4 Daily Strengths

In 5 Strengths to Stand Strong... I offered just that; 5 Strengths of Character for walking stronger amidst the change and challenge of the world. It had me thinking on daily practices of Strength. I am aware of Stoic thoughts around same, and I hold to them. That said, it all had me pondering on 4 daily Virtues in practice, for our own growth and development at home, school, work, business, play and community. These are 4 "bases" to round daily, I humbly believe and contend... and to be explored below. But first...

In this March issue of A PEACE of WORK... and following on the last two issues of same on The Noblellion Continues and Developing commUNITY... I offer up that A PEACE of WORK helps showcase TUGtv. And, TUGtv is a space for long form and short form conversation around self care, Humanity, Character, and more. It "spotlights" on people, ideas and projects for an ever better world and future. This past month... among other shorter vids... we offered up...

• Talk Reel where Elaine Dunphy, Christine Ayling, Tammy Joy and yours truly chatted on care and self care. Some gems of thought certainly bubbled up.
• #hUmaNITY where Russell Zehtab, Zheng Li and I held conversation with Shaheen Nazif around architecture, BIM, Beauty, purpose and more.

We invite you to grab a comforting beverage and chair... and have a listen in.

Those Four Daily Strengths

Now, onto those 4 daily Strengths of Character...

This is "Home Base"; Tranquility Base. It is our place to center. It requires no tranquil pools nor scenes (though that is nice, lol). It does require finding our centering, our eye of the storm... if you will. Tranquility is a practice of centering and re-centering daily; bringing ourselves within, healthily detached from the distractions of the world often pulling us in myriad directions. Tranquility is the way to find and focus our aim that is true and purposeful; and stay on soulful target and task.

I suggest and encourage that this practice needs be taken on at the beginning and ending of each Day... maybe even in the middle. A thrice daily practice can achieve such Clarity of Commitment... through that centering and re-centering of our consciously chosen and charted course. With it, we can claim and reclaim our Cause.

Endeavour is the TRY and the DO. The Try and Do, are joined at the heart, I offer. If at first we don't succeed, we ask what is not working, change it, and then try again. The ever adaptive trying is the doing, sorry Master Yoda. Practice makes permanent. That said, centering ourselves resets our focus to follow through on what and who is most important to us. That centering invites us back to our sense of conviction. Endeavour is conviction in committed action. If Tranquility forges and re-forges our Clarity of Commitment, then Endeavour is our Commitment in action. We set out to do what must be done, to contribute what must be contributed, and to serve what must be served.

Allegiance has to do with understanding and claiming what and who is most important to us. What is our soulfully discerned Cause to which we pledge ourselves? What are the ideas to which we pledge ourselves? Who are the people to which we genuinely pledge ourselves? If we are to be the "preserver of the sanctity" of our pledge, what is our pledge?

So, if Tranquility helps us to find our Clarity, and Endeavour gets us actively contributing, then Allegiance gives us our WHY and Just Cause. With Allegiance, we know what and who to which we truly commit. We know why we are doing what we nobly do, in Service to what and who truly matters. Indeed, Allegiance and Endeavour answer the core questions of Mission, in identifying what and who we serve and how we serve.

Rationality is the bedrock to our ongoing Discernment on Clarity and Commitment. With it, we consciously view the world and our own corners of it. With it in practice, we experience and acknowledge our thoughts and feelings while knowing we are also the objective observer. Rationality is strategic and tactical. That said, Rationality is a powerful notion in Stoicism as it helps us to meet the Day as it meets us... strengthening our response to the waves and weather of Life. Rationality forges and strengthens our "response ability".

An Invitation to Imagine

• I invite you to imagine a daily practice of Tranquility, centering and re-centering ourselves not unlike setting and resetting course for a great ship; the ship that is our Life best lived. With Tranquility we can best find and perfect our sense of Endeavour and Allegiance. With Tranquility, we better and more soulfully sense and know our Character and Purpose and Mission... in order to manifest same.
• Secondly, I invite you to imagine the actual steering of that great ship (that is our Life) as Endeavour, setting and making sail towards our destination and Purpose. With Endeavour we decidedly move forward in Service to our Character, Purpose, Mission and idea of community. With Endeavour we are acting upon what we find in Tranquility.
• Thirdly, I invite you to imagine Allegiance as aligning ourselves to our noble destination, answering the call of our best and home port of destination. Allegiance sets and sees that home port... that noble Cause at home, school, work, business, play and/or community. It lays soulful claim to what matters most to us in Service... and gives us our big WHY that matters.
• Finally, I invite you to imagine Rationality as our counsel in ever considering our voyage forward... the capacity to (a) discern on what we find in Tranquility and (b) assess the weather and conditions en route as we walk our Endeavour and Allegiance. If Tranquility is the place we get to truthfully explore our best Allegiance and Endeavour, then Rationality helps us to discern on what we find. And, it helps us as we manifest what we find. Rationality is that sacred Counsel we take with us into and following upon our practice of Tranquility.

