Have you ever thought about eagles? So proud…so powerful.  I have had the privilege to observe them glide…talk about an amazingly empowered bird.

The eagle has been always been respected for its grandeur.  There is something inspiring about its impressive grace in flight, its great wingspan, its powerful claws.  It glides effortlessly at breathtaking altitudes, seemingly unaffected by the turbulent winds that whip across and between mountain crevices.  Eagles do not travel in flocks nor do they conduct themselves irresponsibly.  Strong of heart and solitary, they represent qualities we admire.

The eagle mates for life and returns to the same nest each year, making necessary repairs and additions.  He takes an active role in providing for his family, protecting it from approaching dangers, and teaching little eaglets to fly.  Responsibility, liberty, beauty, stability, and a dozen other admirable traits seem woven into the eagle’s makeup.  Living like an eagle doesn’t come cheap.  It means rising above peer pressure, laziness, and tapping into our inner desires to become who were designed to be  It takes guts.  It is a rare person who decides to ignore the “average” and fight against the pull of the mediocre magnet.  As the familiar motto says:” It’s hard to soar like an eagle when I’m surrounded by so many turkeys!”

Are you willing to “push through” and soar with the eagles? Or do you prefer the simpler approach.  Do you see yourself as an eagle. or do you prefer the turkey version?

Not enough people make enough use of another powerful but inexpensive two-word reward “thank you.” Tsung-Chieh (T.C.) Lin, SoSIL manager, ground systems, at BAE Systems, has realized that “sometimes a ‘thank you’ is more important than a big victory party.” He remembers with great fondness how he felt when one of his managers—ten years ago—“simply stopped by my office frequently and gave me praise on what a good job I had done. Furthermore, he called me to show appreciation when I worked late in the evening or on the weekend.” T.C. gives personal testimony to what researchers have discovered: personal congratulations rank at the top of the most powerful non-financial motivators identified by employees.

There are few if any more basic needs than to be noticed, recognized, and appreciated for one’s efforts. It’s true for every one of us, whether we’re volunteers, teachers, doctors, priests, politicians, salespeople, customer service representatives, maintenance staff, or executives. There’s little wonder, then, that a greater volume of thanks is reported in highly innovative companies than in low-innovation firms. Recent studies show that work teams in which the ratio of positive to negative interactions is greater than three to one are significantly more productive than those teams that haven’t achieved this ratio…..Making a point of regularly saying “thank you” goes a long way in sustaining high performance.  You may find your team to be more empowered...

Have you ever heard the line…“The only dumb question is the one you do not ask”?  Who are you trying to fool?...”Ask the Question”.  What is the worst thing you can hear?…no…nothing?

I used to be afraid to ask questions for fear that the question would upset the other person. I was one of those people who say, “Would you mind if I asked you?” or “Would it embarrass you to tell me?” I don’t do that anymore.  I am very direct.  I ask them specific questions.  If they don’t want to tell you, they won’t. Even if they don’t answer the question, you’ll still be gathering information.

Sam Donaldson, known to be one to stand on a chair on occasion to be recognized, asked General Schwarzkopf this question before he sent our troops into Kuwait.  “General, when are you going to start the land war?” Did he really think that the general was going to say, “Sam, I promised the president that I wouldn’t tell any of the 500 reporters that keep asking me that question, but since you asked and I like you I’ll tell you that at 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday we’re going in”?  Of course, Schwarzkopf wasn’t going to answer that question, but a good reporter would ask it anyway.  It might put pressure on the other person or annoy him so that he blurts out something he didn’t intend to.  Just judging the other person’s reaction to the question might tell you a great deal.

If you want to learn about another person, be direct. In my own experience—now that I’m no longer afraid to ask—I’ve met only a few people who were seriously averse to answering even the most personal questions. For example, how many people get offended when you ask them, “Why were you in hospital?” Not very many.

It’s a strange fact of human nature that we’re very willing to talk about ourselves, yet we’re reticent when it comes to asking others about themselves. We fear the nasty look and the rebuff to a personal question. We refrain from asking because we expect the response, “That’s none of your business.” Yet how often do we respond that way to others?

When you get over your inhibitions about asking questions, the number of people willing to help you will just might surprise you.  I have found that asking experts for assistance is a very simple thing to do.  Often they feel honored by the request.  It seems that all too often individuals are too intimidated to ask questions…thus they either fall short of their own abilities or they fail completely.  It is amazing to me that experts are very rarely asked to share their expertise. Most people find experts intimidating, so the deep knowledge that they have to offer is never fully used. What a senseless waste of a valuable resource—all because of an irrational fear.

Isn’t it about time to “Ask the Question”?…Empower your life…Stop at nothing.  If you “Push Through“, you will win and become Empowered.