Going Global, Going Great

Yes, I know, I know. Many people in the World see globalisation as a threat. Not me, sorry. I think, for the first time in History, we have within hand’s reach the opportunity of going global and be great. More and more people have access to social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Google + (and I am sure many others will appear in the years to come). These are just great tools. And it is true that any tool can be used for doing good or bad, but what if we use them to go great? This is where passion comes into play.

You have to feel passion for what you are and for what you do, because when you do so, the others will see that passion on your face and that is infectious! Sometimes we do not realise how encouraging or discouraging our words and actions can be. So, I decided to play my instrument in an encouraging way rather than discouraging. And that instrument is my “voice”. But my voice is not only a sound. My “voice” is me! My voice is how I speak, how I move, how I feel, how I think and, above all, how I relate to the others. It is how I am relating to your voice now.

However, it took me time to realised what my voice is -I dare to say that I am still tuning it up- and I also had doubts on my way. I had to struggle with some personal blocks and beliefs which were preventing me from developing my voice. After some travelling and working around the World, I decided to do something which would integrate four of my passions in life: communication (passion for people), languages (passion for words), music (passion for sounds) and globalisation (passion for culture). The result of it was to become a global and greatness coach. That was my dream: to have a global voice to blow the embers of greatness in people’s inner fires. Leonardo Wolk, an Argentinian coach who, as he usually says, always felt passion for learning and vocation for teaching, explains this metaphor with mastery in his fantastic book entitled “Coaching: El arte de soplar brasas” (which I could translate into English as “Coaching: The Art of Blowing Embers”): “A coach is someone who blows embers…” We all have a fire within. We do not need that someone brings in the wood and the fuel to burn. Most of times we just need that blow which revives our flames.

This is why I think it is very enriching to get to know “great” people and be surrounded by them and disseminate their greatness. Sometimes it could be just a book. As simple as that! Let me give you an example. One year and a half ago, I finished reading a book by Oliver Sacks called “Musicophilia”. This reading led me to learn, among other things, about Clive Wearing -the man without a memory-, about Bianca Saez -a girl who suffered from one of the worst cases of Tourette syndrome ever known and she recovered after brain stimulation surgery-, about the savants and Rex Lewis Clack -an autistic child transformed by music-. I remember I was watching a video about Rex on Youtube where a little blind girl appeared in one of the scenes. I immediately became captivated by her greatness and passion for music. I was determined to get in touch with her… And I made it thanks to the Internet and social media, which enabled me to go global looking for greatness. That girl is Rachel Flowers, and one year an a half later I will be going to the USA for her 18th birthday party and spend Christmas with her family this year. Not bad just for reading a book, isn’t it? (not to mention all the new friends I have made on the way).

Another example. A couple of days ago, I finished reading “In Praise of Imperfection” a great book by the neuroscientist Rita Levy-Montalcini, where she shows her passion for science and her perseverance on the research of NGF (Nerve Growth Factor) -she was awarded Nobel Prize of Medicine along with Stanley Cohen in 1986. In case you have never heard of Rita, let me tell you that she was born in 1909 and that she is still alive. Make your own calculations: she is now 103 years old!! What is fascinating about her is that, despite her age now, she is still a passionate activist for women rights in the World. Rita says that the saga of NGF -all the ups and downs along the years of research- shows that humans act with imperfection. And I add: you do not need to be perfect to be great! “I tell young people: Do not think of yourself, think of others. Think of the future that awaits you, think about what you can do and do not fear anything. Do not fear the difficulties: I’ve had many in the past and I crossed without fear, with total indifference for myself.” This is a quote from Rita that I posted recently on Facebook. I do not know if I will have the time to meet her before she passes away, but, so far, her book helped me connect the knots. Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days with Lou Marinoff while he was presenting his book “The Power of Tao” in Madrid. Having dinner with him, we were talking about conciousness and the brain. Then I mentioned to him about Rita’s discoveries and he said “send me some information about it because I find it interesting”. Then he said he had just written a book with Daisaku Ikeda and… Eureka!! To make it short: I am friends with American author and coach Jennifer Sertl and, through her, I got to know Dr Amit Nagpal, whose mentor is, have a guess… Daisaku Ikeda! So, connecting Italy (Rita), Canada (Lou), USA (Jennifer), India (Amit), Japan (Daisaku) and Spain (me). Is not that global and great?

I suggest you make an experiment, for instance. Do not read, watch or listen to the news for a while. (In the end, the news is a subjective creation from other human beings like you and me and in many occassions, it is discouraging. It is another kind of voice which tells you what is relevant for you, for your town, your country, your continent, for the World today.) Instead, make your voice be the news today. I am not saying you should ignore what is happening around you -believe me, the Earth will not stop spinning if you do not read the news-. What I am saying is that you can influence on what is happening to you and to others from the very moment when you become aware that your voice is the news today. And this may even improve your relationships. Remember: if you want to know what the news media say, you only have to ask people around you and they will tell you. By asking others you will have the great chance to know new people. Find your passion, be great, be global.

Are you ready to let your passionate voice be the “infectious” news today?

Michael Thallium
Global & Greatness Coach
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