down quietly to remove the noise of life from the moment and looked at yourself? Start with a complete personal assessment package to finding out what makes you tick. Use more than one assessment to uncover different things – such as “how you do what you do each day – your behavioral style” or the “what of your actions.” Another consideration would be “why you do the things you do – where do you have passion or indifference? Or, simply the “why of your actions.” What competencies have you mastered or have no mastery? What are your personal skills or true potential compared to the population as a whole? What is your emotional status or the value system that endures your drive to peak your own performance? Are there emotional triggers leading to poor performance and results that could be changed or modified? And finally, what is your level of putrefaction? Can you detect personal putrefaction early and can it be avoided? How much destruction must a person endure before the path towards doom become inevitable and unshakeable? How can the course be reversed? Are you aware when it shows its ugly face in your mirror? Have you ever tested the burn time of your own wick to understand your personal proficiencies, skills and knowledge to allow you to become the true professional you are naturally growing into? 

The starting point for all personal development and performance improvement is to know your natural strengths and weaknesses – the burn time of your own wick – and compare these to the requirements of your role for “self” and others in life. Your inner passion is the wick that runs throughout and drives your strengths to impact your performance. Understanding your burn time – the buttons that determines the “what (behaviors) and why (values) of your actions” helps to improve the areas needed for you to perform at higher levels. Putrefaction is the ignored weaknesses that you believe have no bearing on your performance in life, but the impact when it is ignored has lasting effects. 

Knowing and understanding yourself requires a personal study of positive psychology and strengths-based leadership for teaching and learning – and, as I was learning to overcome my own weaknesses (putrefaction), I setout to confront the questions offered here. What I learned will astonish anyone looking to achieve success from their own natural abilities; you can stave off putrefaction and decline simply by understanding how to direct your inner passion – the wick that runs throughout and drives your strengths that impacts your performance. When you find yourself sitting in a dark place in life, reverse the course by starting with a complete personal assessment to finding out what makes you tick. Putrefaction can be avoided, putrefaction can be detected and putrefaction can be reversed; it just requires a lot of work – it’s your life. 

2. Know the Package you are Selling!  

Yes, the old product knowledge is still important today, only this time, the product is you! The first step helps you with your self confidence because you are becoming keenly aware of the product being offered to the world. The ability to speak in terms of problems solved, unique characteristics, competitive advantages and true benefits or advantages to the individuals affected by you gives you a natural advantage. Believe it or not, most individuals can only parrot the features or product details because human behavior allows us to believe what others allow us to think of ourselves (perception). I once heard the radio personality, comedian and television star Steve Harvey make a statement in the form of a question that everyone should consider in life: “when my confidence collides with your insecurity that makes me cocky?” I was driving at the time of hearing this profound statement and had to pull the car over to think. 

You see, you must master the product (you) and the applications that arise from the product to be seen as a true master to those whom you influence or emulate. Mastery sends off an outstanding aroma that excites others to succeed. The better you are representing the product, the greater the opportunity you’ll have to remain in a state of enthusiasm. And, enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation and a slight hint of faith from the aroma of creativity – you own natural creativity that wins success through hard work.

Also, something else you should be capable of in representing an outstanding product is gaining a complete understanding of the related services it offers and the significant benefits that accompanies that package when the product arrives to its destination. Now, for the people who are able to honestly and truthfully follow me to this point, gaining mastery in representing a well constructed product takes a lifetime. There is no easy ride to the top, no quick fixes or gimmicks and no get rich quick schemes; only the fine print of very hard work while everyone else is sleeping. However, the best sales people tend to break away from the status quo by taking in small usable bite-sized strings of knowledge and information, usually built from others who are experiencing success of their own. In other words, the best understand that if they are to have what they have never had, they must be prepared to do what they have never done! And, to do what you have never done and to succeed, I would suggest that you watch and emulate who you believe is the best, learn their methods and make them your own. The more you know… the more valuable you become to the world. Or, you can keep doing what you have always done. I am sure that you are very well aware that doing this only produces what you have always received – it’s your life. 

3. Only Swim in Blue Oceans 

Most people away from the business sphere may not have heard of Blue Ocean Strategy. It is a strategy used in business to determine uncontested opportunity. Performance improvement initiatives, personal or business, fail for two main reasons. First, conception: people (the main ingredient in both) try to do the wrong things. And secondly, execution: they fail to engage with the complexities of aligning behaviors around the new models. Three patterns have emerged: some initiatives are total failures; some start well and then lose momentum; a few launch processes of self-sustaining improvement.

Now this would seem to be logical, yet some sales people (remember #2) cannot understand who their primary competitors are. Talk about being naive. Yet, it goes further than just the obvious primary competitor. People must also learn to watch for secondary or non-traditional sources of competition and the competition I am referring is not far off; it is starring back at you in the mirror. Swimming in Blue Oceans means that we are confident in our abilities to swim all together, simply because this form of swimming means that you are out at sea – metaphorically speaking, so far away from the status quo that all you can see is blue oceans where nothing else matters, but your own ability to survive. 

Achieving outstanding performance in life emphasizes the importance of making the right decisions and choices. You must gain an understanding of the role played by the people in your life, the process that you work to live by day-in and day-out, and the measures taken to meet the level of performance to win your day – each and every day of your life. You must be willing to learn additional applications and procedures within the power of life to lead and transform lives, organizations and communities, beginning with your own, while grappling with transformation to draw upon the dos and don’ts in performance excellence. This requires you to ask a question of self: “Am I willing to undertake a process of significance to take a stand?” How many people are crazy enough to jump off of a boat while out at sea, with no land in sight, to swim back to shore, knowing that they will make it without fail? Undertaking a process of significance to take a stand means that you are doing just that; learning to integrate concepts and tools to manage implementation to achieve sustainable levels of performance. 

