Galileo said, “All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” The trick is to recognize that when we believe we arrived at a truth. Difference makers recognize that arriving at a truth is an illusion. They understand that the pursuit of truths is an ongoing, unrelenting quest—one [...]
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Filed under: Appreciative Inquiry
A new spring quarter begins tomorrow at OSU. I teach two classes: leadership, ethics, & inquiry and a new course on appreciative inquiry. I expect to find my classes filled with difference makers, people not afraid to get dirt under their fingernails, people committed to building, inspiring, and lifting others up. I know difference making [...]
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I was watching the NCAA Basketball Tournament this evening. I witnessed a hard fought contest between two worthy opponents. I reflected on the intensity of the players in the contest and realized the lesson they provided for those who want to be difference makers. The lesson: Difference Makers never, never, never quit. Be a worthy [...]
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Difference makers, like everyone else, face adversity. The difference is in how difference makers adapt to adversity. Difference makers move into adversity and not away from it. They seek to see how they can help others who face adversity and how they (the difference maker) can reduce or eliminate the causes of the adversity. Contrast [...]
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During spring break I traveled through seven states. I saw farmers plowing ground. I saw homeless people on street corners. I saw college students on spring break. I saw people laughing and partying. I saw people complaining about the economy. And, I saw parents at youth baseball practice.
Where does a difference maker choose to make [...]
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Spring break is this coming week at The Ohio State University. In Columbus, Ohio, spring break is perfectly situated at the end of the winter. I was in Starbucks today, the temperature outside was 70, I overheard a student on a cell phone saying, “Spring is so great in Columbus after a long cold winter. [...]
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You can spot a difference makers primarily in the actions s/he takes to uplift another, bring harmony to the world, ease another’s pain, or promote any life sustaining, life ennobling purpose. Another way that we can identify difference makers in our lives is to listen to them and identify the words they use to communicate [...]
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Filed under: Appreciative Inquiry
US Dept of Ed What's New National Council of Teachers of Math News