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1 | Deke Copenhaver | A place for Deke & team to drop links, media, quotes, brain dumps, etc. | |
2 | MEDIA/LINKS/GOOGLE DRIVE LINKS/ETC. | OTHER DETAILS/THOUGHTS/CAPTIONS | NOTES TO VCG |
3 | When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. –Jimi Hendrix | ||
4 | Society is a bell curve with most people falling somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately, the majority of what we see in the mainstream media, social media, and politics are the extremes. I focus on being a voice for the people who want to work together to create a better world. | ||
5 | Ultimately, change for the better in our world starts at the grassroots level and it starts with us. | ||
6 | I believe a major key to becoming a changemaking leader is learning to listen without prejudice. | ||
7 | The Lord gave us two ears, two eyes and one mouth which makes me believe we should spend two thirds of our time watching and listening and one third of our time talking. | ||
8 | When I first began to take on leadership roles, my father gave me a piece of good advice that stuck with me: never speak just to hear yourself talk. | ||
9 | Through life I've realized changemaking leaders don't just seek the common ground, they become it. | ||
10 | Changemaking leadership can never be about building walls but always must be about building bridges. | ||
11 | Overcoming fear and doubt is not an obstacle, it's an opportunity. Always feel the fear that's in front of you and lean into it. | ||
12 | If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies. Moshe Dyan | ||
13 | I firmly believe that the great calling in my life is to use every platform I have access to to bring people together on common ground. | ||
14 | Although birds have a left wing and a right wing which allows them to fly; their hearts that allow them to feel, their minds that allow them to think and their spirit that allows them to soar are rooted squarely in the body in the middle of the two wings. | ||
15 | It's been my observation that people have a tendency to reject a status quo built around negativity if they're provided with a positive and healthy alternative. | ||
16 | Somtimes good leadership simply means treating everyone fairly and with dignity and respect. | ||
17 | Although I truly believe that most people want to find common ground to coexist upon, I am not naive to the fact that there's great profit to be made by individuals and organizations who seek to keep us divided. | ||
18 | A wise man once told me that dealing with unfounded criticism is like what you do when a dog chases your car: if your hands are clean and your heart is pure you just keep on driving. | ||
19 | https://youtu.be/KPS31nCGAO8 | ||
20 | https://youtu.be/jW1Tzhr1GJI | ||
21 | Change can be a scary thing and I get that. However, change is inevitable and you either learn to pivot and embrace it or you get run over by it. | ||
22 | Building community and culture should be viewed as preparing a tasty dish: using just one ingredient leads to something bland and boring, while lovingly mixing just the right ingredients leads to a culinary delight to be shared and enjoyed by all those gathered together around the table. | ||
23 | The principle of creating a positive culture in any organization is easy: treat your employees and your clients with dignity and respect. It's the implementation piece that's the tricky part. | ||
24 | When leaders talk of creating a more civil society we must committ ourselves to modeling the behavior we want to see in others. | ||
25 | Through my time as a public servant I learned that winning an election is much easier than winning the hearts and minds of the majority of the people you serve. | ||
26 | I've come to fully believe that you don't need a title to lead and no title confers on you the mantel of leadership which is always earned and never given. | ||
27 | Through life I've come to believe that in order to become a great leader it's best to first focus on becoming a good person. | ||
28 | I've come to realize that leaders never define their own legacies. Ultimately, legacies are defined by the people we serve and the impact our season of leadership has on their lives. | ||
29 | https://augustagoodnews.com/former-mayor-believes-change-starts-with-us/ | ||
30 | Unfortunately, there are those in this world who believe that if they say something long enough and loud enough it somehow becomes the truth. | ||
31 | I've found in life it can actually be affirming to be proven wrong and to admit that someone else has a better way to solve problems. | ||
32 | I've come to realize that good conversations with people I've never met before are one of my favorite parts of life. | ||
33 | I've come to the conclusion that pointing your finger at someone and telling them they're wrong is the best way to inhibit progress on any given issue you're dealing with. | ||
34 | I grew up reading comic books and believing that in the end, the good guys always find a way to win. I still believe that. | E | |
35 | Each day I pray for God to keep my focus on the fact that it's not my appearance, my possessions, or my perceived station in life that allows me to connect with people and to always remember these connections come through the spirit He placed within me. | ||
36 | The older I get the more I realize it's a constant battle to not become jaded, hardened, and cynical but it's always a battle worth fighting. | ||
37 | When I turned fifty I asked my nephew Jack if that made me old. He thought for a minute and said "No, it makes you medium." I'll take it. | ||
38 | After spending my adult life in banking, real estate, politics, keynote speaking, writing, podcasting and leadership coaching I've decided I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. | ||
39 | I've come to appreciate that one of the greatest gifts God has given me is the ability to communicate effectively. | ||
40 | When trying to solve any problem I've come to appreciate that it's always good to have somebody on your team who can speak everyone's language and serve as a translator during the process. | ||
41 | I always try to make the work of any team I'm a part of as fun as possible no matter how serious the work may be. | ||
42 | I've come to the conclusion that the two main things Facebook is good for is remembering people's birthdays and finding lost dogs. | ||
43 | There are times where I doubt myself but I never doubt the calling God has placed on my life. | ||
44 | I've come to realize it's ultimately impossible to sove problems if you're dealing with people who aren't willing to come to a negotiating table to discuss solutions. | ||
45 | It has been my observation that any movement that embraces anger as its core principle has never ended well. | ||
46 | I've found that its always better to focus on what could be rather than what could have been. | ||
47 | A wise man once told me its always better to plan with people as opposed to planning for people. | ||
