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Patterned after Excellence: Pursuing Truth in Work and Life
170Overview
Knowing what really matters at work and in life and acting on what you know are two very different things. Unless you practice what you know, applying what matters most in a consistent pattern, you’ll always find yourself coming up short. Though your own human tendencies undermine your ability to live at your best, universal truths can help you stay focused on what is most important and ultimately provide real and lasting happiness. Patterned after Excellence walks you through what is true in a way that will empower you, your company, your employees, and everyone else around you.
As you make your way through this book, you’ll find that human tendency makes each of us our own worst enemy but come to understand that key truths you apply at work and in life can instead make you your own greatest hero. You’ll learn how to be more present and active in pivotal moments, build meaningful relationships, and become more purposeful in your interactions. Dickinson shows you how to intentionally apply truths that create excellence in all aspects of your life. You’ll not only achieve at a higher level in your career but also become the best possible version of yourself.
Brigham Dickinson is president of Power Selling Pros, founder of the Power Certification Program, and author of the book Pattern for Excellence.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781632992345 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Greenleaf Book Group, LLC |
| Publication date: | 08/01/2019 |
| Pages: | 170 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.39(d) |
About the Author
experiences over the phone. Brigham started Power Selling Pros in
2009 when he saw that call handlers needed assistance consistently converting calls to bookings. As a result, Brigham answered the need and created the Power Certifi cation Program to eff ect change in his industry's call centers in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
The purpose of the Power Certifi cation Program is to partner with contractors and certify their CSRs to deliver a world-class customer experience. The program guarantees that contractor call-handling teams will book at least 85 percent of their calls and wow more customers.
Brigham's company holds teams accountable with a combination of online training, call monitoring, regular one-on-one phone-based coaching, and in-person training-all supported by a vast library of prerecorded calls that showcase best practices.
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
YOUR OWN WORST ENEMY
At the beginning of my son Isaac's wrestling season, he and I were among the first to show up at a planned trail run with Coach Garcia and all the kids on the team. Coach Garcia and his two boys arrived early as well, and while we were waiting for the other boys to show up, Coach's sons began to taunt me a little bit, confident that their dad could beat me on this trail. I have never been one for smack talk. Instead, I let it ignite an adrenaline-fueled response. They were just kids, so I was doing a pretty good job at keeping it all in proper perspective until they told Isaac what they told me. As I heard them say, "My dad could beat your dad," I took one look at Coach Garcia, and it was on.
On paper, Coach Garcia and I were evenly matched. Both of us are in our early forties and in good shape, and we know the trail well: five miles long, with five hundred feet of elevation gain up the mountain. We had never raced each other before, so I started at the back of the pack and let Coach Garcia lead the front. I wanted him to set the pace so I could see how hard he would push the boys. I assumed (correctly) that he would not pull too far away from them. Once the pace was set, I made my move. Coach Garcia never saw me coming. I started passing kids on the first steep incline and sprinted past him until I was about twenty-five feet in front. I set my pace and settled in for what I thought would be an easy four and a half miles to the finish line.
That is, until I came around the second corner where the trail zigzagged up the mountain. I could see that Coach Garcia had closed the gap to ten feet behind me.
I leaned forward to pick up my pace, determined to stay in front as we scaled the mountain. I was confident that if I sped up to a near-sprint for about fifty yards, Coach Garcia would lose his nerve and slow down. This would give me an opportunity to slow down as well and catch my breath. But as I sprinted around the next turn, he was still there, ten feet behind me. Sure, he was working visibly harder than I was, but that made him look more angry than tired.
A mile and a half into the race, I reached the top and could see the rest of the team half a mile back. Coach Garcia was still ten feet behind me.