It is my belief that we as people must be willing to understand how to accept the importance of encouraging others to call upon their own inner strengths and courage to face the many tough situations ahead. Courage is the first essential quality and attribute for effective leadership and a significant benefit for leaders on a journey to achieve outstanding performance. 

Courage requires us to dare to dream by lighting our creative wick to realize our own fragrance of sweat and the light within our eyes will be the actions taken towards the achievement of success. Your process to take a stand must be designed to help you analyze different sources of resistance and look at how to create change strategies that factor in the different, non-linear dynamics of a change process over time. Specifically, learning to swim in blue oceans helps you to enhance your skills in the area of understanding your own motivations, creating and sustaining positive momentum for change and building broad networks of support. So, do you have the courage to swim in blue oceans? – It’s your life.  

4. Learn your Place and GET there – Purpose  

Here is where strategy enters the sales game, knowing your customer can be a strategic concept. In fact, most individuals striving for success actually have a customer, goal, driven strategy or major driving force for reaching their goals. These people are those who clearly understand that they need to be very well aware of the boats taking them out to sea and the skills of the captains driving the boats. I believe that we were all sent here for a reason and that we all have significance in the world. I genuinely feel that we are all blessed with unique natural abilities and gifts. The expression of our gifts contributes to a cause greater than us. 

A few years ago, I was running at full speed; chasing after my dream of money and success. However, because of the allure of the chase, I had forgotten why I was running. Luckily, I learned of a relationship with the brothers FUD and THUD. Allow me to explain by sharing a personal story. My friend Dwayne (not his real name) had achieved all the financial goals I was reaching for. He had financial independence, several successful businesses, a fabulous home and the luxury to afford the finest things money could buy. 

Through hard work, persistence and sheer action; he had made it! But, Dwayne was not happy. He did not have the free time to enjoy his wealth. He wanted a family. He wanted peace. He wanted to live his life with a special person, but because of a lack of trust (that he himself did not realize was so strong); he was unable to achieve the simplicities his successes afforded him. He had too many responsibilities, too much to lose and too many things to protect. He had spent years building his empire and once it was complete, he spent most of his time keeping it from eroding. But, with all of his hard work, nothing could have convinced him that with less work and in far fewer years, his empire would disappear. And this explained his meeting the brothers FUD and THUD. The brothers FUD and THUD bring with them a state of utter confusion or disorder; a total lack of organization or order causing a chaotic state. When introduced, they like for people to know them by their birth names; Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt and his brother who is simply known by the sound of failure hitting the ground hard.   

Getting to know Dwayne was a life altering and eye opening experience. His story snapped me out of my state of unconsciousness (the monotony of life). It became clear to me that, “I did not want to spend the next years of my life chasing after money, only to find that the potential of coming back to the same starting place was real; emotionally, mentally and spiritually” empty. His story of meeting the brothers FUD and THUD caused my chase to come to a screeching halt! Everything was put on hold and I spent the next few months re-evaluating my life and my purpose. 

During this period, a few questions began to run through my mind: “What am I chasing after? Why am I chasing it? What is my purpose? And why was I put here? To answer these questions, I knew that what I needed was direction and I realized that in my own outrage, I was looking for answers in awkward places and in best selling books that basically advised me not to think, but make decisions on impulse without factual knowledge or critical analysis. To no surprise, my life like many others had been transformed by the culture of ignorance that we reside. Most people do not think for themselves, they try to win life by the sharp blade of incisive reasoning that has become a lost art of people everywhere. Whereas the blade that most should focus is the one of understanding purpose – and why crucial decisions cannot be made in the Blink of an eye. Purpose allows focus and discipline to permeate throughout the vision for the future; regardless of how much money anyone could acquire. If the way forward in life does not align with where purpose is leading, it should not be pursued. 

Figuring our purpose requires you to find out where you want to be and then directs the way of getting your there. Purpose offers a fundamental human need for guiding ideals that give meaning to our actions. It is man’s search for meaning as the primary motivation of his life. Put another way, purpose is described as a stable and generalized intention to accomplish something that is at once meaningful to self and of consequence to the world beyond the self. In my opinion, life’s successes requires purpose as a selfless act founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play. 

Purpose must encapsulate three central concerns: positive emotions, positive individual traits, and positive institutions. Understanding positive emotions entails the study of contentment with the past, happiness in the present and hope for the future. 

Understanding positive individual traits consists of the study of the strengths and virtues, such as the capacity for love and work, courage, compassion, resilience, creativity, curiosity, integrity, self-knowledge, moderation, self-control, and wisdom. Understanding positive institutions entails the study of the strengths that foster better communities, such as justice, responsibility, civility, parenting, nurturance, work ethic, leadership, teamwork, purpose, and tolerance. It is safe to say that anyone who really works to establish purpose following these outlined descriptions will have a future meeting with the brothers FUD and THUD. 

Simply because nothing worth having of value comes without the pains of real hard work. 

I am excited for your introduction to the brothers FUD and THUD because if you should have the painful pleasure of meeting them, you will have placed yourself on the road to achieve the promise of success from your own positive emotions, positive individual traits, positive institutions and understanding for achieving your own purpose. If you are less fortunate and do not have the painful pleasure of meeting them, I would suggest that you begin seeking a course correction within your way forward – It’s your life.  

