12 Habits of Authentic People

Leaders are simply people who have followers. Great and good leaders motivate and inspire by serving. a cause greater than themselves. On the other hand, great bad leaders motivate and inspire with fear, control, blame, and shame. Countless clients have learned the power of becoming an authentic leader through the 12 Habits Methodology and in so doing, it increases all the other benefits listed.

According to Stephen M.R. Covey, in the #1 NYT best-seller, The Speed of Trust, trust is comprised of four core attributes: intent, integrity, competency, and results. Multiple clients have learned to heal their wounds from blame, shame, persecution or betrayal, and in so doing stand in their power, unafraid to speak with integrity and sharing their intent. As an authentic person, they built greater trust and mutual respect.

Research demonstrates that the majority of attrition is not from poor salaries and benefits, but rather a lack of respect, trust, compassion, and feeling worthy. The majority of 12 Habit clients are CEOs, who first go on the journey to improve themselves, and then their management team. The trickle down impact from all the habits has dramatically reduced turnover.

Everyone has invisible gifts including to hear, see, feel, know, and sense. Learning these abilities is a core part of the Spiritual Aspirant. One CEO resolved a five year legal dispute by leaning in, sensing the conflict and scenarios, and trusting his intuition, saving millions of dollars.

Everyone can invent or create, but most do not belief in their gifts. One client learned to clear their mind, and tapped into their superconsciousness, and created award winning innovations in a matter of days. 

As shared in the benefit of innovation, or crisis response, success comes not only from optimizing a team. Optimizing the team means not only bringing the mixture of key qualities, but creating the values and virtues that allow them to work together in a harmonious and trusting manner. One client did this by embracing all the elements of the 12 Habits and doubled their revenue and tripled their profit.

Today's work environment is very stressful, which creates anxiety, and depression. Many clients have learned to calm their mind by grounding and breathing, shutting off the amygdala and activating their frontal cortex, which dramatically improved their productivity.

Every problem has a solution. Many problems are an opportunity in disguise. One client thought they were about to lose a third of their business, but when they cleared their fears and opened their mind, they did not lose one, but gained two, and doubled their revenue in 12 months.

Leading transformational change comes from a visionary leader. One multi-billion dollar organization had such a leader, who developed a transformational vision. The problem however, was that this leader lacked the necessary courage to take the leap of faith. They failed to have the courage because they failed to ignite their passion. Once the CEO understood the sequence and issues, the problem was resolved and the change initiative began.

Whenever there is an accident, someone knows it is about to happen, but they do not speak up. One ESH team learned the habits of being mindful, present, and trusting their intuition, resulting in significant operational improvement.

An individual may be inventive or creative, but that is not innovation. Innovation is a combination of one-third creativity and two-thirds ingenuity. It is also one-third inspiration and two-thirds perspiration. Several clients have developed world first innovations by combining the seven key qualities embraced in the 12 Habits. Innovation requires them all, which mean the team must an be optimized mix of these qualities.

Managing crisis is unlike managing steady state operations. It requires a leadership style that balances all four realms of 12 Habits: The mind being present and open; the heart being empathetic; the body being hardy; and the warrior being fearless. It also requires making decisions in the absence of information.  Multiple clients have learned the essential qualities of expanding their awareness, being courageous, expressive, ingenious and balanced. The essence of all four realms of the 12 habits.

We become confused, anxious and frustrated, when the head is fighting the heart. This is when we need clarity. Almost all clients learn how to do this with the habits learned in the Mental Explorer, including Expanding Thinking, Be Mindful, and Be Present. The key techniques are grounding and breathing.

There is not a client in the last five years who has not been dealing with tremendous stress, anxiety, and depression. The techniques and methods to heal are learned in the Mental Explorer realm, and include: breathing, contrast method, grounding, releasing, and expanding awareness.

Happiness and health comes not from possessions and attachments, rather from being balanced and aligning all four realms of our lives. Multiple clients discovered the source of the battle (between the head and their heart) was one of the Six Major Battles between the Four Realms. For example, either they had the wrong job, were in the wrong geographic environment, were inside (or outside) too much, or were chasing attachments to keep up with the Joneses. These battles are resolved when we align the Inner and Outer Game.

Two professionals who were married for over twenty years were ready to get a divorce. What they failed to realize was that they were an ideal couple, but their gifts and skills were opposite. Once they saw their abilities were complimentary, as shared by others in a group forum, they realized just how powerful they were together.

Passion is a double edged sword. Half of passion comes from our heart, something we love, and another half comes from something that harmed us. Multiple clients healed their pain (mental suffering) and then became an expert in healing this same suffering in others. For example, the homeless child became a builder, the molested little girl became a sexual therapist, the man who could not become an Olympian, became the Olympic coach. This transformation only occurs after we open our hearts, release the anger, and forgive.

Some day we all want to know why we are here. But our purpose is not one question, it is three. As described in the Vocation benefit, passion is our why, purpose is our what, and vocation is our how. The 12 Habits takes every client through the process to first open their mind, heal, then remember their passion, understand their powers, and finally in the Practical Realm, unleash their passion and power with a what.

In each of the personal benefits listed, there is a common element: whether it was healing relationships, finding greater happiness, or elevating vitality and purpose, each was required to face their greatest fear and pain, release their anger, open their hearts, and forgive the person that harmed them. This is the process with every client who achieves success in the 12 Habits. 

One female client reached a plateau in her career and could not go further. Her conversations in the board room turned into arguments for some unknown reason. When she used the Spiritual Aspirant habits and opened her heart, the trigger event was from a family member decades ago, who made her feel unworthy. This trigger was replayed in the board room. Once she released the anger and forgive this person, her career flourished.

Discovering ones calling, or ideal vocation, is similar to finding purpose and meaning, but there is a distinction. Purpose is what you are doing, passion is why you do it, and vocation is with whom, how, when, and where. All clients who embark on a new vocation, first had to remember and ignite their passion, understand their powers, and then use those in a vocation. It cannot go the other way; vocation comes last.

Making money is not a purpose, nor does it make one happy or add meaning to most lives. Living a life of meaning comes from serving a cause that is bigger than oneself. This requires one to shift from self-centered and egotistical thinking, to placing others first. Every client who takes the 12 Habits curriculum and succeeds, makes this shift. Client examples include simply mentoring family or staff, to generating a million moments of hope for clients. Whatever it is, it is not about making money, and it is not for you, rather by and through you.

One very successful and affluent client had a low self-esteem and plagued by limiting thoughts. After healing their wounds and opening their heart in the Spiritual Aspirant habits, they made a complete turn around and began to live a thriving, happy, and worthy life.

The two most common superpowers are intuition and being empathetic. A professional intuition example was shared above in the contract negotiations section. One client was extremely empathetic and was about to commit suicide. She had the gun, wrote the note, but stopped after learning she was sensing another's pain. The other person shared a wall to her apartment and he was the one sending her these thoughts, and he committed suicide. Understanding her superpower literally saved her life. Two other clients, who are both undercover special agents, saved lives and solved crimes using a combination of their superpowers to see, hear, sense, or know.