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Greetings!
Welcome back to the Hanamura Consulting
newsletter. It is my desire to continue to be an
encouragement to you as you impact the lives of those
around you both professionally and personally.
In our last newsletter we began a series on
being a difference maker. We looked at the first
attribute - opening doors that appear to be shut;
creating pathways that are perceived as
unobtainable. Today as you read on I will focus on the
second attribute.
Steve
A Difference Maker Believes in Others When They Don’t Believe in Themselves
In the summer of 1989 I decided that I
wanted to run the Honolulu marathon (26.1 miles) in
December 1990. In August 1989 I sustained a hip
injury which virtually made it impossible for me to get
in and out of a car. No problem, I think to myself, the
marathon is fifteen months away.
By January 1990 I was still having
challenges with my hip so my coach, Kit Sundling,
came every Saturday to walk me on a track which was
softer than the pavement. It took four months of
walking on the track, physical therapy, massage and
chiropractor visits before I could run again.
We set September 1990 as our next
check point by entering the Portland marathon. The
goal was to run twenty miles and then stop. We ran
seventeen miles and then I broke down - I couldn’t
make it to mile twenty.
That put me into a tale spin. I began
having conversations in my head. “I don’t know if I will
be able to do Hawaii.” “I’m so weak.” “What am I
thinking?!” I’m pretty hard on myself when I am not
able to complete a task or project in a timely manner.
When it comes to athletic activities I’m very
competitive. I don’t expect to be the best, but I expect to
do my best and to do things at the highest standards
possible. Running seventeen miles when the goal
was to do twenty was unacceptable. Nevertheless we
kept training, knowing full well that as the marathon
drew near there was an outside chance my hip would
prevent me from taking part in the race.
Finally December came and the day
before we were to leave I had two massage therapists
working on me at the same time. We had done
everything possible to get ready, but I still didn’t feel
sure about my ability to run. Friends told me not to
focus on the 26.1 miles, rather just think about taking
one step at a time, then one mile at a time. Good
advice, but hard to believe.
Once we arrived in Hawaii, we ran
forty-five minutes to get acclimated to the humidity. I
felt absolutely horrible; I was sure I would never be
able to run the marathon.
On race day somehow the advice
friends gave me kicked in. I kept thinking about one
step at a time, one mile at a time. By the twenty-fourth
mile I looked at Kit and said, “We shouldn’t even be
here, but we are going to finish.” “I know”, she replied.
I learned later that Kit believed I could
do it the whole time. She realized after the Portland
marathon that I had a hamstring problem, not a hip
problem. When I asked why she didn’t tell me she
said I wouldn’t have been able to hear it. She figured
if we just kept working I would eventually get it, which I
did.
I marveled at the fact that she
believed in me and was willing to work with me when I
didn’t believe in myself. Without Kit’s help, I would not
have even attempted the Honolulu marathon.
Many people have goals but are
uncertain if they can succeed. People of color, people
with disabilities and women especially struggle with
this. Not only must they overcome negative self-talk,
but they must also breakthrough systemic barriers,
prejudices and stereotypes in order to be taken
seriously.
It is extremely important for the
individual who wants to be recognized for their talents
to have a
passion and drive to accomplish their purpose. They
must be ready to endure adversity and be very careful
to surround themselves with good people who believe
in them as well as have a positive outlook on life. The
people they need to be around are what I
call “possibility thinkers,” those people who can see
something when you can’t see it. They know how to
visualize what’s possible.
Children are very good “possibility
thinkers.” They imagine themselves as the runner
crossing the finish line with the crowd cheering or they
are the super hero conquering the enemy. For many
of us the enemy is ourselves which in part is fed by
the beliefs of others. We tend to fear the new or the
unknown.
About seven years ago I was invited
by our good friends to join them on a 450 mile, seven
day bike trip on the back of a tandem. I had never
done anything like this before so I was plagued with
doubts. But after a 45 minute trial run with Randy, he
assured me that I would do just fine. He and my wife,
Becky, said the training I had done as a runner made
this new experience a possibility; they believed I could
do it. We have since completed three of these long
distance bike trips with our friends.
There is nothing more rewarding then
to see the possibility in someone, help motivate them
through the experience and feel good about the
success whether large or small.
Who believed in you when you didn’t
believe in yourself? For whom can you become
a “possibility thinker?”
Be a difference maker in
someone’s life.
News Briefs
I recently was privileged to attend a
conference in
Washington DC put on by the Institution for Inclusion.
You can look for more comments about this
experience in subsequent news letters.
I have been asked to prepare a
workshop that is new
for us - Managing our Religious Differences in the
Workplace. I am excited about the opportunity as it will
provide us an chance to help participants explore the
impact of religious differences on our interactions with
others. This workshop will be inviting people to have
a dialog that is taboo in most settings.
As a twenty-first century leader, what
issues or
challenges are you facing? How might a leadership
consultant address those challenges with you?
Please send your responses to
sh@hanamuraconsulting.com and we will address
them in a future newsletter.
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Steve Hanamura
With over 30 years of experience, Steve Hanamura is
a nationally known speaker, consultant and trainer. He
is widely sought after in the areas of leadership
development, building effective teams, leading
diversity initiatives and managing generational
differences. With a national client list spanning
Fortune 500 companies to regional not-for-profit
institutions, Steve is highly regarded for his unique
perspectives and distinct training techniques.
As president of Hanamura Consulting, Inc. he is
committed to making a difference in the lives of
individuals and organizations. His goal is to assist
organizations to work together to build constructive
relationships by understanding how we must draw
from the past and work in the present so we can plan
and build for the future.
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