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Sunday, December 30, 2018

Dear Hannah: Follow The Leader (changED - Volume 2) (The Album / Mixtape)



 
Dear Hannah,

There's this school of thought that measures our leaders' effectiveness by factors like their number of followers, or our unflinching alignment with their opinions.

Both are misleading.

I measure a leader's effectiveness by that leader's service.

Not "what they do" for us or "the least of these", per se.

In these times, that service includes thought leadership more than ever.

Follow a leader's train of thought.



Love,

Daddy


Derrick Brown & KnowledgeBase Present ...
"Follow The Leader"
(changED - Volume 2)

Support Our Work - Buy This Album / Mixtape (SEE BELOW)!

(The "Follow The Leader (changED - Volume 2)" Audio and Video Album / Mixtape is also available at TeachersPayTeachers.com) 


(The "changED (Volume 1)" Audio and Video Album / Mixtape is also available at TeachersPayTeachers.com)



Audio Download (MP3 + PDF Lyrics Book)
Selection

Video Download (MP4 + PDF Lyrics Book)

Selection

Number
Title (Click Link For Lyrics)
Notes
Video
1.       
I want you to see how to be free ...

... how to forge your own path in your own happy space.

... how to leave an inheritance to your children's children ...

... an inheritance of your heart - full of treasure beyond measure.
2.       
we need to talk.

we need to have sustained, substantive conversations with friends, fans, and foes that are affirming, accepting, accountable - and sometimes authoritative.

they can be focused, civil, intra-generational, didactic, inspiring, comforting, strategic ...

... and can still be pleasant & fun.

... or thoughtful, probing, and sobering.

... or downright serious.

they can edify and mature the mind, will, and emotions ...

... by speaking life

... and preventing death.

they can build bonds, teams and camaraderie.

they can birth visions.

they can create frameworks for change.

they can help to keep peace, help to make peace, or help to say "peace".

it all starts with a good question that provides food for thought.
3.       
our conversations have dwindled into shouting matches and "people's court" cases

posts and reposts of articles that align with our minds to which we assign

absolute truth with no consequences

where we want to prove that our might is right your wrong is strong and always have both our say ... and our way

but civil discourse - especially between dissenters - promotes growth

it helps both parties see that they are

two points diametrically opposed on the same circle
 
and that preservation of the circle

is more important than our "points"

4.       
education begins when you *finish* school ...

... 'cause life gives you the test first - then you get the lesson ...
5.       
There's this school of thought that measures our leaders' effectiveness by factors like their number of followers, or our unflinching alignment with their opinions.

Both are misleading.


I measure a leader's effectiveness by that leader's service.


Not "what they do" for us or "the least of these", per se.

 

In these times, that service includes thought leadership more than ever.

Follow a leader's train of thought.
6.       
I am LEarning to listen and observe more than I talk.

I see and hear a lot of stuff that I do not understand.


I accept these events as part of my LEarning.


The easy road is to dismiss it all with judgement and opinion.


The tougher road is LEarning to practice empathy.


So if a cat shows or tells me something that sounds crazy, it helps me remember how crazy I have sounded to other people ... even recently.


That road reminds me that I don't know what roads led these cats to their positions, mindsets and actions.


Then I accept that we all have free will - 


to think whatever we think, say whatever we say, and do whatever we do.

Then I resolve to do better.
7.       
I'm a people watcher - a careful observer of human behavior.

Watching people has taught me that when I look at them ...


... sometimes I am looking through a window.

 
... other times I am looking in a mirror.


When I stare through a window in the afternoon, I see outside.


Staring through a window at night shows me "me".


The mirror always shows me "me" ... but also shows me what is behind me ... and what is to come.


Man, I hope all that makes sense.


But let me spell it out.


What you see is always a personal lesson for you ... if you see it that way.


That is a blessing.


Don't take the easy road of judgement and opinion.


Take the less-travelled road ... be advised and forewarned - especially when you watch someone else struggle or fall.


That might have been you - but for the power of healing and redemption.


That could still be you - but for God's amazing wisdom, grace and mercy.


Selah.
8.       
The road to reconciliation starts with ...

realization (of both the might and the plight), 


respect (both spiritual essence and natural function), 


reassurance (of commitment to the corrective plan and path - don't ask for trust ... EARN IT), 


and REAL relationship (dealing with each other as EQUALS).


We've got a long way to go ...


... because we keep trying to start at the finish line ...


... and often label voices of reason as voices of treason ...


... but 'tis the season ...


... to answer folly ...

... defeat conceit ...

... then rinse and repeat.


We are not done yet.
9.       
We are all messengers for different audiences.

Sometimes your message will not find its audience ...


... until you learn how to speak your peace.


Say what you have to say ...


... but tell your truth with grace.
10.    
we can both reach
the finish line


by helping each other
train and pace


to run our own race


but to run it right
we need to both pack light


to push some major freight
and pull our own weight


so hang in there when it
doesn't go your way


hang in there when you have to say "bye bye" sometimes


to people, places, habits,
and ideas that hinder
 

more than they help

sometimes you have to
see it through


... and sometimes you have
to see through it ...


About Derrick Brown (Standup Storyteller)


I am Keisha's husband, and Hannah's father.

I am a “standup storyteller.”

I fuse rap, spoken word (poetry), oration (traditional public speaking), singing, and teaching into messages of hope, healing, and change that I write, direct, and produce to help people who help people.

Everything must change - and stay changED.

Tradition begins and ends with change.

Change begins with me and the renewing of my mind ... then continues through efforts to effect small-group discipleship (equipping others to equip others) with audiences that respect and embrace mentoring, mediation, and problem solving as tools of change.

I am the product of my mentoring relationships, peacemaking (and peacekeeping), and problem-solving ability.

My education began when I finished school.

After school, I enrolled in a lifelong curriculum that includes classes in ministry, entrepreneurship, stewardship, literacy, numeracy, language, self-identity, self-expression, and analysis / synthesis.

My projects execute a ministry that has evolved from wisdom earned through lessons learned.

I want to share this wisdom to build teams of "triple threat" fellows - mentors, mediators, and problem solvers.

We will collaborate in simple, powerful ways that allow us to help people who help people.

I now know that power is work done efficiently (with wise and skillful use of resources, interests, communication, and expertise).


Copyright © 2018 Derrick  Brown. All Rights Reserved.



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