Never Stop Learning 

I have come to the conclusion that learning is the fundamental activity in a successful and purposeful life. If we fail to learn, we fail to grow, and this means that we die. Life gives us endless opportunities to learn, and the more difficult the situation, the more we are likely to learn. 

We can learn from other people, especially difficult ones – they are like angels sent from heaven to teach us about ourselves. We can learn from the things happening around us. And most of all, we can learn by watching ourselves, seeing how we react and reflecting deeply on what moves us. In closing, these four activities, if they can become habits, will lead to success in all areas of life. They are not a quick fix, but are the foundation of a life lived well. 

In my search for expanding my personal growth, I setout to write a book that instructs others how to unlock the potential of their natural gifts by never giving up; be willing to change tactics, but never give up on striving to achieve the core purpose in life. Never give up on the idea of building the Future Picture that is most deserved in life – Success! Be willing to evolve into something entirely different, even to the point of zero overlap with what you do today, but never give up on the principles that defines your character. 

Swim in Blue Oceans; be willing to embrace loss, to endure pain, to temporarily lose freedoms, but never give up faith in the ability to prevail. Be willing to form alliances with former adversaries, to accept necessary compromise, but never ever-give up on core values. Understand that failure is not so much a physical state as a state of mind: success is falling down, and getting up one more time, without end. Whether you prevail or fail, endure or die, depends more on what you do to yourself than on what the world does to you – enjoy the education and feel free to share it with others. 

If you have any questions or comments about any of these points, please email me at Dpitts@successnaturals.com. 

Ductus Exemplo!

Building the Success Skincare Brand from Scratch

An entrepreneur places his best foot forward, including his heart and soul, into every aspect of his new company, from the branding and packaging to choosing the right vendors.  

The Entrepreneur: Damian D. “Skipper” Pitts, 41  

Background: Damian D. “Skipper” Pitts is a seasoned training professional with over 10+ years of experience in executive education, organization behavior, human resource development and transformational leadership. During this time, Skipper has been helping organizations like the U.S. Film Industry, the City of Philadelphia, Wachovia Banks, Hilton Hotels, HSBC, and Affiliate offices of the National Urban League develop and grow leaders at all levels. His message is grounded on a simple, yet fundamental principle: “First learn to lead yourself and then lead others to find their voice.” A U.S. Marine turned business professional and author, he continues to provide the essentials for anyone to keep striving for excellence no matter where they are or what they are doing. The lessons and advice benefits anyone in a work or non-work situation that is pressure-laden, but ultimately lacking in real personal satisfaction. Basically, Skipper teaches what to do when you find yourself out at sea and in the water alone – “you put your head down and swim through the rough waves” – leaving all they touch extraordinarily much better than the way they found it. 

The Company: Launched in 2010, Success Skin Care, a division of DamianPitts, Inc started specifically by selling the products online at DamianPitts.com, but in the coming months, they will be available at selected beauty salons, day spas and department stores including Scentsation and Milan Hair Studio in Philadelphia, as well as a number of smaller retailers. 

Sales: Success Skin Care, based in Fort Washington, PA, has earning expectations of $40,000 in sales for the first year and projects $1.2 million in 2011.  

His Story: An expert in organizational behavior, transformational leadership, team building maneuvers, diversity education and strategic execution skills, Skipper’s research examines the active learning process for high-performance work teams and organizational leadership dynamics within the marketplace. Additionally, Skipper is the Chairman of the Board for the ONE Freedom organization; a research and education nonprofit that raises awareness about the effects of everyday and traumatic stress on individuals and organizations. ONE Freedom provides programs that inspire self-mastery and conducts research on methods of self-regulation. ONE Freedom works nationally with returning veterans and families, education and healthcare. He is an accomplished author of more than 8 publications and over 32 journals, as well as a university instructor at Temple University leading courses to increase Personal Proficiencies, while improving individual Professional Mastery. Since being in the in the creative field for most of his professional career, the thought of creating something – a painting, sculpture, photograph – was never an intimidating notion. What he did not realize however, was the enormous endeavor of creating a living brand and what it would entail having pulled from every skill he had learned in the past 20 years of leadership.  

As he was considering the idea of developing a skincare line, he was faced with answering an interesting question: How do you go about building the equivalent of a person apart from yourself, a person with values and personality, who speaks to customers when you are not there? The answer came to him after the release of his latest publication, Success TRAPS: Awaken your Realized Potential for Lasting Fulfillment and the Success TRAPS Concepts Guide. When asked to tell the story of Success Skin Care, Skipper stated, “The idea of making a cosmetic product came to me after working on several branding projects to stimulate greater purpose and meaning in people’s every day lives. I’ve been a fan of the traditional scents, from Perry Ellis for Men and Women, Gray Flannel, Chanel, Armani, Musk, Avon and much more. The thought of reinterpreting such enduring products was irresistible and of course, the market is saturated with makeup brands, but I never saw Success Skin Care as a direct competitor to any specific brand in the market. I saw our market as a very well-defined niche, because our products are targeted and specific as well as being easily distinguishable…” 

Standing Out in a Crowd: Skipper wanted to build a company with heart and a soul that people could feel from just touching one of any family of products, and that could affect both men and women in a positive and empowering way. The products needed to have the power to bring a flood of memories to the wearer, positive associations that immediately made it endearing and familiar, while offering a feeling of empowerment for successful living. The key was to develop a brand that would stand out in a crowded marketplace! He learned after talking to people of all walks of life that creating a brand was like making a person entirely to a set of unique specifications; one who has a likeable personality, a high moral standing, a temperament and a physical appearance. When he setout to create Success, he infused the brand with a distinct personality that is carried to the customers with every detail in their interaction with the brand.

