Free-Reprint Article Written by: Bruce Elkin See Terms of Reprint Below.
***************************************************************** * * This email is being delivered directly to members of the group: * * ReprintArticles-Paradise@yahoogroups.com * ***************************************************************** We have moved our TERMS OF REPRINT to the end of the article. Be certain to read our TERMS OF REPRINT and honor our TERMS OF REPRINT when you use this article. Thank you. This article has been distributed by: http://Article-Distribution.com Helpful Link: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act - Overview http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/iclp/dmca1.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- Article Title: ============== Take A Stand for Your Own Greatness Article Description: ==================== 20 years ago, I took an instructor's course to learn how to help people create what matters most. Despite my shyness and inexperience in such work, the course was extraordinary. Additional Article Information: =============================== 851 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line Distribution Date and Time: Thu Apr 20 11:12:54 EDT 2006 Written By: Bruce Elkin Copyright: 2006 Contact Email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Article URL: http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/d/e/take-stand-for-greatness.shtml Bruce Elkin's Picture URL: http://www.bruceelkin.com/images/bruceelkin.jpg For more free-reprint articles by this Author, please visit: http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/d/index.shtml#Bruce_Elkin --------------------------------------------------------------------- Take A Stand for Your Own Greatness Copyright © 2006 Bruce Elkin Personal Life Coaching Services http://www.BruceElkin.com 20 years ago, I took an instructor's course to learn how to help people create what matters most. Despite my shyness and inexperience in such work, the course was extraordinary. We worked late into the evening then bounced up next morning to start again. We worked with creative tension. We watched Martin Luther King's "I have a dream!" speech. We coached each other in creating what mattered. I loved it allexcept for one exercise. At the end of day two, our facilitator Kallenn asked us to stand and declare, "I take a stand for my own greatness." He passed the mike to a woman in front. She popped up, and proudly proclaimed her greatness. I sat six rows back, my gut tying itself into a thick, painful knot. I did not know why I didn't want to do it. But I didn't. When my turn came, I hauled myself up and mumbled the words, but I felt like a stranger to my own heart. Instead of going for dinner, I sat overlooking the lake, and scribbled in my journal. I was confused. I wasn't sure what greatness was, nor that I had any to stand up for. As I dug deeper, I discovered I was angry about not practicing what I preached. An ex-teacher and leadership coach, I'd run a mountaineering school in the Rockies for six years. However, I'd drifted through my last two years then, then left, dispirited. I realized I didn't feel greatness because I'd let my spirit's flame burn too low. I wanted to feel greatness. But, I feared admitting it, I might have to stretch for something out of reach. Besides, who was I to proclaim greatness? ACCEPTING MY OWN GREATNESS I sat, watching the lake and pondering my questions. When I went back to class, I was aware of my contradictions, but somehow okay with them. I dove into the work. I applied myself with vigor. I struggled to grow. Slowly, I felt a shift. Something opened in me. As my vision for my life and work became clearer, I felt my inner flame sputter to life. At the end of the course, Kallenn asked us each to make a closing remark. When I faced the group, I felt nervous, yet excited. "Two days ago," I said, "I told you I took a stand for my own greatness, but I lied. I didn't feel greatness. Since then, I've realized greatness is not about ego, or power. It is about bringing into the world what truly matters to me. Greatness, I see now, is in us all, but unacknowledged, it dies. Realizing this, I can now say honestly, "I do take a stand for my own greatness." As I sat down, I felt like I owned my own heart. HELPING OTHERS ACCEPT THEIR GREATNESS Since then, I've helped thousands learn to create what matters most. And because I work at expressing greatness, I know why it is so difficult, at times, to do. We often fail to acknowledge our greatness for fear of what others might say. Denying our hearts, we invest our energy in lesser things. We withdraw from our own power. But not offering our gifts to the world is riskier than putting them out. Marianne Williamson said, "Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talent, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world." Accepting our greatness, we live into our authentic power. By creating what we love, we give gifts only we can give. By contributing to community, our lives become meaningful. By bringing greatness into the world, we leave the planet better for our presence. RELIGHTING THE FLAME "There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening," Martha Graham told a young dancer, "that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost." It is not our business to judge how good our gifts are, nor how valuable. It is not for us to compare our greatness to other's. It is our business to let vitality flow through us into the world. We need to keep the flame of our creative spirit bright. I haven't always done so. But when my flame flickers, I recall how empowered I felt taking a stand for my own greatness, and how vital I feel when I create what matters. That opens me, again, to the possibility that lies. undiscovered, all around me. If I'm tempted to hold back, to ignore my greatness, I recall Goethe's couplet: "Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." Remembering that my greatness is unique, I choose to give my gifts to the world, and let whatever happens happen. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Bruce Elkin is a 20-year life coach. He works with high potential people who are stuck, stalled, or drifting. He helps you create what matters-in spite of problems or obstacles. * Get his new ebook Emotional Mastery: Manage Your Moods and Create What Matters MostWith Whatever Life Gives You! at: http://www.BruceElkin.com --- END ARTICLE --- ..................................... TERMS OF REPRINT - Publication Rules (Last Updated: April 7, 2005) Our TERMS OF REPRINT are fully enforcable under the terms of: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c105:H.R.2281.ENR: ..................................... *** Digital Reprint Rights *** * If you publish this article in a website/forum/blog, You Must Set All URL's or Mailto Addresses in the body of the article AND in the Author's Resource Box as Hyperlinks (clickable links). * Links must remain in the form that we published them. Clean links should point to the Author's links without redirects having been inserted into the copy. * You are not allowed to Change or Delete any Words or Links in the Article or Resource Box. Paragraph breaks must be retained with articles. You can change where the paragraph breaks fall, but you cannot eliminate all paragraph breaks as some have chosen to do. * Email Distribution of this article Must be done through Opt-in Email Only. No Unsolicited Commercial Email. * You Are Allowed to format the layout of the article for proper display of the article in your website or in your ezine, so long as you can maintain the author's interests within the article. *** Author Notification *** We ask that you notify the author of publication of his or her work. Bruce Elkin can be reached at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** Print Publication Reprint Rights *** If you desire to publish this article in a PRINT publication, you must contact the author directly for Print Permission at: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ..................................... If you need help converting this text article for proper hyperlinked placement in your webpage, please use this free tool: http://thephantomwriters.com/link-builder.pl ===================================================================== ABOUT THIS ARTICLE SUBMISSION http://thePhantomWriters.com is a paid article distribution service. thePhantomWriters.com and Article-Distribution.com are owned and operated by Bill Platt of Enid, Oklahoma USA. The content of this article is solely the property and opinion of its author, Bruce Elkin http://www.BruceElkin.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX --------------------------------------------------------------------- THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHILE USING ARTICLES POSTED ON THE GROUP: 1. Print the article in its entirety. Don't make any changes in the article . 2. Print the resource box with all articles in their entirety. 3. Send the Author a copy of the reprinted article or the URL where the articles was posted. Anything short of following these three rules is a violation of the Authors Copyright. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ReprintArticles-Paradise/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
