Respect Matters: How to Empower, Enrich, and Elevate People

By Saitia Faaifo

A big part of leading a fulfilling, wholesome life is knowing and differentiating between whats right and whats not and eliminating the background noises to focus on whats essential, influential and impactful.
Unlike most motivational or inspirational books which demand immediate action without explanations, Respect Matters How to Empower, Enrich, and Elevate People is a book which evokes a more thoughtful approach to leading and living.
Respect Matters is dedicated to giving its readers an unparalleled view into a way of life which is dictated not by selfishness and disregard for humans and humanity, but rather selflessness with respectful gracefulness to work towards a world more harmonious than the one which we currently occupy.
With variant explanations, real like examples and enriching quotations, the book is the culmination of author Saitia Faaifos life long experiences, values and lessons learnt which continue to empower him in his everyday life. He shares his wisdom, and values in this book in the hopes to inspire and influence his readers in realizing and then utilizing the power of respect within the various aspects of their lives. It is a book which lays the roadmap for the living to follow that will lead them to not only developing a new outlook towards life and living, but one which will also help them leave a respectful legacy one that will continue to make a change long after theyve moved on.
Respect Matters is the authors effort to represent the core beliefs of his Polynesian roots to the world with a unifying message of Respect one that will help connect together the diversified audiences of the world under one, equal roof.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 13, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543457988

Saitia Faaifo

A loving father, dedicated son and supporting brother, Saitia Faaifo is also a Hawaiian born, Samoan author, inspirational leader, motivational speaker, and ‘Respect’ activist. He is the author of four books, including the 2008 release, highly acclaimed Seven Letters to Live By: RESPECT. An empathic thinker, with a rare intellect and a deeply altruistic stance, Faaifo strives to teach the world and its people the importance of incorporating an element of respect within their lives – for themselves and for others. Disturbed, concerned and disquieted with the world and the way it’s progressing, Saitia Faaifo is on a quest to lead a monumental movement to motivate people to realize, acknowledge and honor respect as the core value that distinguishes the humans from the heathens. Emboldened with the unwavering support of his followers, readers, and fellow readers, Faaifo is on a mission to create a world where people value and appreciate one another – finding a middle ground that equates us all, instead of dwelling on the differences which continually divide. His latest book ‘Respect Matters – How to Empower, Enrich and Elevate People’ is dedicated to showcasing the various facets of Respect, and how it influences the various aspects of life. Saitia has devoted much of his life to observing, studying and discovering the endless advantages of incorporating elements of respect within one’s lifestyle and the magnitude of the disadvantages that befall those who disregard its worth. His unconventional approach to leadership, growth, and success, all led by respect has motivated and inspired many leaders and organizations to instill within their business and life practices, a respectful perspective.

Book preview

Copyright © 2017 by Saitia Faaifo.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2017915820

ISBN:                    Hardcover                  978-1-5434-5796-4

                              Softcover                    978-1-5434-5797-1

                              eBook                          978-1-5434-5798-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Please note that this book is for informational/inspirational purposes only. The publisher and author have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this book. However, they make no warranties as to the completeness of the contents herein, and hence hereby declaim any liability for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretation of the subject matter.

By reading this book, you are assuming all risks associated with using the advice, data, and suggestions given below, with a full understanding that you, solely, are responsible for anything that may occur as a result of putting this information into action in any way – regardless of your interpretation of the advice.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 10/12/2017

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

768356

Contents

Dedication

Prologue

The Beginnings

Life’s Evolution With Leadership

The Leadership Mindset

Fostering Leading Thoughts

Accountability

Responsibility

Ownership

Self-Respect and the Respect of Others for Effective Leadership

…And You Lead With a Purpose

My Purpose in Life

How to Find a Purpose In Life?

Look Beyond the Visible

Sift Through And Find What’s Worth Shouldering Through The Storm

Take a Step Outside Your Comfort Zone

Ditch The Stress and Follow Your Happiness

Positions of Power or Empower?

Being Forthcoming

Set Mutual Objectives

Encouraging Independency

White, Brown or Black – It’s Not the Color That Matters

It’s Respect for Impact

The Importance of Respect in Personal Relationships

The Importance of Respect in Professional Relationships

To Respect for Impact:

Treat ’em Right!