From the attractive look and feel of the containers, to the smell of the product, everything is a part of a whole and adds to a distinct experience. “Customers must know who we are, what we represent and they must be willing to tell us what products they want us to make. Customers, even if they don’t yet know who I am, should be happy to interact with me at events and tell me what they like or dislike about our products,” Skipper replied.  

Brand Personality: Skipper quickly found out that a brand’s personality is one of the main points of difference in the product landscape and a memorable one is essential for making the brand stick in the consumer’s mind. A moral standing is another main component of a successful brand. He and his team understood the importance of a customer knowing where the company stands on issues that are important to them. They have to identify with it and share common values to want to display it as something they believe in and trust. Never before has a skin care line been introduced into the marketplace to accompany a set of business and leadership/motivational publications and a professional development program that instills transformative thought for increased personal proficiency and improved professional mastery. Skipper is banking on his consumers who chooses to wear Success products to understand and buy-into the organization’s mission, so [helping them] feel good about their choices is a great way to grow its customer base. 

Skipper also understands that good brands also have a temperament. They are level-headed, like your favorite higher education institution, or hot-blooded like your favorite rock band. Great brands make a strong emotional connection with consumers and a temper makes a brand more human, and easier to relate to. Skipper setout to make Success unisex, romantic, empowering, elegant, classic and unique. Success also has old-fashion values, is trustworthy and ethical. The brand is anchored in history and tradition; it has a heritage by association.  

Consistency Is Key: To gain a full understanding of how Skipper setout to communicate the uniqueness of the brand, he first looked at the landscape of consumer brands and noticed a sea of black plastic containers with different logos stamped on their surfaces. He knew that more was needed if he had any chance of being different, so he set his sights on aluminum that will move the company into a more earth conscience state of mind. Keeping in the brand of the Success TRAPS book covers, the containers and designs help make the products very distinctive and instantly recognizable. The use of careful branded products allows consistency to be key. Colors, textures, and lettering all work together to create an image for the consumer to remember and are the first point of entry into the image of the brand. Color and the sight of beautiful romance offer one of the most powerful features in the packaging. It is instrumental in finding the brand on a crowded store shelf. Skipper used his fiancée on the book’s cover and for the product labeling because she represents passion, elegance and romance, while the cream and black rich colors balance the power of the cool light smell and feels of the products as a significant counterpart. This imagery is used on every product and communication the company produces. It is the calling card and it clearly identifies the Success brand in any retail environment. Skipper stated, “My experience of watching women over the years as they shop, and listen to men, while sitting in the barber chairs and out on the town helped me maneuver the tough terrain of building a cohesive packaging system as well as a retail and Web presence. A new brand is as demanding of your time and energy as a newborn baby. Just like your social decisions change when you have children, and I have two beautiful daughters, your decisions also change to serve the needs of the brand when you create it. My choices of advertising venues, brand alliances and even product offerings had to be filtered through our vision for moving the brand forward.” 

Vendors as Partners: This is a very hard thing to do, especially when there are so many choices to make that are tied to financial repercussions. Skipper and his team decided early on to ensure the right relationships were forged to birth the brand. This required longer lead times and resources, but it made sense for the brand, since the look and materials used are an integral part of the entire Success TRAPS project. “Clearly, we are not in the business of following trends, our goal is clear – we want to set new trends and have others follow us!” Skipper stated. Following Skipper’s vision also entailed finding suppliers who could see why the brand was different and embrace the challenges of producing the products, while marketing a no-nonsense approach to the world of Blue Oceans: Making the competition irreverent, while swimming into greater oceans filled with unlimited opportunity. The organization vendor-partners needed to respect the work, the outlook within the Future Picture, the language of the proposed transformation for change, the designs and vision, while deciding to embark on the journey with the Success team. 

Many formulas that were presented didn’t fit the vision, nor did Skipper want to bring his level of expectation down a notch. The bar was set high for reasons that stem from the overall mission: Help people to want to continue seeking the essentials to strive for excellence no matter where they are or what they are doing. Life offers a long walk on a short path; the key is never to waver from the path to victorious living! While some of the products were innovative and would sell well in the right environment, Skipper had to decline: “Our customers feel they know the brand so well that the wrong product placement would seem an obvious mistake to them. Just as they would not expect the luxury automobile company Bentley to make an economy car, our customers would not expect Success to become just another skin care line.

We started the project, from the gates, with the notion that it would become a unique offering and packaged in a way that no other company has done before…for bookstores and specialty retailers alike.” 

Loving It 24/7: At the same time, it was difficult to turn away ideas from people who wanted the brand to move into network marketing schemes and other directions, but the vision was set and Skipper was unwilling to lower the bar to fit all people everywhere. The job of brand custodian is one of the most challenging hats anyone can wear in a growing company. Also, by being a new brand in the luxury market, and occupying a space that was once reserved for beauty’s giants, it’s challenging to communicate Success’s position to retailers, who are used to independents that service the junior market or larger brands that have their own boutiques. “People ask me if I take vacations or stop thinking about work and I have to say no to both. But, I truly enjoy my work, and it has become part of who I am – I can’t just turn it off, nor do I want to. It is the curse of being an entrepreneur, always reaching for the next accomplishment and never satisfied with the norm. Running a company and building a brand is not easy, but for me, it is the most rewarding thing I have ever done.”  

