Field Leadership: The Ultimate Guide for the Storming 2020S

By Ken Shelton

You already live, work or play in a field, but do you exercise proactive and principled leadership in your field? During the decade of the 2020s, you will be challenged and may be displaced, your life disrupted by unforeseen events and conditions, requiring you to make uncomfortable changes and perhaps enter new fields. Field Leadership is an inspiring and practical guide for all those who perform in any field that expects them to excel as individuals and as team members and achieve desired wins and impressive results in spite of tough competition and market undulations. With faith and focus, you might lead yourself and others to achieve a 3X yield in your field.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jun 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9781982247461

Ken Shelton

Ken Shelton is the voice of principle-centered personal and leadership development. For 30 years he served as editor/publisher of Leadership Excellence and Personal Excellence magazines, and for 10 years he served as ghost writer for Stephen R. Covey on 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and other books. He has traveled and spoken to audiences worldwide, and in 2015 he was recognized with the Global Business Leadership Excellence Award. He has started businesses and worked in a large corporation, major university, public schools and national parks. This vast and varied experience affords him a unique voice and vision in the leadership field.

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Copyright © 2020 Ken Shelton.

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

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

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ISBN: 978-1-9822-4745-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-4747-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-4746-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020908438

Balboa Press rev. date: 07/07/2020

‘This powerful book should be on your desk if you care about people, planet and profits.’

—Eileen McDargh, Speaker Hall of Fame

CONTENTS

Dedication

Advance Praise

Foreword by Eric Krueger

Preface

Introduction

Q1: Question: Why Quest: Inspiration

Chapter 1 Why Enter The Field?

Chapter 2 Cruising Life

Chapter 3 Risk and Reward

Q2: Question: Who Quest: Relationships

Chapter 4 Detect and Select

Chapter 5 Master Field Leaders

Chapter 6 One on One

Q3: Question: What Quest: Results

Chapter 7 Vision and Mission

Chapter 8 Faith and Belief

Chapter 9 Gold Mine or Fool’s Gold?

Q4: Question: How Quest: Innovation

Chapter 10 Programs vs. Principles

Chapter 11 Overcoming Opposition

Chapter 12 Sustaining and Finishing

Q4 Field Guide and Final Scoreboard

Post Game: Create a Culture of Sustained Success

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to all honorable leaders, especially to those who have influenced me the most:

Hyrum W. Smith and Stephen R. Covey (authors and entrepreneurs)

Peter Drucker, Tom Peters, Jim Collins and Patrick Lencioni (leadership consultants)

Lou and Diane Tice (founders, The Pacific Institute)

Marshall Goldsmith and Warren Bennis (leadership coaches)

Judith E. Glaser, Beverly Kaye, Eileen McDargh (executive coaches)

Donny and Marie Osmond (life-long entertainers)

John and Jason Hewlett (father-son business entrepreneurs)

Bill Adams and Bob Anderson (leadership consultants)

Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood, founders, Results-Based Leadership

Steve Young, Pete Carroll, Larry Gelwix (NFL athlete, NFL coach, rugby coach)

Lee and Linda Wakefield (ballroom dance coaches)

Fletcher R. Shelton and John G. Jones (father and grandfather)

Roice and Eric Krueger (brothers, entrepreneurs in Japan)

Wan Su and Winnie Wang (Chinese entrepreneurs)

Jack Zenger, Eric Thompson and Bruce Jackson (serial entrepreneurs)

Fernando Gomez and Ben Tai (business and church entrepreneurs)

General Burn Loeffke and Sergeant Larry Morford (military field leaders)

Mitch Davis and Joshua Akers (script writers and film makers)

Zig Ziglar, Dan Higginson and Lisa Fairbanks (field sales leaders) and Thomas Reichart (leadership consultant)

I thank all of you (and many others) for having the courage to exercise your faith, take the risks, enter the field, compete and achieve desired results for your families, teams, nations and causes. You are among those brave souls whose light and leaven lift all of us.