A Metaphor I Like

• If my soulful Life is a great ship, and I am its Captain, Tranquility is my practice of looking to the stars and maps for guidance on where I need best be going. Endeavour is setting the ship and its resources and capacities in the direction of that destination. Allegiance is my deep Understanding on why getting there is so important. And, Rationality is the navigator in me, assessing where I am in relation to where I soulfully intend to be... taking into account weather and environment ... and considering, discerning and deciding on my reasoned choices.

The Bottom and Top Line

As we center and re-center daily through the practice of Tranquility, and with the Counsel of Rationality, we ever better understand our Allegiance and Endeavour. That noted, Tranquility and Rationality, they better engage us to sharpen the blades on Allegiance and Endeavour. I think that, for me, it comes down to this.

• Tranquility is the practice of finding space to explore my questions and answers. It is the opportunity and capacity to SEEK and IMAGINE.
• Endeavour is the practice to express and manifest and act upon those answers. It is the opportunity and capacity to ENGAGE and ACT.
• Allegiance is the practice of knowing and reminding myself on my BIG WHY. It is the opportunity and capacity to ALIGN and MOTIVATE.
• Rationality is the practice that Counsels my exploration and implementation on it all. It is the opportunity and capacity to ASSESS and REASON.

As a Baha'i, while I engage The Fast... I will ever more dive into these 4 Virtues in practice. I will ever increasingly make them daily practice for my own growth and development. And, following The Fast ... and into my New Year (Naw Ruz), through the Noblellion... and an ongoing exploration of 6 Strategies for exploring and building Character and Purpose... I will practice Tranquility, Endeavour, Allegiance and Rationality as I take my own steps forward.

For us all, may we practice these four daily to find our best and most soulful way.

Peace, Purpose, Justice and Unity...

Barry Lewis Green, aka The Unity Guy with Epic Engage

• I am an Educator, Speaker, Coach, Author and Creator helping Educators, Entrepreneurs and Emerging Leaders lead for a better world with Character, Purpose and Unity. I help advance Character, Purpose and Unity as forces for that better world. In so doing, I bring my work as Master Facilitator with the Virtues Project? ... my experience as a Certified Facilitator with Personality Dimensions? ... and my Service as a Facilitator with the Ruhi Institute and as Practitioner of the work of What Color is Your Parachute? since 1982.I invite you to check out
• Character and Purpose
• commUNITY
• Character, Leadership and Education...
• 6 Strategies for building Character Leadership
• The Humanity Map
• TUGtv...
• ... and The #hUmaNITY Podcast ... officially launching in March 2025...

I Serve...

Through...

• "I had the distinct pleasure of being in an audience in Montreal with Barry Lewis Green on the stage. Quite simply, Barry absolutely captivated us with his talent, his message, and his heart. The feeling of Unity that Barry created in the room that day was extraordinary. I absolutely recommend him for your meeting or event." --- Joe Calloway

• "The Mount Pearl Paradise Chamber of Commerce were fortunate enough to have Barry Lewis Green as a presenter for a Webinar Series we recently offered. He was so engaged with his audience and made everyone feel valued. He brought excitement and energy to our session and certainly shared his passion and knowledge with us. We will certainly be having Barry back for another series. Thanks Barry for being so professional." --- Wanda Palmer

• "I had the privilege of collaborating with Barry on one of our projects, Her Own Boss. His skill in value-based facilitation is nothing short of transformative. With a warm, inclusive teaching style, he connected deeply with our participants, helping them uncover their core values and guiding them in applying these principles to their businesses. I heard great things about him from our previous cohort and I witnessed that firsthand when I attended some of his sessions. If you're looking for someone who can train you/your team in values-driven facilitation, look no further than Barry." --- Serah Gazali

