TED Community » Christopher Babson

More About Me

I'm passionate about

A passionate, purposeful life filled with exploration, creativity, expression and contribution.

An idea worth spreading

Our lives are, for the most part, a direct result of the stories we habitually tell ourselves. SO, WOULD YOU RATHER BE CORRECT IN YOUR PERCEPTION? OR WOULD YOU RATHER BE EXCEPTIONAL IN YOUR LIFE? Tell yourself stories of exceptional potential actualized and of contribution personified.

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Contribution, peak performance, creativity, personal development & actualization.

My TED Story

Noted Expert, Author & Motivational Speaker on Peak Performance, Success, & Leadership.

We all have stories. Unfortunately, most of us constantly crafts stories that hold us back from our dreams and potential. Chris has been there. Through decades of struggle and personal education, he has come up with a proven system to purposefully design and live a story that brings us to our greatest passion, purpose and potential. What’s more, the journey itself is so much more meaningful and fulfilling.

Comments

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• +2

  A comment on Talk: Adam Davidson: What we learned from teetering on the fiscal cliff

  Dec 23 2012: Unfortunately, as is common, he presents a liberal perspective and set of statistics and arguments, but claims to be middle of the road. Many examples of this, but I don't have much time so I'll present one. When he showed graph of Conservative vs Liberal Americans and if they want to "CUT" defense spending, he verbally completely misrepresented the statistic. The graph showed that around 80% of conservatives don't want to "CUT" defense spending. The speaker said (paraphrasing here) "the one area where conservatives and liberals really disagree is on defense spending, where conservatives just always say spend, spend, spend, spend more." Again, the statistical result shown was a response to "do you want to CUT defense spending." The question was NOT "do you want to spend, spend, spend more and more on defense." These are two completely different things and totally misrepresent the questions and conservative viewpoint in a manner to spin in favor of liberals. This gimmick is constantly used by liberals. I think many of them actually believe that are middle of the road.
  
  A second thing. We don't have 20 years. We are rapidly heading towards Greece. And liberal economists believe that stealing money in the form of taxation from the earners of the money to redistribute to non-earners is a way to stimulate the economy. However, stealing from one group, then wasting much of that money on government bureaucrats, then giving the remainder to non-producers does not stimulate the economy.

• A reply on Conversation: Leadership and success are both primarily intra-personal dynamics, yet most of us contextualize them as inter-personal. Your thoughts?

  Dec 19 2012: Doesn't true leadership (not self-proclaimed or group-proclaimed leadership) come from who the supposed leader is, what they do and how they do it?
  
  For example, society says that the president of the United States is our leader (take any president, not necessarily the current one). BUT, although social norm says this is my "leader," if I disrespect the specific office holder, finding his values, beliefs and actions repugnant and/or destructive, he's not a leader to me in any manner or form.
  
  I'm really trying to get at the fact that leadership (or a lack of it) begins only within the individual (the would-be leader).
  
  I've had a number of bosses at Fortune-100 corporate banks that were in high "leadership" positions, YET, few if any followed them. They had absolutely no leadership skills (although they were incredibly bright people and reasonably good managers).
  
  Thanks for your input Rob. Cheers!

• A reply on Conversation: Leadership and success are both primarily intra-personal dynamics, yet most of us contextualize them as inter-personal. Your thoughts?

  Dec 19 2012: Agreed Madhavi. It all begins and ends within the individual. I cannot lead you and you will not follow if I am not a congruent visionary and communicator with values, beliefs, behaviors and vision you buy into. And when you buy into me (or don't) it's because of who I am. The stories I am telling myself about myself, my vision, my needs, my perceptions, etc. You either buy me/my stories or you don't. You follow me or not. You don't follow some "leadership framework" I've cleverly decided I'm going to use to cause you to follow me. Thanks for your contribution. Cheers.

• A reply on Conversation: Leadership and success are both primarily intra-personal dynamics, yet most of us contextualize them as inter-personal. Your thoughts?

  Dec 19 2012: Gotcha Linda (except on the Bears fan thing... being that I'm a huge Redskins fan). I agree that leadership of others has a strong cultural component (even, to some degree, from one company's culture to another and not just from one social or ethnic culture to another. However, leadership of others isn't what I was discussing in this thread.
  
  I differ greatly in applying leadership to self. Exceptional people purposefully lead themselves to exceptionalism. It takes considerable self-awareness and discipline for most people to become successful.
  
  I've led other people and, even more importantly for me, I've worked for a variety of other people in my professional experience. Some (like Jack Welch) were brilliant leaders. Others (unnamed) had zero leadership skills. However, with both the exceptional leaders and the non-leaders their varying capabilities to lead others began first with where they were leading themselves (in terms of their thoughts, perspectives, values, beliefs, intention, actions, etc). That's where it all starts.
  
  As to following someone. That's what we follow: the person. No one follows a title. It's the leaders's perspective, values, beliefs, behaviors, communication, skills, etc we follow. And each of those things (and other dynamics) reside soley within the mind and heart of the leader irrespective of any other human being (follower or not).
  
  Someone who achieves considerable success (always a leader, even if only of themselves) must have a very long term perspective and sculpt a purposeful and passionate vision of what they are creating in their life and work. Success doesn't just fall into one's lap. It takes considerable self-leadership (of values, beliefs, vision, passion, action, etc).
  
  Thanks for your input. Go SKINS!

• A comment on Conversation: Leadership and success are both primarily intra-personal dynamics, yet most of us contextualize them as inter-personal. Your thoughts?

  Dec 16 2012: BTW, this is obviously my perspective. I'm interested in others' perspectives and input. Linda, I know what you are saying and don't completely disagree with you (although I may in small part). Sorry if I wasn't initially clear and I hope my response was a little more clear. I'm battling a fever and flu and wanted to post this while I have the time. Thanks for your patience and input.

• A comment on Conversation: Leadership and success are both primarily intra-personal dynamics, yet most of us contextualize them as inter-personal. Your thoughts?

  Dec 16 2012: When considering success, most people think in relative terms (relative to society, which means relative to other people), such as "I have reached 'this point in my business career' (because they have reached or earned some formal or informal title and/or income). I am interested in a discussion of success in terms of intra-personal success: a person awakening, growing and developing within themselves (which, btw, is most often also accompanied by external success).
  
  The same with leadership. Most people consider leadership relative to an individual leading other people (Winston Churchill for example, leading his nation during WWII). Even in Churchill's case, he led "himself" to exceptionalism before he could ever lead his nation.
  
  Or think of Mother Teresa. She didn't purposefully lead others. She simply manifested an exceptional set of beliefs, intentions, values, etc into extraordinary action. Only in this did she lead others. Same with all leaders.
  
  Another example, I think an Olympic athlete who reaches greatness in their individual sport is an exceptional leader. They must lead themselves to great thoughts, intentions, actions and results.
  
  Leadership isn't by definition behavior that provides opportunity for others. It may be, to a very limited degree, if at all, culturally specific, Leadership begins in the individual's perspective, beliefs, intention, actions and behaviors. The observance and manifestation of these intentions and actions will often result in positive opportunity for that individual and others around them, but the leadership begins (or doesn't begin) with all of the internal choices the individual makes irrespective of others.
  
  This isn't to say that leadership of organizations and others doesn't include many important interpersonal skills, dynamics and opportunities. But, those things are an off-shoot and come subsequent to the intra-personal leadership.