Greetings.  Looking for a way to unlock the real passion in all of your colleagues and team members?  If so, you might enjoy some valuable guidance on "The Five Keys to Personal Mastery" from a friend and colleague of mine named Dave Lent. Building on the work of George Leonard and his classic book titled Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment, Dave has helped individuals in leading corporations and nonprofit organizations to discover what really matters to them as a means for achieving greater success in work and life.

He begins his workshops by asking participants two intriguing questions as a way to cut to the heart of things:

First, when was the last time you remember being electrified by something you were experiencing?  Something that made the hair stand up on the back of your neck, that gave you goose bumps, or took your breath away?

And second, assume you have all the money you will ever need. Enough money to support yourself and everyone you care about for the rest of your lives.  You've traveled to all the places you ever dreamed of visiting.  Now, how are you going to spend your time?

We rarely if ever ask these questions in business.  But if we did we might discover a broader set of skills, passions, and human "assets" that could be leveraged to drive even greater genius, excellence, and success.  We might even find a better way to connect with all of the members of our organizations and, in the process, create a stronger bond and greater engagement in meeting the needs of those we serve.  

Unless, of course, we are afraid to find out the answers.  Afraid to discover that our colleagues don't have a lot of passion for the work that we do or the way that we do it.  Afraid to learn that we are failing to capture the hearts and imaginations of the people we work with (and count on) every day.

To get a quick glimpse of "The Five Keys to Personal Mastery," you might enjoy this trailer for Dave's fascinating film…

We win in business and in life when we, just like the very clever folks at Monty Python, help those around us to "find their grail."  Sounds like essential work for leaders in today's world of endless possibilities and limited commitment. 

Cheers!