48 | In life I've come to realize that all leaders are works in progress and that we can never stop learning or growing. | ||
49 | In an odd way, the pandemic opened up the opportunity for me to meet amazing leaders around the world as the world shifted to a more virtual focus. Now, my goal is to have the opportunity to meet them face to face and personally thank them for their friendship. | ||
50 | Let's face it, we all hit walls in life and Lord knows I've hit plenty of my own. Just remember, sometimes hitting a wall can be a good opportunity to knock some sense into our heads. | ||
51 | Somtimes I think that the fear of success can be just as hard to deal with as the fear of failure. | ||
52 | The older we become, the more baggage we accumulate in life and the more important it becomes to have an intentional focus on taking out our own trash. | ||
53 | In life I've come to realize that we are all conundrums who don't easily fit into neat and tidy boxes. I've also come to realize that I really don't want to be confined to a neat and tidy box anyway as it makes me feel claustrophobic. | ||
54 | Helping to build better leaders is truly an art as it takes creativity, patience, persistence and a diligent focus on releasing the potential of any canvas set before you in your leadership endeavors. | ||
55 | It was impressed upon me at a young age that sterotyping people by where they live or who they choose to hang out with is never a wise course of action because people never fit easily into a basket. | ||
56 | Call it living dangerously if you will, but being a changemaker requires an edge of authenticity. | ||
57 | I simply applied artistic sensibilities to set a tone to move Augusta down a fruitful path while painting a picture and telling a story of what the future could look like. | ||
58 | As changemakers it's our job to get communities to come together, for as our communities rise or fall, we all rise or fall. | ||
59 | In speaking to my younger friends about crossgenerational engagement, there seems to be a consensus that their voices aren't being heard because they're generally not engaged in discussions on how to impact positive change in our nation and if they are they're talked over and not with. | ||
60 | I truly believe that in a world full of unique challenges growing exponentially at an ever-increasing pace, the next generation of leaders has the talent and the ability to meet these challenges head on. | ||
61 | In developing strong relationships with the next generation of leaders both nationally and internationally I firmly believe that the younger generations are natural born changemakers. | ||
62 | Changemakers have to be willing to let their guard down as opposed to putting up walls in their efforts to create lasting, positive change. | ||
63 | Humility is a strength and a key trait of a true leader. If you really want to be a changemaker and master the art of leadership, it takes a humbleness of spirit. | ||
64 | I firmly believe that a love of learning teaches patience. Why? Because learning takes time. | ||
65 | Keeping your ego in check in leadership positions can be hard work at times and surrounding yourself with people who keep you grounded is an absolute must. | ||
66 | If you're fair in your decision making and you can easily explain for making the decisions you've made, you quickly develop an invaluable reserve of trust with and respect with the people whom your decisions impact as a whole. | ||
67 | If changemaking leaders of one generation don't reach back to mentor and support the next generation of leaders, what type of example does that set for our emerging young leaders? | ||
68 | Every generation has wonderful examples of strong, changemaking leaders from all walks of life. One of my passions is shining a light on these leaders and providing them as wonderful examples for future generations to learn from and emulate. | ||
69 | I've often heard it said that youth should not be wasted on the young. However, I would also say that wisdom shouldn't be squandered by those who have gained it through a lifetime of lessons learned but rather should be shared abundantly across generations. | ||
70 | Changemaking leadership isn't about one's age, its about one's courage to willingly stand up and fight to make a positive change in the world around them. | ||
71 | If someone tells you you're too young to lead, ask them if Joan of Arc was too young to lead when France gave her a commanding role in their military at the age of seventeen. | ||
72 | Some of the greatest life lessons I've come to value the most in middle age I learned through trial and error when I was a much younger man. | ||
73 | When I decided to run for Mayor of Augusta at the age of thirty-seven I was told that I was too young, I hadn't paid my dues and it wasn't my turn. I'm glad I didn't listen. | ||
74 | In my youth I discovered a need within me to rebel against the authority of the status quo and today the status quo in our nation is ubdoubtedly extreme polarization. | ||
75 | Inspiration is a two way street and as much as I'd like to think I've inspired younger generations, truth be told they've inspired me as much, if not more, than I've inspired them. | ||
76 | "To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing." ~ Aristotle | ||
77 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2__UkWaP9w | Came out today. | |
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79 | https://open.spotify.com/episode/04t3IngBjPT3bkqE4aYnTM?si=H3wtfvWyR4WjjeNTDF0RLQ | Aired last week. | |
80 | I've always felt its much more productive and gratifying to win hearts and minds and battles worth fighting than it is to win arguments. | ||
81 | There's a pretty simple reason why le.aders, and anyone for that matter, shouldn't worry about losing control: we never had it in the first place | ||
82 | One of the greatest strengths a leader can have is the ability to put into context what people are saying instead of taking it at face value and approaching their thoughts, feelings and their position with a knee jerk reaction. | ||
83 | The use of well timed use of humor in leadership positons is a very undervalued quality. Being able to put a smile on someone's face and get them to laugh when they're on the verge of tears is more powerful than one might imagine. | ||
84 | There have been times I've felt worn down and wanted to ride off into the sunset. I then realize that I don't have a horse to ride off on and that I'm ready to get back in the ring for a few more rounds. | ||
85 | For great progress to be made, there's always going to be some friction involved in the process which, shaped and leveraged in the right way, can be a very good and healthy thing. | ||
86 | I had a friend tell me the other day that authenticity is an overused term as some folks may authentically be very vulgar people. He has a point. | ||
87 | It's been my observation in life that people who stand against everything generally stand for nothing. | ||
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