Never Underestimate the Spirit: Messages of Hope and Inspiration

By Paul B. Doyle

Never Underestimate the Spirit evolved from a series of weekly memos I sent to my employees, encouraging personal and professional learning and growth. Although I began writing to encourage, motivate, and inspire them, in time it was they who provided a never-ending pool of inspiration to me. To quote Albert Schweitzer: "At times our own light g

• Language: English
• Publisher: Oxford Book Writers
• Release date: Sep 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9781088078167

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New_Ebook_File_(Innerpages_-_Paul_B_Doyle)Paul HendricksF212018-03-29T10:19:00Z2023-08-30T02:34:00Z2023-08-30T02:34:00Z30639706226330Aspose188653126550516.0000

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE

THE SPIRIT

MESSAGES OF HOPE AND INSPIRATION

PAUL B. DOYLE

Copyright © 2023 Paul B. Doyle

All Rights Reserved

For additional copies of this book and information about workshops, seminars, and speaking engagements, contact:

Dr. Paul B. Doyle

[e-mail]

DEDICATION

To the family and friends of the Paris Special School District for your dedication, hard work, and compassion for the children and families you serve. Thank you for sharing your spirit.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To Elaine Willers-Jones and JM Galloway my very first professors and mentors. Thank you for hanging in there with me and for your support and encouragement throughout my career.

To Larue Moss who took a chance with me by jump starting my long career as an adjunct professor for numerous colleges and universities. And for my road warrior buddies, Mack, Bo, Van and Billy. We sure wore out the tires, didn’t we? Thanks to my first principal, Ed Counter for your guidance, support, and friendship.

To the literally thousand of students, teachers and support staff that I had the honor of working with…. what a tremendous blessing, and to my friend Andy, you’re the best. I wish my girls could have been in your classes.

And last, but certainly not least, my grandmother Evelyn Strange who raised me from childhood to young adulthood. I know it wasn’t easy. How I wish you were here so that I could tell you just how much you mean to me. Your love was always steadfast and unconditional.

Individuals and organizations that perceive themselves as more spiritual do better. They are more productive, creative and adaptive. Spiritual organizations are animated by meaning, by wholeness, and by seeing their work connected to events and people beyond themselves.

—Warren Bennis

Values are the emotional salary of work, and some folks are drawing no wages at all.*

—Howard Figler

__________

*Ian I. Mitroff and Elizabeth A. Denton, A Spiritual Audit of Corporate America, Josey-Bass Inc., San Francisco, CA. 1999. P. xiv.

INTRODUCTION

Today we spend more waking hours at our workplaces than any other one place. It has, therefore, become increasingly difficult for us to compartmentalize our lives. The need to find meaning, satisfaction, and joy in our work is critical. It's been said that most of us have jobs we hate and work for bosses we despise. If you have a job that taps into your creativity, interests, God given talent, and passion, consider yourself blessed. Our spirits are not something we leave outside the workplace door…nor should we. The data strongly suggest that those organizations that identify more strongly with spirituality or that have a greater sense of spirituality have employees who (1) are less fearful of their organizations, (2) are far less likely to compromise their basic beliefs and values in the workplace. (3) perceive their organizations as significantly more profitable, and (4) report that they can bring significantly more of their complete selves to work, specifically their creativity and intelligence. (Mitroff and Denton)

Value-Driven cultures seeking to enhance workplace satisfaction must find ways to nurture and sustain the spirit both collectively and individually. The word spirit comes from the Latin spiritus meaning breath, also soul, courage, and vigor. Spirituality implies a connection to that which is greater than self. In the workplace it is most evident in the authentic nature of both employees and the organization as they live and work together to create synergy. Relationships are more genuine, moving beyond mere tolerance or even acceptance and into pluralism and celebration of differences. Conversations are deep and meaningful and absent of superficiality. Communication is key.

As a school superintendent I communicated to my employees through weekly letters of support and encouragement. The employee who was first each week to identify and report an editing error on my part was rewarded with a movie pass, popcorn and drink. My messages reflected my thoughts regarding the appreciation I held for my employees, and the respect I had for their dedication and hard work. I have a long standing belief that we should treat our employees as well as we expect them to treat our most valued customers. For almost six years I was blessed to lead a school district of hard working, conscientious, caring, and compassionate employees. Together we enjoyed a values-driven community that focused on our basic needs for living, learning, having fun, and nurturing the spirit, and in so doing sought to create a legacy of encouragement, optimism, hope, and achievement for those we served. This book is a tribute to those employees. My editing of the letters makes them inherently more generic than they appeared in their original form. It is not my intent to diminish the deep personal and professional relationships we worked so hard to establish, rather to provide a sense of anonymity in respect to particular names and situations.

