Change Your Landscape by Seeing with New Eyes

A Story (Source Unknown) ? One day a very wealthy father took his son on a trip to the country for the sole purpose of showing his son how it was to be poor. They spent a few days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. Upon return from their trip, the father asked his son how he liked the trip. "It was great, Dad," the son replied. "Did you see how poor people can be?" the father asked. "Oh, yeah," said the son. "So what did you learn from the trip?" continued the father. The son answered, "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to leave on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them." The boy's father was speechless. Then the son added this last remark: "It showed me how poor we truly are."

The young boy demonstrated that his focus created a new reality and allowed him to see with "new eyes." Individual leaders can also exchange "old eyes" for "new eyes." For example, individuals who react without thinking to the negative attitudes of others give away their own personal power. By creating a new reality in which they keep their personal power, they begin to see how they can lead through positive attitudes.

By remembering that our reality is created from our past and current experiences and that we "see" pictures in our mind when we hear words, we can initiate change while simultaneously encouraging new attitudes through these new words. Seeing with "new eyes" can be the first step in changing the "landscape" within any individual. Marcel Proust many years ago understood the importance of changing our perspective when he penned these words: "The voyage of true discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes, but in seeing with new eyes."

Leanne Hoagland-Smith is President of ADVANCED SYSTEMS, The Process Specialist. With over 25 years of business and education experience, she partners with her clients to connect the 3P's of Passion, Purpose and Performance to affect sustainable change in 4 key areas: financials, leadership, relationships and growth & innovation with a variety of industries. Her ROI solutions align the strategies, systems and people to develop loyal internal customers leading to loyal external customers. She is the co-author of M.A.G.I.C.A.L. Potential:Living an Amazing Life Beyond Purpose to Achievement due for June 205 release. Leanne also speaks nationally to a variety of audiences. Please call Leanne a call at 219.759.5601 or email leanne@processspecialist.com if you are seeking sustainable results for your business or yourself.

Copyright 2005 Leanne Hoagland-Smith, http://www.processspecialist.com

Permission to publish this article, electronically or in print, as long as the bylines are included, with a live link, and the article is not changed in any way (grammatical corrections accepted).

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