I shifted my body weight back a little as I transitioned into the descent with wide leaping strides, letting my heels strike the ground first as I tried to catch my breath. I should have taken short, choppy steps like I did coming up the hill and let the balls of my feet hit the ground first, but I was too tired. Coming around the second downhill bend, I looked up and saw that I was finally pulling away. I reached the turnaround point at the bottom of the other side and quickly doubled back up the mountain for the last mile-long incline. Shifting my weight forward on my toes, my quads began to burn — the painful backlash of sprinting almost nonstop up the first mile and a half of the mountain. My pace slowed a little.
That's when Coach Garcia passed me on his descent down the hill. He smiled as he flew by me.
"Good job, Brigham," he said as he passed.
"You too, Coach. Nice run," I responded, doing my best to hide my irritation and the feeling in my legs. I didn't have much left. There was no way I could do what I did on the first mile and a half.
Then, suddenly, Coach Garcia was ten feet behind me again. As I climbed with all my might, I realized the only reason I made it up the first incline ahead of him was because he was saving his legs for the second run up the mountain. I was not the only one with a strategy. He may have outwitted me on the second incline, but he was still going to have to catch me. I just had to stay in front, I thought. No matter what, just stay in front.
The chase continued all the way up the hill. Isaac and one of Coach Garcia's sons had both just barely reached the top of the first incline. They greeted me and then Coach, who was now only a few feet behind. As soon as I hit the top and shifted my weight for the final descent, I could feel him on my heels. He was trying to pass me. I widened my stride, leaping as far as I could with each step down the hill while avoiding catching a rock and taking a horrific fall. On the sketchy, steep cutbacks, I took quick, short steps on the balls of my feet so I could maintain speed without tripping or sliding. If he was going to pass me, he'd have to earn it. And I had no intention of letting him do that. I was going to beat him.
I laughed out loud as I found new energy and strength. With a half mile left, I took a sharp right down the trail and heard Coach Garcia slip and fall right behind me. I thought that was it. But he popped up almost as quickly as he fell, ignoring his scraped-up right thigh. I pushed myself even harder.
The last quarter mile was the fastest I had ever run. I crossed the finish line thirty seconds ahead of Coach Garcia. When our boys finally finished, they asked who won. I said, "We both did."
Coach then responded, "Nah, he did."
Coach's boys were dumbfounded. Isaac smiled, and his smile made me smile.
According to his stopwatch, my time was two minutes faster than I had ever run that trail. I had no idea that kind of speed was in me in my forties. I had competed as if I were going after a gold medal.
That's just it, though: I wasn't going after a gold medal. I was there to support my son and his wrestling teammates. It wasn't supposed to be a race; it was supposed to be a run — exercise and team building. My son might have been smiling, but I knew I had let him down. I had let Coach Garcia down, too, and I had let the team down. Did my actions support my son's team by leaving my son and his teammate behind? Did I inspire confidence in their coach by goading him into a silly contest? It was supposed to be about the team, and I made it about me. I wasn't the hero of this story; I was the enemy — my own worst enemy.
UNIVERSAL TRUTH
Universal truth should not be confused with individual belief. When people refer to a belief as "their" truth, as if they own it, they are simply stating a personal belief that appeals to them; that doesn't make it a reality. For example, even though you may wholeheartedly believe that an apple seed you plant in your backyard will one day become a beautiful apricot tree, natural laws will prevent your desired outcome from occurring. In other words, when "your truth" flies in the face of universal truth — natural laws, what consequently happens as a result of individual action, independently of your belief — the stark difference between "your truth" and what is universally true becomes more apparent.
When we pit what we feel is our truth against what is universally true, we only deceive ourselves. Why? Because the consequences may not match our expectations. Consequences occur independently of what we feel or believe. When we betray what is universally true, we'll quickly come to realize in a pivotal moment that we also betray our true selves. This self-deception also keeps others from seeing who we are, which betrays and deprives them also. Our ability to change ourselves — and live a life patterned after excellence — depends on facing that truth and confronting those self-betrayals.