As told to Public Relations Group…

For more information, please contact Skipper at: Dpitts@DamianPitts.com

WE’RE GETTING CLOSER AND EXCITEMENT IS IN THE AIR!

Beyond Functional Expertise: A Business and Lifestyle Imperative for Today’s Leaders 

Functional expertise is the price of entry for successful individuals in today’s world – and, almost a right of passage. If people knew that they could achieve anything, what do you think they would pursue? How would they work to transform their health, careers, relationships and financial goals? In order to realize amazing outcomes in life, people must work to focus on removing the limitations that are holding them back, consciously and subconsciously. This is known as “Transformational Thinking for Shifting Paradigms.” Creating this, however, where talented and engaged people possess the passion, drive and the ability to proactively make decisive decisions to reshape their Future Picture and the same for the organizations and communities they are a part goes far beyond functional expertise. They must learn to remove the illusion of “I’m too busy” and “I don’t have enough time or resources” from their way of thinking, which has become a mantra in our society today. 

Now that a new rule book has been established across the spheres of society, one that many refer to as the “new way of doing business,” to excel in leadership and display real value, purpose and meaning in life, people both in their personal and professional lives must become adept at mobilizing human energy, shaping culture and thinking away from the status quo for leading change. The individuals who master these skills, who are capable of tapping into man’s discretionary effort to drive performance and productivity levels that exceed expected outcomes, will distinguish themselves as transformational thought leaders who will guide the remaining populous into a more successful future. 

In this thought provoking Off-Broadway/classroom Executive Education Leadership Experience, The Seven “T’s” of Oz, you’ll gain insights and strategies for making major positive changes in all of the most important areas of your life. You’ll discover methods for removing negative beliefs and old stories that could be limiting your results, and you’ll learn how to live in greater alignment with your own beliefs to achieve a more abundant lifestyle for success – all while tapping into the underlining message of the famed 1939 film classic, The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland. But to start, everyone must begin by asking themselves a simple question: “Am I willing to become a ‘Power of One’ by undertaking the process of significance to take a stand – for myself and for others?” As Leo Tolstoy stated, “most people think of changing the world, but few think about changing one’s self.” 

To find out if you have what is required to answer the Power of One question for yourself, join us to awaken your realized potential for lasting fulfillment. 

When:              Opening Night, Thursday, 29 April 2010

Where:             Temple University, Ritter Hall Annex – Kiva Auditorium, 1301 Cecil B. Moore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19122

Time:               Doors open at 6:45pm 

We hope that you’ll be one of our guests, so come join us and HAVE YOUR PICTURE taken with the cast of  Glinda, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, the Cowardly Lion, the Wicked Witch of the West and the Wizard himself! Future bookings for The Seven “T’s” of Oz are available by calling DamianPitts Production Group Services at (877) 838-3753, in person at Temple University’s PASCEP administration office located at 1509 Cecil B. Moore Avenue, ECEC Bldg., 2nd FL, Philadelphia, PA 19121 or online at www.DamianPitts.com.   

The Seven “T’s” of Oz-Tix, priced at $20 ($52 with publications), are available and can be purchased in advance, or subject to availability, on the day of the performance by emailing DamianPitts, Inc at DPIExecEd@DamianPitts.com (checks not accepted). Performances and/or course participation for groups of 15 or more may be placed by calling (877) 838-3753. Opening night is FREE to the public. ALL productions, including this executive education leadership course, is rated “L” for Leadership! 

For more information, please visit www.DamianPitts.com.

CASTING CALL FOR THE SEVEN “T’s” OF OZ

Help us Celebrate the Acclaimed Leadership/Executive Education Off-Broadway/classroom Experience, The Seven “T’s” of Oz

“A woman, trying to run away from her past… a man, trying to reach his future!”

We are currently teaching a leadership course on a Philadelphia university campus, whereas we use the Wizard of Oz as the underpinning storyline. The stage production aspect requires the cast of characters from the film and offers an exciting, interactive and application-oriented learning experience that journey the depths of our childhoods. The Seven “T’s” of Oz focuses on the fundamentals of the great leadership and team development lessons found in the famed 1939 film classic, “The Wizard of Oz,” staring Judy Garland. This performance provides an opportunity for people to find their voice and inspires the finder to help others to find theirs. The principles represent a pathway to the enormously promising side of today’s reality by delivering three key outcomes: Improved Performance, Improved Strength and Improved Resilience for life – using a multi-disciplined approach that outlines a solutions-based framework to ensure life’s benefits are applied more equitably – a much needed release away from the status quo that might feel like a timeless awakening for most people. The performance offers a life changing event that examines the inner self so that people, teams and organizations alike can gain a greater understanding for their actions (behaviors) when placed in different environments and situations, and for taking on life’s overall journey.     

We are in need of the following roles:

The Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, the Cowardly Lion and the Lollipop Guild.

Our production is booked thru August, but can possibly go into 2011.

CASTING BY APPOINTMENT ONLY PLEASE!

MONOLOGUES ARE WELCOMED; BRING YOUR…HEAD SHOTS, COMP CARDS & RESUMES

INTERESTED? NEED MORE INFORMATION?
Send an Email to: CastingOz@DamianPitts.com

A Leadership Experience to Remember; I Hope You Can Join Us.

