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Writer's pictureTim Higgs

IF. . . Inspiring, but Impossible???




'IF’ by Rudyard Kipling, is one of the most inspiring poems but almost impossible to live up to completely. It touches on many qualities desired in business and community leaders: vision, humility, courage, ethics, time-management and the reason for this post – emotional intelligence.


My grandmother introduced the poem to me when I was nine. I received an autograph book for Christmas (they were a trend back then) and asked her to sign it. She wrote:

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!


Later I realised it was just one verse of many. I have since grown to love two lines that typify emotional intelligence and are important of objectives of my book, Emotional Judo®: Communication Skills to Handle Difficult Conversations and Boost Emotional Intelligence.

If you can keep your head when all about you

    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

and,

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,


Being able to speak up in times of conflict and disagreement without being overcome by anxiety or losing your cool is a skill that can be learned by having the right structure and knowledge.


Further, being able to keep your humility and not come across as overbearing or arrogant, as you move up the ranks. Or not be threatened by the seniority of others, so you can contribute your valuable information, is a virtue for you and your workplace…or family and social group for that matter. The significance scaffold helps you master the right ingredients to get people on board, up, down or across.


Emotional Judo®: Communication Skills to Handle Difficult Conversations and Boost Emotional Intelligence, was recently endorsed in business magazine Inc.com as one of the top twelve books on Emotional Intelligence to read before you turn 50. It available on Amazon .

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