• "The most learned or experienced person is not always the one who helps us grow and thrive. We all grow and thrive with those who ask the important questions in a loving and Noble manner - with the patience to allow our thinking to unfold, our feelings to emerge and our spirits to soar. This is what being in the same space with Barry is like. Working with Barry on #hUmaNITY is such a joy. I feel the excitement of standing before a blank canvas at the beginning of every gathering, exploring the depths of our creative energies throughout the conversations shared, and emerging at the end with a piece that I could not have painted singularly even on my best days. That is what conversations with Barry feels like. He is organized and efficient. Fearless and Bold. Lives with arms wide open.... and has the best questions (which begin with "I wonder....") asked in a most inclusive manner within a safe space that I often forget we are recording and that others will be witnessing our responses." --- Russell Zehtab

• "Barry is compassionately honest. He has the talent to say what needs to be said in a way that people "get" it. His honesty and intelligence come through whether he is presenting on stage or just hanging out with friends. And...have you heard him sing? Man... he has a set of lungs that can wail a tune. Talented, smart and funny, when he takes the stage, he commands the stage." --- Lea Brovedani

• "It takes immense strength of character to insistently amplify the goodness of every individual whose destiny crosses path with one’s own, no matter how briefly. This is who Barry is. The precious gift of Barry’s faith in you compels an irrepressible desire to show up as the best version of yourself. And in a world aching for radical hope and pragmatic wisdom, Barry is the gentle torch bearer whose light is constant amidst the maelstrom of fads. Should you then find your path intersecting with Barry’s, pause for a while in his companionship, and make space for the gift of his life-changing attention. I know because I paused. Barry, my heart continues to expand with immense gratitude for your indescribable presence. And this gift of an expanding heart, is priceless ??" --- Dr. Roslina Chai

• "Working with Barry Lewis Green is a lovely silver lining to navigating through Covid times. We connected for thoughtful monthly Digital Coffees. Barry’s ease with the art of meaningful conversation and asking questions that inspire me to dig deeper always result in a joy-filled journey through many topics. I am one of many colleagues Barry engages with regularly for TUG TV - so many topics, something truly for everyone! Barry’s charismatic personality and zeal for life makes it an absolute joy to work on any project with him. And just wait until Barry launches his BOXSA project!" --- Elaine Dunphy

• "Barry has a presence...I have known of Barry’s work for many years but have gotten to know him as a friend and colleague within the past five. Whether it be in person or during a presentation, he has the uncanny ability to pull on all of your emotions while driving home key messages that provide personal clarity. Barry’s presentation skills can be explained as ‘heavy metal hits’ meets ‘folk tunes’ meets ‘sounds of nature’. He has an arsenal of skills that is quite eclectic. As a Master Facilitator for The Virtues Project and several other impactful programs, he combines a wealth of knowledge with his own extensive library of content creations. He is highly respected and well-connected within the speaking and social action communities. Barry is a true champion of character leadership. He ‘talks the talk’ and ‘walks the walk’. He approaches each and every interaction with passion and ZEAL! I highly recommend reaching out to Barry for collaboration opportunities." --- Trent Langdon

• Barry is a skilled interviewer with insatiable curiosity, and a well practiced initiative virtue that guides him in pursuing the development of character in his teaching, coaching and interviewing endeavors. He bills himself as TUG (The Unity Guy) and EPIC Engage; very accurate monikers for what he does with such excellence. --- Christine Ayling

• "Barry is one of those too-good-to-be true humans who strives to help and inspire other people above all else. He is continuously focused on enhancing the collective good. I really enjoyed collaborating with Barry and look forward to seeing all of his content in the future." --- Elizabeth Burt

• I consider Barry not only an educator, but a true leader. He teaches in the moment- providing the reality of our evolving business world and passes along his insight and perspective that helps people to think outside the box and to value adaptability and flexibility as forms of succession. He is bold, courageous and fun! He puts his ALL in and goes above and beyond to help another! It was an honor having him as a HR Instructor and Business Planning Coach for two years and will continue to be an honor as I pursue my career and maintain a meaningful and beneficial relationship as a CNA Alumni and friend to Barry. --- Jess Jones

• "I've had the pleasure of knowing Barry for over twenty years as a leader, group facilitator, engaging speaker and inspiring educator. I participated in a transformative corporate team building day that Barry designed and delivered to my Skills Canada colleagues from across the country; all participants felt it was an impactful and motivating PD session that inspired trust and action. Barry has volunteered with Skills Canada for over twenty years as the emcee for the most important and cumulative event of the year - our Annual Awards Ceremony. Barry skillfully and humorously keeps the crowd engaged and entertained while maintaining flow and procedure. Barry is also a mentor to our Entrepreneurial program, and as a well-respected educator has inspired several highly-skilled graduates to seek employment with our organization and amplify his impact. Barry is unique, talented, authentic and leads with passion." --- Carole Ann Ryan