In my case, the truth I betrayed on that hill came down to my inability to recognize that it wasn't a race. It wasn't about me! It was about my son and his team. It was neither the time nor the place to show up Coach Garcia or his boys. My true self — the best me, the person I yearn to be — loves my son and wanted to serve and support him, but I let my ego rule the day as selfishness took its toll on my actions.
Thinking only about yourself serves no one. I should have known this before I ran that "race," and I should have stopped myself from acting the way I did.
I also should have recognized this human tendency to act selfishly before I let my business struggle and fail so many years ago. But the inflexible truth is always hard to face openly and honestly. And once we get where we want to be, able to choose what is right instead of what is natural or easy in a given moment, we don't remain there without constant personal work. The process is often painful, but as long as we avoid turning bitter or prideful as we pass through trials, our wins and losses can make us stronger than we were before. The struggle we feel as we face our worst tendencies and overcome them acts as a metamorphosis, shifting us into entirely different creatures.
When we discover the truth, we can embrace it, living as our most authentic selves. When we stay true to ourselves, we begin to live with purpose. We free ourselves from circumstance and negative consequences. No matter what happens, we become and remain who we were always meant to be. We have found our true selves.
You have to discover yourself on your own. We do not arrive in this life fully formed; we are born knowing nothing about ourselves. We know we came from our parents, and we know we are free to choose how we respond to circumstances as they occur. The rest is up to us.
But in our youthful ignorance, we tend to hold on to identities that simply aren't true. They are stories we tell about ourselves or let others write for us. In high school, I told myself I wasn't a good reader. Then I made it true. I was labeled by others as hyper and unable to focus. I chose to believe that too. But I was not actually a bad reader, and I was not all that hyper compared to many kids. These were identities I adopted that held me back from growing.
Most of us have similar stories: You were told something or told yourself something that you chose to believe, impeding your ability to actualize your full and true identity. The only one who is holding you back is yourself.
Even if we convince ourselves that our weaknesses or human tendencies are actually our truth, we will recognize our error as we experience the consequences. This realization also makes caving to human tendency life's only true tragedy. Even though each of us holds the power to follow our own good conscience to create real meaning in our lives by creating meaningful moments for others, we so often choose not to do what we know. Instead, we shrink to mediocrity, disappearing into the crowd of endless sameness and dissolution. It's true: We are often our own worst enemy when it comes to universal truth, but we can be our greatest hero as we seek out, discover, and live by what is universally true.
Here is a universal truth: We become the best version of ourselves as we serve others.
A life patterned after excellence comes from learning to be consistent with our conscience and the dictates of our own hearts, regardless of what is going on in the world around us. This form of inner peace also cultivates patience, respect, and empathy toward those with different social and political views.
This empathy is the purveyor of a national peace that serves everyone. We can believe different things and yet unite around what matters most: our right to freedom and our families. The choice is ours: Live freely together, or divide and conquer each other until there's nothing left worth fighting for. The real battle is raging between our heads and our hearts, not our fellow men.
The world's greatest teachers, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, and even Jesus Christ, have shown us that we can all be individuals and yet serve each other. Dr. King's dream was for a world independent of race or color, a world where people loved one another, treated each other as equals, and were judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. Gandhi taught us that we must be the change that we wish to see in the world: For there to be peace in the world, there must first be peace and love in our hearts. Fighting evil with evil helps no one. Christ taught us that we should do good to those who hate us, pray for those who spitefully use us, and love our enemies and not just our neighbors. These are universal truths worth living by.
Those who do not pattern after excellence will live without purpose in their lives. They may become financially well off, but they'll still be left feeling empty and unfulfilled. They will invariably contribute to the problem, turning materialistic, greedy, or self-serving instead of proactively becoming a part of the solution. Simply put, to cultivate peace in the world — especially in the United States — we must first cultivate peace in our hearts by being true to our best selves. To win moments, we must learn to do what we internally know to be right.