ADVANCE PRAISE

"This book is incredibly compelling and gripping, and the powerful Field Guide is over-the-top great. Like Ken, I prefer being a Field Leader, not a spectator, playing to win the game of life and business. Field Leadership gives all leaders who promise to get in the game an inspirational, insightful and entertaining guide for how to win in their respective fields! I can’t wait to share this book with my team, clients, and trainees."

Jason Hewlett, Speaker Hall of Fame and Author, The Promise to The One

"I love the notion that FIELD leadership is exactly that: IN the FIELD and operating from a place of truth and integrity. If you only read one section or play one quarter, you will have a wealth of insight and a road map for meaningful success in leading yourself and others. Ken’s masterful use of language makes this a powerful book and one that should be on anyone’s desk if she or he cares about people, planet and yes—profits."

Eileen McDargh, CEO The Resiliency Group, Speaker Hall of Fame, author of Your Resiliency GPS and Burnout to Breakthrough

"Ken Shelton is one of the rare individuals with a love affair with expressing useful ideas in compelling words. He brings decades of experience that provide a most useful perspective on the big issues surrounding leadership development. Everyone will find fresh ideas from this ultimate insider in the world of human development."

Jack Zenger, CEO, Zenger Folkman

"Field Leadership is a game-changer, and the Field Guide is all about helping you and me win whatever game we are playing in our personal and professional fields."

Dan Higginson, founder and former CEO, Synergy

"This book is everything I would expect from Ken Shelton ... insightful concepts distilled into practical terms that can guide leaders in this challenging time. Field Leadership provides inspiration and direction, and the Field Guide provides a compass for navigating the 2020s."

Marilyn McLeod, Thought Leader Coach, CEO, Global Mindset Leadership

"Many powerful stories fit neatly within Ken’s insightful framework of Why, Who, What and How. His ability to take a big idea and share it through a simple story is amazing."

Johnny Covey, author, 5 Habits to Lead from Your Heart

"Field Leadership is a page-turner and guide to a happier and more satisfying life; and it’s a primer for our troubled and perplexing times when there is a dearth of bold leadership. Alas, a bland sameness rules the day as there are few heroes with the courage to step out of the grip of conformity, to lay down ‘their toys of the mind’ and elevate their consciousness beyond collective mediocrity. Shelton steps intrepidly into this ‘mind-field’ of despair and invites us to show the grit to escape the expected and establish a new identity and purpose. He is an unabashed moralist who has faith in God and a cache of sensible ideas relevant to the adage, everyone is a leader or no one is. I strongly recommend this book—it speaks to our needs today and stands on the shoulders of six centuries of courageous heroes who marked their times."

James R. Fisher, Jr., Ph.D., author, The Worker Alone: Going Against the Grain

"This is a must-read revelation for those who aspire to lead, who are now leading, and who have led. It will confirm their experience in providing value and meaning to the lives of others. Shelton has an uncanny ability to get to where it really matters . . . down to the where the results of leadership are manifested—at ground level among faithful followers. He converts personal deep-seated beliefs into illustrations of authentic and counterfeit leadership. Yes, leading people in the field is not for the faint of heart, as many bruised and bloodied field leaders can attest."

Eric Thompson, Region Vice President, SCORE

"Ken Shelton is brilliant, and his book is amazing. It provides you and me with simple steps for creating success in our personal lives and in our fields."

Jack M. Zufelt, Mentor to Millions, Author of #1 best seller, The DNA of Success

"Shelton’s ‘Field Leadership’ is a must-read winner from start to finish, paving a clear roadmap towards achieving a more fulfilling personal and professional life. As a stand-alone, the book provides a wealth of information, and Ken’s Field Guide is full of principles and practices for developing yourself as a leader. Ken pulls relevant learnings from the past that clearly illustrate where we need to be as leaders of tomorrow. No matter where you are in your development journey, you’ll find insightful lessons to take with you along the way."

