Outward Discipline #2: Solitude

T. S. Eliot analyzes our culture well when he writes, “Where shall the word be found, where will the word resound? Not here, there is not enough silence.”

Loneliness or clatter are not our only two alternatives. We can cultivate an inner solitude and silence that sets us free from loneliness and fear.

Loneliness is inner emptiness.

Solitude is inner fulfillment. Solitude is more a state of mind and heart than it is a place.

In fact, crowds—or the lack of them—have little to do with cultivating this state of mind. It is quite possible to be a desert hermit and never experience solitude. But if we possess inward solitude we do not fear being alone, for we know that we are not alone. Neither do we fear being with others, for they do not control us.

Click here to learn more from Richard Foster about Solitude

The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive

To become an extraordinary executive, one key is to identify a reasonable number of issues that will have the greatest possible impact on the success of your organization, and then spend most of your time thinking about, talking about, and working on those issues.

If everything is important, then nothing is.

Most leaders spend the majority of their time and energy making their organizations smarter, with relatively little effort directed toward making them healthier.

Plenty of anonymous and forgotten companies have squandered intellectual advantages because of infighting, lack of clarity, and other problems that plague unhealthy organizations.

In his book, The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive, author Patrick Lencioni seeks to help executives understand the disarming simplicity and power of organizational health and the four actionable steps that allow them to achieve it.

Click here to learn those 4 actionable steps from Lencioni