For example, let's say you are playing on a golf course with a friendly competitor in your marketplace. While on the ninth hole, your "friend" pulls away to take a phone call. At the same time, you receive a text from an employee informing you that your "friend" is on the phone right now recruiting your best salesperson. This is a pivotal moment. It is a moment where you choose whether to do what is right and act on principle or what is easy and act on emotion. A moment won occurs when you choose to act on what is right based on principle.
OVERCOMING HUMAN TENDENCY
Now you know that you are the one that keeps you from being great and growing. But it is not enough to know this; you must act on it. You have to overcome human tendencies such as ego, fear, pride, and so on. For that to happen, you must painstakingly shed your misconceptions — not let past experience, the way you have been portrayed, or your worst tendencies get in your way and define who you are. You must refine the best version of yourself by living according to what is universally true.
That's living a life patterned after excellence. Finding truth and overcoming your human tendencies will help you live in harmony with your conscience and experience a life full of joy in your relationships and accomplishments.
This all comes down to one simple equation:
Truth – Human Tendency = Winning Moments
To live by truth, we must stop listening to what we think we know or have been conditioned to believe. To overcome human tendency, we must rise above temporary emotions that hold us back, refuse to believe what others may say about us, and stop avoiding the application of hard truths.
BE THE HERO OF YOUR STORY
Moments are the molecules that make up our lives. Most, if not all, moments are won in the service of others. That win usually comes when both you and the one you endeavor to serve — your customer, your employee, your son — walk away from your interaction better off than you were before. In the moment of the race, and so many moments before, I failed to see the bigger picture and live the deeper truths behind the Pattern for Excellence. I ran out in front that day because my pride got in the way.
This realization hit me hard. I had become the enemy of my own story, and I finally understood why. Of course winning is important to achieve excellence. But we must learn to identify those moments when we deceive ourselves and think winning is the only thing that matters. Someone else does not have to lose for you to win.
But knowing what you need to do is not enough. Knowledge alone is akin to ignorance until that knowledge is painstakingly replaced with experience. Know-how does not create winning moments; only deeds do. To create winning moments, you must first learn to live by truth rather than human tendency, no matter how much it hurts.
In the face of winning that race, I finally understood what I had to lose in order to truly win: I had to lose the self-centered part of me that stood in the way, that betrayed the truth that defined who I was on a deeper level.
I had failed to overcome my pride, but I was able to see the consequences of my actions. I saw how they had negatively influenced others in my life significantly more than anything I could have said to them. That had to change. I had been my enemy for too long. I had to be the hero of my story and live by truth, absent my worst human tendencies.
Like me, you may be the enemy of your own story. But you can also be the hero. To be the hero, you must learn to overcome your tendencies, discovering and living by universal truth — doing what's right instead of caving to your ego — to create winning moments for other people.
We can all do this. Even though we have been our own worst enemies, we have the power to be heroes and to create winning moments for others. In turn, our true selves share in those winning moments. The human tendency to put ourselves first is powerful and often clouds our judgment. We get stuck in our own heads because of pessimism, ego, forgetfulness, indifference, greed, fear, entitlement, or pride. But none of that matters if we focus on how to turn the situation into a winning moment.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Patterned After Excellence"
by .
Copyright © 2019 Brigham Dickinson.
Excerpted by permission of River Grove Books.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
FOREWORD Endurance,
INTRODUCTION Hearts Matter More Than Wallets,
CHAPTER 1 Your Own Worst Enemy,
CHAPTER 2 Truth and the Customer Experience,
CHAPTER 3 Agency in the Moment,
CHAPTER 4 Freedom from Negativity,
CHAPTER 5 Freedom from Ego,
CHAPTER 6 Freedom from Forgetfulness,
CHAPTER 7 Freedom from Indifference,
CHAPTER 8 Freedom from Selfishness,
CHAPTER 9 Freedom from Fear,
CHAPTER 10 Freedom from Entitlement,
CHAPTER 11 Freedom from Pride,
CHAPTER 12 Hold True to the Truth,
NOTES,
ABOUT THE AUTHOR,
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