Just as strawberries taste better when they are dipped in chocolate, advice tastes better when it is wrapped in a thick coating of encouragement.

Your advice is valuable, but it will never make as big a difference as your encouragement.

Encouragement is the opposite of flattery.

When you flatter someone, you tell them something positive about themselves that they know is not true. And they suspect that you know it is not true.

A flatterer is a liar who believes they are talking to a fool.

When you encourage someone, you tell them something you have observed in them that they know is true, or have always hoped was true, and you are simply confirming it by speaking it out loud.

You believe it to be true, and they know you do. And now they believe it, too.

You have spoken to the greatness in them. You have seen something in them that they have always hoped someone would see.

That’s what makes you a great encourager.

The people in your life need your encouragement more than they need your advice.

Think about the people who have made the biggest difference in your life.

Those people believed in you and gave you their:

1. Time
2. Attention
3. Patience
4. Confidence

When I say they “gave you their confidence,” I mean that literally. I’m not saying that they confided in you. I’m saying that they had confidence in you when you had none in yourself. They gave THEIR confidence TO you. They gave you the confidence that you have today.

Give a person confidence and they will never forget your name, your face, or that moment.

The people who gave you confidence saw something in you that they wanted you to share with the world. Their reward was that they got to see you flourish and blossom and grow.

Today they are seeing you make a difference everywhere you go.

Would you like to become an encourager?

1. When you see a stranger do something skillfully, say, “You make that look easy, and I know it isn’t. You really have a talent for that.” And then allow them to react.
2. When a person says, “I’ve always wanted to become a __________, but everyone tells me that I couldn’t possibly do that because I __________.” Look at them and say, “Of course you can do it! I KNOW that you can do it. You just need to decide whether or not you’re going to.”
3. When you have known a person for awhile and have seen a recurrent characteristic in them that you admire, say to them, “There are a lot of things about you that I really admire, but the thing that always knocks me over is when you_____________.”

Your words will light a candle in them that will never go out.

The lightning bolt of your encouragement will propel them forward and light their pathway for the rest of their life.

We need encouragers, and we need them badly.

I want you to consider becoming one.

Roy H. Williams

Martin “Marty” Strong is a former Navy SEAL, business leader, and author who challenges conventional thinking about how companies — and the people who oversee them — should operate.

Blending lessons from the battlefield and the executive suite, Lieutenant Strong argues that too many of today’s leaders cling to outdated methods, failing to recognize that the marketplace is constantly evolving — and that effective managers must anticipate and adapt to change.

To do otherwise, he tells roving reporter Rotbart, is like relying on an old encyclopedia — making critical decisions based on information that is no longer accurate or relevant.

In the Kairos moment, you will find yourself in an unknown place.

And a person will appear.

This person is known among storytellers as “The Old Man in the Woods.”

His job is to prepare you for all the challenges you will face on the next segment of your adventure.

Mr. Miyagi was the Old Man in the Woods for Daniel LaRusso in the Karate Kid.

Obi-Wan was Luke Skywalker’s first Old Man in the Woods, and Yoda was his second.

Have you noticed how every James Bond movie begins with 007 visiting “Q”?

“Q” is the armorer who supplies 007 with precisely the gadgets he will need to accomplish his next mission.

“Q” is James Bond’s “Old Man in the Woods.”

Luke chapter 4 tell us of how Jesus, immediately after his baptism, spent 40 days in the wilderness of Judea. When he emerged from that wilderness, he revealed himself to the world. Verse 14 of that chapter says, “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.”

Would it be fair to say that Jesus spent 40 days with the ultimate “Old Man in the Woods” prior to doing what he famously did?

John bar Zebedee sat next to Jesus during The Last Supper. He was the only one of Jesus’ followers to witness the crucifixion. And was entrusted by Jesus – from the cross – to care for his mother, Mary, while He was away.

John bar Zebedee, in chapter two of First John*, writes about the Three Stages of Life.

He speaks of the Child, the Young Man, and the Old Man.

I am writing to you, dear Children,

because your sins have been forgiven

on account of his name,

and because you know the Father.

I write to you, Young Men,

because you are strong,

and the word of God lives in you,

and you have overcome the evil one.

I am writing to you, Fathers,

because you know Him

who is from the beginning.

Because you know Him

who is from the beginning.

Children spend a dozen or more years preparing to become the strong Young Men and strong Young Women who, full of zest and zeal and zip-a-dee-doo-dah, will face challenges, overcome difficulties, and leave their fingerprints on the world.

And every one of them will need an advisor – an older and wiser friend – to counsel them, encourage them, and prepare them for what lies ahead.

John bar Zebedee was not speaking of biological Fathers and Mothers when he wrote the letter that we call the book of First John.

The people John calls “Fathers” are those who have already wandered the pathless forest and found their way to the other side.

The people John calls “Fathers” are those who already “know.”

The American Dream promises that when you have finished your journey and completed your task, you can recreate, luxuriate, and selfishly celebrate your success for the rest of your life.

And that certainly remains an option, if it appeals to you. But I believe that it will not.

I believe that you will choose to advise, encourage, and counsel the next generation who must blaze a new and different trail through a new and different wilderness than the one that you and I faced.

I believe that you will find fulfillment in your occasional role as “The Old Man” or “The Old Woman” in the woods.

Roy H. Williams

*I consolidated and reorganized what you will find in chapter two of First John, but if you read it closely, I believe you will agree that my retelling is faithful to the message of that original text.

I am always fascinated when I see business owners all marching in the same direction, doing the exact same things because they believe, “This is the way to differentiate yourself.”

Do you believe that following the same strategy as everyone else is the way the surest way to succeed?

Of course you don’t. Because if you were an unthinking conformist, you would never have subscribed to the MondayMorningMemo.

Strategy

Everything flows from strategy.

Your logo is the flag waved by your strategy.

Your sonic device is the trumpet call of your strategy.

(Do you have a sonic device?)

Your recurrent phrases – your brandable chunks – are the poetic expressions of your strategy.

(Can you name your brandable chunks?)

Your ad copy flows like a river from your strategy.

How swift is the current in that river today? How many people are swimming, canoeing, skiing, biking, hiking, fishing, splashing, frolicing and dashing in your river right now?

Your media buyer opens the floodgates that gush water into your river.

(How good is your media buyer?)

Do you understand why measuring ROAS is green kryptonite to every super-heroic strategy?

Do you understand why verbs make a bigger difference than nouns and modifyers?

Would you like to know these things and change the trajectory of your business and your life?

Be in the Tower at Wizard Academy on May 26th and May 27th.

Wisdom is knowing what to do.

Understanding is knowing why it works.

If you have an open mind and a hungry heart, your life will be forever changed.

Or maybe you already know these things and should therefore absolutely, definitely, please don’t come.

Roy H. Williams

PS – Do you have a crazy idea? Would you like to learn from 4 famous people, each of whom have repeatedly taken their crazy ideas to the highest heights? It’s going to be an amazing adventure, full of wonder.