…today’s secret…2022 Nuggets.

As a 2022 look back, here are 22 nuggets from last year’s Secrets. I present them to you in no particular order.

Mankind’s existence has always been an imperfect story of imperfect people trying to do better in their imperfect life.

Nine words that can kill an organization’s growth… “Let me just play Devil’s Advocate for a minute.”

If you think there is good in everybody, you haven’t met everybody.

Outside change begins with inside change.

Metrics measure program management. Unfortunately, programs don’t develop people. People develop people.

People want the same three things in life…to earn lots of money, become known for something, and making a difference somewhere. How these three get prioritized creates our human diversity.

How we see the world is developed over time through our personal experiences, preferences, and prejudices. We see things not as they are, but as we are. This creates our reality. If you are going to help people you start with their reality. Their reality is not the same as yours.

For every organization hacking at the leaves of the marginalized, there is only a few organizations striking at the root.

The people you are helping hide their pain from you. Don’t just send flowers. Send yourself.

If you are helping offenders and ex-offenders rehabilitate, heal, transform, redeem, work and play well with others, don’t lose sight of their families. Families need hope also.

The more marginalized individuals have of these six factors, the less marginalized they become….Age (25 years or above)…Literate…Free of mental health and substance abuse…Family functional…Meaningful employment…Belief in a higher power.

Two questions the people you are helping want to ask but don’t. What is it you want me to know? What do you want me to do?

The marginalized use their outside voice to lie and hide who they really are. You can’t trust that voice. You want to converse with their inner voice for the real truth.

Finite mindsets play life for more money, more toys, or more power. Infinite mindsets play life to advance a bigger cause.

There are only four basic personalities in the world. We are all some combination of these four. The more you understand how people are hardwired, the easier it is to persuade, avoid conflict, or change lives.

We imagine action before we take it. We see ourselves doing it before we do it. No one has ever cheated on their wife without first seeing it in their head. Where the mind has journeyed, the body will follow.

Being created in the image of God gives everyone an equal and inherent dignity. Yet we as humans always try and portion out worthiness and dignity to each other. The powerless and disadvantaged always lose out.

Words are the most powerful force in the universe. God spoke the world into existence. Words have planted seeds of revolutions and started wars. Leaders are remembered for their words. Words caused our Founding Fathers to risk their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to defend them.

Leadership and management are two different skill sets. Organizations are usually created by a leader and optimized by a manager. Leaders create things from nothing. Managers then slowly improve those things.

Mediocrity is unhappy people spraying unhappiness all over your workplace. A whine. A complaint. A rant. They stay in the box because it’s safe there. Mediocre people are at the end of a string that someone else pulls.

Many who help the marginalized want to point out what the helpee is doing wrong. Wise ones look for what the helpee is doing right and build on that.

Your resources are limited. Your time is impossible. And the person you are wanting to help has built a wall around themselves. What else is new?

Thank you for doing what you do.