Respectful Gratitude Makes Us Happier Human Beings

It Enhances Our Physical Health

It Gives a Professional Boost

Helps Strengthen Our Emotions

Minimizes Materialism

Reduces Narcissistic Qualities

Improves Self-Confidence

Helps Build a Significantly More Supportive Social Dynamic

…And With a ‘See You Later’ Than a Goodbye

Dedication

For my parents – Eloise and Saitia Faaifo

This book is for my mother – Eliose Faaifo, who, at 79, is possibly the strongest and most hard working woman I have ever known in my life. It is by her example that I continue to put in the time and effort for all of my passions in life.

Mom, you’ve taught all of us siblings what it means to work endlessly for what we believe in. You’ve taught us what it means to respect one another, but most of all; it is you who has instilled in us unquestionable faith in the power of love.

And for my late father, Saitia Faaifo, who passed away back in 2006.

Dad, it is you who defined for us brothers what it means to be a true man. You protected us, encouraged us, and instilled in us the incredible inner strength that is crucial to press on and never give up. In you, I saw the man I wanted to become one day, for my children and my family.

I hope you’re proud of the children that you’ve raised and the men and women they’ve become today.

I love you both, Mom and Dad – now and till eternity.

Prologue

Respect means listening until everyone has been heard and understood; only then is there a possibility of Balance and Harmony

People write books because they have stories to tell, because they want their points of view floating out in the universe, because they want recognition for the thoughts that crowd their minds.

I write books because I have an inherent need to help the people that inhibit the planet that I live in.

Every book I’ve written, I’ve written with the purpose of helping my readers in one way or the other. This one, however, this book is particularly close to my heart.

This book holds a piece of my world and my heart – it has experiences and memories that I lay bare for all of you to read – not because I want any recognition or sympathy, or even any monetary gain, but because I have this need to help this world become a better place. And I genuinely feel that if I am able to make even one person understand the importance of Respect in our lives, I’ll have made a substantial difference.

And this is why I’ve written this book called Respect Matters.

Dear Readers,

I hope that you will take the time out to actually read the entirety of this book – that you will take a moment from your busy lives to ponder the importance of human values, moral for our growth, progress and prosperity.

In a world that is so preoccupied with economic considerations, a world where everything is weighed in Dollars, Pounds, or Gold – with a monetary value attached to it, I want to re-introduce the concept of respect, for you and for me.

Today, we’re more obsessed than ever before with education – people, children are being told to focus more and more on gaining education, studying further and further, striving harder – why? It’s not because we’ve realized the essence of educating ourselves – rather it’s because we want them to be equipped with the abilities essential for them to be able to partake in the economic rat race that is our everyday life.

We study and study and study, and yet, we seem not to learn anything – for today, we, as people, stand more divided than before.

This book is my attempt at making at least some of you realizes that humanitarian, social, and cultural dimensions also hold value. We live in regions divided – individual and alone even when we’re together. That’s not because we cannot learn to accept people, but because the idea that we are to recognize some of us as our enemies has been ingrained in us. We all know how difficult it is to reconcile with the possibility that we can love those who are supposed to be against us, or are enemies.

I want you to know that for not just regional, but also global unity, and solidarity that is so lacking, it’s crucial that we take stock of the values that make up our core – and work towards re-instilling them within ourselves and our future generations. These values are what allow us to observe that we are far more alike than unalike – we’re far more similar and same than we’re led to believe and in that, lies our strength.

My dear reader, every time you switch on the television and see a news bulletin that talks about the regional violence or tragedy that recently took place, you witness the extreme lack of respect that we humans have for life and the living. Every time you witness a global disruption, discrimination of crisis, you witness the failure of a global community that is unsuccessful in its attempts to maintain harmony in existence.

It is with this book that I fervently hope, and pray, that I will be able to re-ignite in some of you need to hold our moral and humanitarian values dear. I hope and pray that I will be able to make you understand, at least a fraction of the importance of Respect and how it affects the different aspects of our life.

Dear reader, I hope and pray that this book is able to convey to you, the message of Respect, allowing it and you to bridge the gap between us, to eradicate the differences which separate us, and to help you focus on love, unity and affection so as to strengthen ourselves and each other for a better tomorrow.

The Beginnings

Show respect even to people who don’t deserve it; not as a reflection of their character, but as a reflection of yours – Dave Willis

Life happens to people in unexpected ways. It takes you on a journey you never could’ve possibly imagined for yourself. If you allow it to, life leads you on a path so fulfilling, so rewarding, that it surpasses all your expectations.

I know you must be thinking – this kind of motivational crap usually only comes from people who’ll been extraordinarily lucky, who’ve got pretty much everything going for them – you’d rarely, if ever, see a downtrodden person talk about life’s unexpected blessings.

Let me tell you, I belong to the