Come Celebrate the Acclaimed Leadership/Executive Education Off-Broadway/classroom Experience, “The Seven “T’s” of Oz

 “A woman, trying to run away from her past… a man, trying to reach his future…Spellbinding & Rhythmic”

Come join us for an exciting, interactive and application-oriented learning experience that journeys the depths of our childhoods. The Seven “T’s” of Oz focuses on the fundamentals of the great leadership and team development lessons found in the famed 1939 film classic, “The Wizard of Oz,” staring Judy Garland. This performance provides an opportunity for people to find their voice and inspires the finder to help others to find theirs. The principles represent a pathway to the enormously promising side of today’s reality by delivering three key outcomes: Improved Performance, Improved Strength and Improved Resilience for life – using a multi-disciplined approach that outlines a solutions-based framework to ensure life’s benefits are applied more equitably – a much needed release away from the status quo that might feel like a timeless awakening for most people. The performance offers a life changing event that examines the inner self so that people, teams and organizations alike can gain a greater understanding for their actions (behaviors) when placed in different environments and situations, and for taking on life’s overall journey.    

Time: Thursday, 29 April 2010 at 6:45pm
Location: Temple University, ECEC Building – 2^nd FL, 1509 Cecil B. Moore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19121 

The Seven “T’s” of Oz permeates the voice of the human spirit across all of life’s essential states of being – a fullness of hope and intelligence, resilient by nature, boundless in the potential to serve the common good of mankind. This voice also encompasses the soul of organizations that will survive, thrive and profoundly impact the future of the world, while working to dramatically improve the success of people’s personal lives, the organizations they are a part and the business environments they influence. All change begins within and expands outwards to include others within our spheres of influence. As Leo Tolstoy stated, “most people think of changing the world, but few think about changing one’s self.” 

I hope that you’ll be one of our many guests, so come join us and HAVE YOUR PICTURE taken with the Glinda, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, the Cowardly Lion and the Wizard himself!

I’ll see you on the 29th.

Designer Body Care Collection in time for Valentines Day

February 2010 – Extra, Extra…Read ALL About IT! 

Success Body Care – “Success is the completion of anything intended, completing what you set out to accomplish by starting with the Future Picture in mind.” Experience America’s exhilarating body care line worn by leaders at the top of their industry! The World of DamianPitts, Inc (DPI) announced the introduction of its “Success” Designer Body Care Collection, a captivating assortment of products created as a modern interpretation of excellence that instills a tradition of victory and the sensation of becoming a winner: “It Starts Before Leaving Home – Success.” Try on Success for the whole body with the luxurious blends of natural products, pure plant and essential oils, and extracts to nourish, smooth, moisturize and pamper your skin from head-to-toe, while working hard to be victorious at the end of your day. 

The attractive, rich fragrance finds itself in a class along with the classics and offers a non-conformist scent that both men and women will find exhilarating and very romantic for use on the whole body. Success is offered as a unisex brand. The safe, high quality natural and sustainable ingredients make up this trademark collection that resembles purity from the tropics of Africa and beyond. 

The Success Body Wash allows you to start your day with a stimulating shower gel that leaves your body feeling revived and your mind relaxed and ready to engage life’s battlefields with a breakthrough performance. This gently scented, daily body wash adds life to your already polished presentation and delivers impeccably clean skin, while refreshing both body and mind. 

Next, the Success Body Lotion allows you to continue your day with a deeply nourishing botanical treat for the whole body. This opulent, yet lightweight body lotion immediately restores and leads the skin to a feeling of wholeness. Rich blends of advanced natural oils are used to stimulate the feeling of empowerment, while restoring a healthy moisture balance, supporting skin elasticity and providing long-lasting softness. 

Finally, the Success Body Spray offers a refreshing and refined unisex scent and is recommended for daytime wear by successful professionals on their journey to greatness. This stimulating and high performing light sensation provides an uplifting moment for the skin with a light mist over the body for a crisp, soothing scent and burst of long-lasting freshness throughout the day – anytime, anywhere. 

So, because beautiful skin is a key factor in making a good first impression, it must influence not only the way you look, but also the way you feel and carry yourself. The Success Designer Body Care Collection taps into the riches of human motivation by stimulating an awakening of unleashed passion and tension, and the use of a new mindset for succeeding in life. Success is grounded on a simple, yet fundamental principle: “First learn to lead yourself and then lead others to find their voice.” It works to empower the body, while achievement gets closer in the mirror of life. Make the Success Designer Body Care Collection an essential part of your skin care regime. Consumers looking for the best in body care now have a place to turn. Contact us today for an updated list of retailers for immediate purchase, or email us at Success@DamianPitts.com, or visit us online at www.DamianPitts.com.

About The Success Designer Body Care Collection

In 2009 DamianPitts, Inc unveiled its relationship with The Body Project, selling a collection of personal skin care products to complement its accompanying book release, “Success TRAPS: Awaken your Realized Potential for lasting Fulfillment” and its Executive Education Programs Division. The World of DamianPitts, Inc continues to strive to both constantly challenge convention and educate on the way that people are empowered in their everyday lives. The Body Project is a contract manufacturing and private label company of personal care and designer body care products. It leverages its expertise in research/development, custom formulation, process and product development, and manufacturing to pioneer entrepreneurs and professionals, large consumer brand companies and leading professionals in the spa and beauty industry. The range of products includes natural skincare, organic-based and paraben free cosmetics and over-the-counter African-based natural ingredients and essential oils. Working with DamianPitts, Inc to design the Success line, the offerings now benefits anyone in a work or non-work situation that is pressure-laden, but ultimately lacking in real personal satisfaction. Basically, these products and the accompanying educational offerings, teach what to do when people find themselves out at sea and in the water alone – “they put their heads down and swim through the rough waves.”  