Your spirit reflects your energy, soul, courage and vigor. Pass it on.

So sit back and enjoy and until next time remember: Never underestimate the spirit.

Table of Contents

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

BE REAL

BEING THANKFUL

DO THE NEXT RIGHT THING

BEWARE THE KNOW IT ALL

CARROTS, EGGS, AND COFFEE

CELTIC PRIDE

CHANGE

CHICAGO

DATA DRIVEN?

OUR CLIENTS

CHOICE

CONTROL AND CHANGE

DEAR GOD

DEEPEST FEAR

DENIAL

DESENSITIZED

EMPATHY

DON’T SHOOT THE MESSENGER

EMPOWERMENT

FIND YOUR VOICE, THEN INSPIRE OTHERS TO FIND THEIRS

FORGIVING YOURSELF

FRIGHTENING CONCLUSION

COLOR BOUND

HALT

HANDS TO HELP

SUCCESS

HEROES

THE SOURCE OF STRENGTH

HUGGING

IMAGINATION

WHY WE TEACH

INFLUENCE

IRONY

IMAGE

LAUGH AND LEARN

LISTEN

LOVE

MARIA

THE CONVERSATION

MORAL INTELLIGENCE

MOTIVATION

NUTS

ONE

THE IMPORTANCE OF PASSION

PEACE IN THE NOW

VISION

PERSISTENCE

PERSONAL INVESTMENTS

POOR ME

MEMORIES

RENEWAL

SPEAKING OF RESPECT

THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?

ABOUT STANDARDS

KATRINA—SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS

RULE OF OPPOSITES

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

SACRED CELEBRATION

SACRIFICE

IS YOUR HUT ON FIRE?

SERMONS WE SEE

SERVICE

SOMEBODY KEEPS MESSIN’ WITH MY CHEESE!

SIGNIFICANCE

KEEP IT SIMPLE

A SHORT COURSE IN HUMAN RELATIONS

HIGH STAKES

THE STORY OF GEESE

AVOID STRESS

SUCCESS

TALKING WITHOUT SPEAKING

TEAM DYSFUNCTIONS

TEAMWORK

TEDDY STODDARD STORY

PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW

THE UMBRELLA

THE HORSE WHISPERER—LESSONS

FAITH THAT SUSTAINS

THE ONE WHO NEEDS LOVE THE MOST

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

THE THANK YOU NOTE

THE VALUE OF TIME

THEIR FUTURE OR OUR PAST

THINGS TO FORGET

FOCUS

TODAY

ATTITUDES ARE CONTAGIOUS—  IS YOURS WORTH CATCHING?

WHO MAKXS A TXAM A SUCCXSS

WORDS

YOU ARE ENOUGH!

Teachers ...

New_Ebook_File_(Innerpages_-_Paul_B_Doyle)Paul HendricksF212018-03-29T10:19:00Z2023-08-30T02:34:00Z2023-08-30T02:34:00Z30639706226330Aspose188653126550516.0000

BE REAL

T

hank you for another great week. I know that things have been a little out of sorts lately and that we are getting our share of tragedies. Continue to hang in there and support one another. In these times of trouble, we need each other more than ever.

I get frustrated sometimes when I'm trying to decide what to do for somebody that needs comfort. Often my first response is to look for a verse or quote that will hit the spot. There's nothing wrong with that of course, but it may come across as lacking sincerity and authenticity. I think it's more important that we share the only true thing we really have…our experience, strength, and hope...in short, ourselves. Whether we are working with students, our families, or our colleagues, when we are being our true self, with all the humanness that entails—our weaknesses, our blemishes, all our shortcomings—we are empowering others to be themselves as well. And what greater gift is there than just simply allowing someone to be real; to be exactly who they are? No masks, no pretense. Our greatest assets are our lives, our very own stories.

Thank you for being there for one another and thank you for being YOU.

I am so proud to be your superintendent.

Have a great weekend…and until next time remember:

It is better to follow the voice inside and be at war with the whole world, than to follow the ways of the world and be at war with yourself.

