Growing up I watched a lot of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood (watch here) and I’ve always had a love for the show and the man behind that show, Fred Rogers. The thing about this show and the man himself is that he wasn’t interested in teaching people what actions specifically are “wrong” and what actions specifically are “right” – he instead nurtured an understanding of how our actions affect others and how our feelings have an effect on our own self.

I’ve been thinking a lot about anger lately, about how quick we as a culture are to get angry and point fingers and choose sides; I’ve been witness to where that leads – we all are. Crisis after crisis because we aren’t satisfied to let cooler heads prevail.

Well, today in my RSS feed I found this nugget courtesy of Coudal Partners: it is Fred Rogers testifying before Congress about PBS funding. Listen not just to the words he has chosen but to the calmness of his delivery. He doesn’t need to get his ire up because his words reflect the deeper honesty of his being.

I’m grateful for the chance to continue to learn from Mr. Rogers, no matter what age I am. If you haven’t seen the video take the 6 minutes to watch it and really let the ideas settle into your mind.

In the current climate of communications your clients should find it totally unacceptable to have such a lack of communication from you, especially when that silence carries such a heavy financial burden.

Communicating with clients isn’t just about finding a way to market your newest products or projects; communicating with your clients should be done in a respectful way that best serves their needs.

The opportunity you then have is to form a relationship of mutual respect, the kind that builds life-long partnerships; instead of abusive client relationships, mistrust and short lived transactions.

Looking back at my last post I can get a sense of what I accomplished last year and what work I put in to make those things happen. This year I hope to continue to expand upon that foundation.

Yesterday, like many Sundays, I thought about what I had coming up in this week ahead. Similarly, over the past couple of weeks I’ve been considering what projects are in store for me this year and what I’d like to make happen. In this way the past few weeks have been my annual “Sunday” while the next couple of weeks will be my annual “Monday”.

I find that breaking time-frames down like this is much more comfortable for laying out my plans. What techniques do you use?

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If, like me, you find this a time of contemplation then I share this poem with you.

In Everything

Everything is only one thing, for there is no more than everything;

everything is all embracing, for everything leaves nothing out.

To single out today as a day where all is embraced

is to fall short of everything;

for everything includes all time, all space, all creatures, all matter, all ideas and all emotion.

On this day when we are called to be as one, to share, to commune together -

we may no longer choose the exclusion of anything.

To embrace with all that has come before us, all that is before us and all that will come after

we must move beyond the knowledge that we may not share everything;

instead, today, let’s unshackle our perspectives to allow ourselves to share

in everything.

This time though my friend changed the conversation and asked, “How is your internal climate changing?”

How is my internal climate changing? I don’t even know what my internal climate is? I thought about these things for several days after our talk. I had no quick answer to this one.

Not having a quick answer was in fact a clue to how my internal climate had been changing.

You see, I have always been fairly – ok very – opinionated. In the past I have been quick to provide a response to any number of topics based on my pre-disposed opinion.

Changing that behavior hasn’t been easy, but it appears to be happening. The current structure of our society doesn’t help because we reward ourselves for quick answers and cemented opinions.

For example; prior to the last election, at one of the city council forums, this question was raised:

“Do you think global warming is a man made phenomenon?”

On the surface this seems like a totally valid question; one that might even have a clear yes or no answer. Give a “yes” or a “no” and you are guaranteed to put yourself on one side or the other of the global warming debate. The reward is that you are now in the exclusive group of people willing to answer that question the same way as yourself. Just maybe that group will clinch the votes you need to be elected.

Unfortunately, through the process of grouping ourselves – creating us’s and them’s – we build barriers to actually accomplishing anything. Instead of finding ways to make the world better for all we become more concerned with one-upping the other team.

That makes this reward hardly a reward at all.

Asking what our internal climate is or how it is changing isn’t so much about coming up with a good metaphorical retort; it is about forcing the mind to discover what is in the heart.

Over the past several days I’ve discovered that my heart desires me to move beyond asking questions that divide. While I may maintain my opinions about climate change it is my internal climate change that is telling me I want to discover the questions that lead to a stronger union between myself and others.

So now it’s your turn. As the world’s leaders meet to try and take action on global climate change, I ask you, “What is your internal climate change?”

{Listen to Audio Here}