Monday, August 20, 2007

LEV3L

Here's one of the most AWESOME things I learned on my trip to Kenya. It's called Level 3 - "LEV3L"

Read it, and you'll feel SO empowered to go out and FULLY live each moment and grasp everything you can from each experience.

Here we go!

"Level 3 is a way of life.
It is the courage to dream, the passion to beleive, and the intensity to act
It is the energy that allows us as ethical global citizens to make the ordinary extraordinary, to change our lives, the lives of others and the world around us.

It resides in each one of us. It redefines limits. It is unstoppable.

Here's a few ways to live at Level 3:

1. Put passion and energy into everything you do. Level 3 is not about output, like the volume of your voice or the number of accomplishments you achieve. It is all about input - the energy and passion that you commit to the people in your life to the issues that are important to you and to the goals that you seek.

2. Give of yourself. Money and kind words are important and valuable, but they are also easy. Your time and your heart are priceless treasures that only you can give.

3. Be different. Participate and contribute in your own distinctive way. Give to the world your unique talents, style and ideas. Do NOT be help back by convention or custom.

4. Make people smile and laugh. Smiles and laughter are the most beautiful and powerfully positive sight and sound, respectively, in our world. They re real-life miracles: they magically wash away sadness, conflict, and stress. All it takes to make someone smile is to smile at them first - a simple, painless, and very powerful way to make someone's day brighter. Develop your sense of humour, and use it often - even in very tense situations. Sing a silly song, make a funny voice, and send a funny e-mail. You will live better and longer, and so will everyone else around you.

5. Laugh at yourself. This skill requires self-confidence, humility, and courage - a powerfully selfless act. When you make yourself the focus of ridicule, that burden is relieved off somoene else who feels it too regularly. Indirectly, you help others to dwell less on their own inadequacies, and to feel more comfortable with themselves and with you.

6. Be vocal and generous with praise and appreciation. "Great job!", "You're awesome", "It's so great having you around", and "I love you" are powerful phrases that make everyone feel good about themselves and about the relationship between you. Use these expressions sincerely and often. If criticism is warranted, be constructive, cautious, and quiet: seek improvement, not blame.

7. Understand people. Know that every person you pass on the street has goals, hopes, and dreams just as you do; everyone you meet has experienced pain, loss, and hardship just as you have; every human being has needs, wants, and emotions of equal value and passion to your own. Be aware of the reasons why people do what they do - very few people do bad things without cause. The key to healing the world is in showing compassion and true understanding to those who do not fit in, and finding room to include them in our common humanity.

8. Build yourself up instead of tearing others down. Search not for the weaknesses of others, but rather seek and develop your own strengths, and to know what you can contribute that is special. Competition is not always necessary - realize that we are all playing on the same team with the same goals, hopes, and dreams.

9. See the beauty in everything. It isn't hard if you try, it isn't always what you expected, and it is always worth the effort.

10. ACT. Talking and planning only goes so far - changing the world requires concrete action. Lead by example - live your message.

11. Life exists for experiences: LOVE and FUN. Don't work all your life to enjoy a few fleeting moments of happiness. Love and fun should always permeate everything you do. Seek them out; without them, life has little true meaning. With them lies your Power of One. With them, you are unstoppable.

AND 9 Principles of Level 3:
  • It begins with me
  • It takes a child to raise a village
  • There is no box
  • Take a second look...again
  • Ask questions and question answers
  • 1 + 1 = 3
  • Make ordinary extraordinary
  • Nothing is impossible
  • Act now"
-- Taken from Leaders Today Kenya - Leadership Curriculum


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