Press Release Contact Information:
Damian D. “Skipper” Pitts, DamianPitts Inc
Philadelphia, PA 19118

Voice: (877) 838 – 3753                

E-Mail: Email us Here
Website: Visit Our Website

Do you Understand the Formula for Success?

As the New Year is only but a few hours away and the first decade of the 21^st century is soon to be in the rear view mirror, I’d like to ask a question of you: “what does it take to achieve success and are you aware of its formula for your life?” Countless numbers of books and articles have been written on the subject and there are even more answers. The answers, one might think, depend on how you define, redefine or measure success as it relates to your life. This, by no means suggests that you should look at success through a selfish set of lenses, but regardless of your definition or yardstick, achieving success in business or in life requires a specific set of core elements and essentials.  

The first element to tackle is honesty. Being honest with yourself requires standing in front of your very own “Snow White’s Mirror.” Not until you can be honest with yourself are you able to be the same with other people, about what you truly want and what holds real meaning for you. This is essential and if you’re not focusing your efforts on a greater good that is consistent with your core values and beliefs, you are most likely not putting forth your maximum effort.  

The next element is to call on your own sense of courage to answer the four victory questions in life (regardless where you are in your perceived level of success): (1) Why Am I Hurting? (2) What is it about “me” that influences the hurt? (3) How do I prevent re-injury – although I know that it will be revisited? (4) And, how do I change my circumstances, current and future? It not only takes courage to be honest with yourself when answering the four victory questions, and when you decide to deeply examine what is valued in order to get what you are working to achieve. But, once you decide and set meaningful goals, it takes courage to actually do the required work. At times you will find yourself navigating uncharted waters and it will take courage to overcome your fears to continue making progress. The courage needed to achieve this element is both emotional and physical; in most cases, it requires a decision to undergo an attitude adjustment that for most people is long overdue.   

The third element delivers a triple punch; Enthusiasm, Self-control and Focus (Concentration). Enthusiasm enables you to “engulf” everyone with your interest and your ideas for success. It not only keeps your momentum moving in the right direction, but it keeps you looking a few steps ahead in the chess game of life to achieve your next accomplishment. Enthusiasm is the foundation of a pleasing personality: the hinge that you must bust wide open with your efforts, and when done with intelligence, it enables you to remove the many obstacles from your path. Possessing a pleasing personality is as important to you as your blood running through your veins when it comes to your growth as a leader. A pleasing personality also allows you to influence others to cooperate with you. 

Then there’s self-control, the balance wheel that controls your emotions when enthusiasm is high and you are filled with excitement – directing it where you wish for it to be led. Self-control is all about discipline and without discipline; enthusiasm can run as wild horses out of control. Afterward, there’s focus and concentration. These two characteristics make-up a significant part of the element and focuses your attention upon one subject or issue at a time until you have worked out practical plans for mastering that subject and winning over the issue. Concentration will teach you how to ally yourself with others in such a manner that you may have the use of their entire knowledge repository to back you up in your own plans and purposes. Combined, the three attributes make-up the third element, which offers an awesome combination that anyone can use to win their formula for success. 

The fourth element also delivers a powerful combination; Persistence, Tolerance and the Paradigm of Influence. Success comes to those who are persistent, yet tolerant in their efforts. The line between success and its opposition is a very fine one. Often, it is when the roadblocks appear the biggest and the prospect of success seems the most distant that you are about to step across that line. This is when tolerance, as a dominating attribute, must take center court.  Tolerance teaches us how to avoid the disastrous effects of failure and prejudice, which can translate into the prospect of defeat for most people. A lack of tolerance means the beginning of “entanglement and foolishness,” thereby poisoning the mind and closing the door on opportunity for further reasoning and investigation. 

One should think about persistence and tolerance as a significant set of principles for accurate thought to determine situational awareness. No one can achieve integrity for establishing accurate perception to his/her understanding for situational awareness without practicing tolerance before persistence. Intolerance destroys opportunity, collaborative relationships and positive influence of the mind that too causes doubt, mistrust and further prejudices. 

Then there’s the Paradigm of Influence. Success comes to those who persevere and, rather than throw their hands in the air in face of chaos or roadblocks and barriers, people using the paradigm with a clear understanding of its dynamic power, learn to exert more effort, with a little more patience, and an uncanny ability to endure the hardships of fatigue to keep momentum moving forward.   

The Paradigm of Influence offers an illustrative tool used to explain the strategies identified to achieve high levels of success on the personal level – that will also translate into the professional levels in your life. This paradigm is for individuals and organizations, and explains how ordinary is the evil of extraordinary and how moving throughout life using “who you are” versus “who you should be” is no longer merely an option; survival requires much more – and persistence and tolerance is at the top of the food chain. But, to thrive, excel and lead into the future, people must be willing to move beyond extraordinary, which includes fulfillment, strategic and flawless execution, and significant contributions made to become exceptional. Gaining access to the elite club that permeates success through life and stimulates individual growth to a higher level of human genius and motivation requires a new reality, a new mindset, a new skill-set and new habits. This is what the paradigm is all about; causing a shift in life to recharge progress.   