BEING THANKFUL

T

hank YOU for another great week. Looks like the weather will be changing on us throughout the day and into the weekend. Stay safe.

Chapter 7 of Life's Greatest Lessons, by Hal Urban is titled, Being Thankful is a Habit—The Best One You'll Ever Have.

Having taught a lesson about thankfulness as an attitude and a habit, and as a way to help his students develop a greater awareness and appreciation for what they had, he asked them to make a Top 5 list. He did this with his high school and college students and the results were strikingly similar. The language varied I'm sure, but the following appeared most often. In order:

Specialpeople

Freedomofchoice

Boundlessopportunity

Educationandlearning

Abundanceandqualityoflife.

Take some time this weekend to reflect, meditate and develop your own list. And then write your list down and put it somewhere you can easily be reminded. Go 24 hours without complaining about anything and see if that doesn't make you feel better. Then try another 24. It takes 21 days to develop a habit, but sometimes we have to break it down to hours and even minutes, regardless of what you may have done previously.

Until next time remember:

Being thankful is a habit worth striving for.

DO THE NEXT RIGHT THING

C

onfronting and resolving an issue makes it part of the past, ignoring and denying it makes it part of the future. Benjamin Franklin once said that we never appreciate the value of water until the well runs dry. This is true with a lot of other things too, isn't it? It's easy to take things and people for granted. I know I take for granted that I will always have my wife and daughters to take care of me. Valentines Day is a way of helping to bring that appreciation home. But how shallow it is to wait for special days to celebrate our love for one another.

This past Valentines Day (Tuesday night) I was working with some teachers in my graduate class. Anxious to get home to have dinner with my girls, I cut short my lecture and dismissed the group. It took me about 10 minutes to get my stuff together, the equipment turned off etc. before leaving the building. When I walked out the door, I saw that the teachers were still gathered at the steps of the school. As I approached I noticed that they appeared to have formed a group hug. Some were whispering to one another, some crying. One of their colleague's young daughter was just killed in an automobile accident. She was 16. Her name was Mary Helen. We are reminded once again, that not only can our lives stop and turn on a dime, but that it can happen at any moment.

Thomas Merton once wrote: The truth that many people never understand until its too late, is that the more you try to gain security the more you suffer, because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you…the one who does the most to avoid suffering is, in the end,, the one who suffers most: and his suffering comes to him from things so little and so trivial that…it is no longer objective at all.

I will never be thankful so long as I constantly, whine and complain about the trivial. Forever stuck in the thick of thin things.

Please remember those of us in need of thoughts and prayers this weekend…. Please also remember the family who lost their little girl this Valentines Day. Many among us have been through the kind of pain and suffering that exceeds any human understanding.

Speaking of thankfulness—thank each and every one of you for the hard work you do for the boys and girls of the district. For many, YOU are the beacon of hope in their lives. Maybe their only ray of light.

Have a safe, restful weekend, and until next time remember:

Thank Somebody Today.

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.

BEWARE THE KNOW IT ALL

O

K—so here's the deal. Three guys and a girl are in an airplane flying high over the Arizona desert. We have on board a pastor, a college student (female), an engineer, and of course the pilot.

Ten minutes into the flight the pilot comes running back from the cockpit and announces that the plane is experiencing engine trouble and will crash into the sand in approximately two minutes. He then leaps out of the plane, opens his parachute, and floats safely to the ground.

The three remaining passengers start scrambling around for parachutes and, wouldn't you know it, only find two. The engineer grabs one of them in haste and declares, I have an IQ of 175. I am on the President’s task force for environmental safety, I am a Rhodes scholar, and three-time world champion in chess and I am up for the Pulitzer Prize this year. If we are considering the person of most intellectual value obviously I win. Ignoring any semblance of chivalry or his southern upbringing, he jumped from the plane.

The young coed and the pastor sit passively by astonished by this assertive and rather rude declaration. Well honey, the pastor said, I am an old man. My family is grown, my wife passed away last year, and I have done my best for the Lord. I am content to let you have the remaining parachute. In fact I feel blessed. Your entire live is ahead of you. You will remember this moment and do great things.

That's OK, not to worry replied the coed. We still have two parachutes. That genius just grabbed my backpack.

Okay, question is: With whom do you most identify? My grandmamma used to say that someone was too big for their britches, or high flalutent when they wanted everybody to know how smart they thought they were. Don't you love and miss those