This paradigm shift becomes apparent when the individual finds the significance and purpose within their own voice to be courageous in taking a stand in life, and inspire others to do the same, using the entire fourth element to initiate the shift itself. Using the Paradigm of Influence, people begin to truly understand the very nature of their inner person and voice – one who inspires the will to transform the way they think about “self,” the purpose of their life, the strategy forward for the communities they are a member, and inspiring the people within their sphere of influence to transform as well. It boils down to the bare bones for the individual to make the best decisions to determine “needs” over “wants” to achieve highly successful outcomes. When the fault lines are moved to cause the shift in your life, you will experience a new awakening, or rebirth of sort to become a “Lighthouse” to carry the light for others; a “Quarterback” to communicate more effectively; and gain an unending supply of “Energy” to identify your passions, strengths and weaknesses, while learning to use them to your advantage. 

The fifth and final element is one that teaches the value of teamwork in all you do; “cooperation.” This element instructs on the value of coordinating your own efforts with others by putting aside friction, jealousy, strife, envy and greed. Cooperation helps us to make use of the great universal law of human conduct in such a manner that anyone can easily get harmonious cooperation from any individual or group of individuals. Cooperation simply stipulates; “do unto others as you would want them to do unto you.” When you are successful in cooperating with others, you will be well on your way to living your Five “Ps” in life as seen in the Paradigm of Influence above: Learn to reach beyond effectiveness toward fulfillment to thrive, innovate, excel and lead in a new reality, a new mindset, a new skill-set and a new habit. The Five “Ps” allow you to understand that: (1) There is something to “Prevent” – the Flee (2) There is something to “Pursue” – the Chase; (3) There is something to “Portray” – the Model; (4) There is something to “Perceive” – the Read; and (5) There is something to “Pronounce” – the Hold.      

So what’s the formula for success? I wish that I could tell you that it’s a simple one, but it really is not: Success = Honesty + Courage + Enthusiasm, Self-control and Focus + Persistence, Tolerance and the Paradigm of Influence + Cooperation x “YOU!” 

Are you ready to redefine your success in 2010? The choice is controlled ONLY by you! 

Happy New Year!!! Make it a GREAT and SAFE one.

Conversations, Monologues, Vaginas and Dicks

Excerpt taken from the book, “Success TRAPS: Awaken your Realized Potential for Lasting Fulfillment,” released at Amazon.com on Christmas day, 2009 

So, why is it that conversation’s with self (monologues), with each other and with other people cause for so many challenges? Or, even better, because our conversations are the basics of communicating with one another, why are so many of us still getting it wrong? I believe that the answer lies in a single word; “misdirection.”   

The Dick Monologues 

The Vision within my dream allowed me to start as the director for the upcoming, The Dick Monologues, a perceived sequel and cast off of the very popular and award winning The Vagina Monologues, scheduled for a world-wide release date this Christmas 2009. The play is about men and their well kept secret relationships in tough places and the stressors on the body parts that needed to perform when the lights were on, and off. All shows for the first four years on the local circuit were sold out and further performance schedules had to be added because the reviews were so mixed. Due to popular demand, an additional four year run was scheduled because more people, mostly men, wanted some for themselves. It seemed as if they couldn’t get enough. When the actors would stand tall to perform, the room would stand in an upright, almost missionary position and they would give as hard as they could to those who were willing to take.

The penetrating partner would stand in front of his receiving partner(s); that’s right, they sometimes had multiple partners whose jaws dangle on every gyrating movement and word – and, they would give direction as a military cadence with thundering sounds, chest pounding and at times, hot moist air from their heavy breathing. 

The Dick Monologues is an episodic play written to change history on the way some men think and communicate. The play, during the inaugural years, included the likes of celebrity monologists and every monologue somehow made you think that they were communicating for the head that remained undercover for no one could see. Be it through love, rape, mutilation, birth, the variety of names for the men’s organs, or simply a physical illustration for what to expect next, a recurring theme throughout the piece was the man’s tool for empowerment, the likes of a dominatrix in control of her submissive and the ultimate embodiment of individuality. We hope that you are a part of the opening night on stage as the world is invited to witness The Dick Monologues – more of Dick Cheney and friends, set to entertain us and revive their stories as featured monologists.   

The Lesson: Are you using your Monologue as your Muse? When you think about conversations, sometimes you cannot wait around for the byproduct from your muse (thoughts that allows me to meditate in silence) to take center stage. You find yourself in a new relationship and you need a plan to talk about more than yourself to avoid experiencing misdirection. Of course, you want to put on your best face to impress upon your special interest that you are the one. As you peruse the closet to decide what you would like to wear on your next audition, you begin to think about the upcoming conversation and the significance of the coming event. You begin to think about the amount of time you have already put into the person to prepare you for success or absolute failure that eats at your self-esteem. Unfortunately, this same scenario is played out in more situations than just people meeting to hopefully become that special couple. 

A Positive Reflection: Using your thoughts and beginning a conversation with yourself helps you to discover the power of your inner voice. When you are able to monologue the different actors that you will be communicating with, you offer a practice run to polish your skills for a great presentation. Monologue as your Muse offers a strategy and provides the support so many people need during times of uncertainty, a support that comes from within. As for the misdirection in the title, the lesson here is this: “not until we as a people are able to fully understand one another will we be able to begin to communicate under better conditions to gain a greater sense of awareness for our behaviors – the ‘what’ of our actions along with our values, the ‘why’ of our character.”   

Master the Monologue as your Muse and watch your life take on a new path along your journey to Success.