William (Bill) Adams, CEO, Leadership Circle

Co-Author Mastering Leadership and Scaling Leadership

"Field Leaders are the barefoot doctors of the corporate world. They are where the rubber meets the road. They are the people who actually find and support the clients and users, often in the harrowing, uncompromising real world never seen by academics, celebrity CEOs and politicians. It’s nice to see someone sticking up for the unsung heroes of business. Better an ounce of realism than a pound of quantum theory. Shelton has done a great service to the business proletariat!"

Dr. E. Ted Prince, CEO, Perth Leadership Institute

"Field Leadership takes us on a courageous journey toward authentic leadership and meaningful living. With hard-won wisdom and winsome stories Shelton boldly confronts counterfeit leadership, cultural traps and complicit institutions. This book encourages the heart and strengthens faith to conquer life’s crucibles and emerge the leader you’re meant to be."

Bill Poole, CEO, J2N Global, and author of

Journey to Newland: A Road Map for Transformational Change

"Ken Shelton’s lifelong passion has been to learn from the best leaders across a wide range of human endeavors and to bring this wisdom to the rest of us. Both witty and wise, this book offers a candid look at the perils and promise of carving a living out of your life’s calling. Whether you are a novice in your field, a pro or a work in progress, there is wisdom in this book for you."

Dr. Bruce LaRue, President, Chambers Bay Institute and Author

Seeing What Isn’t There: a Leaders Guide to Creating Change in a Complex World

"If you’ve read 10 great books on leadership chances are you’ve been reading Ken Shelton. Perhaps the most prolific writer on the theory and practice of leadership, Ken has read it all, seen it all, and done it all. Be assured in his Field Leadership book you will find essential principles, ideas, and practices—the gems Ken has discovered in his more than 40 years helping to develop leaders and their organizations worldwide."

Bruce H. Jackson, MBA/MPA, Ph.D., Principal, Attentional Leadership Institute

"Fantastic! Field Leadership is stimulating, thought-provoking, enjoyable and inspiring. It is filled with wonderful nuggets of truth that will challenge you and improve the leadership you offer to others. In a time when fewer fake and more authentic leaders are sorely needed, this book addresses the principles that leaders should personify. This work is worth the read!"

John R. Stoker, Author, Overcoming Fake Talk and President of DialogueWORKS

"In Field Leadership, Ken shares his wisdom and unique perspective on leadership—one honed from his own hard-earned life experience and from his many friendships with the giants of our field. I especially enjoyed the account of his visit to Harvard, in which he illustrates how great leaders forge their extraordinary leadership in and through the crucible of deep reflection on harsh experience. True—mastering and scaling our leadership requires that we be transformed."

Bob Anderson, Chairman and Chief Development Officer, The Leadership Circle, coauthor, Mastering Leadership and Scaling Leadership

"Ken Shelton’s latest masterpiece is the equivalent of a leadership bible. His Old Testament reflects the rules, regulations, and security of the commandments of the shackled executive and worker; while the New Testament draws from the Masters of leadership, history, writers, and scripture to edify, inspire and distinguish between The Law of the Establishment and the spirit that encompass the feelings and passion of a free soul or field leader acting out of love. The Epistles are his wandering, and experiences of six decades of living as a Bedouin truth seeker and literary Braveheart, and his ultimate Revelations describe what we can all become and celebrate from the windy, challenging and exhilarating journey of mortality. There is great insight and thought-provoking gems in every chapter of his life’s journey. This is a fascinating, inspiring, and brilliant expression for anyone seeking greater personal and business insight."

John Hewlett, CEO, Cardio Miracle

"Ken Shelton has spent a lifetime studying how people and organizations can be most effective leaders and contributors to society. Field Leadership and the accompanying Field Guide distill the best of these ideas into practical steps that we can each use to improve our personal and group performance and achieve the best outcomes."

Ted Izatt, Institutional Investor Rated #1 Energy Analyst

"Ken Shelton has done it again! Most leadership books are either long on theory or long on tactics. The brilliance of Field Leadership is that it balances the why of leading in this decade with practical how-to’s that will equip- you to flourish in a world of uncertainty and change."

Randy Pennington, Author, Make Change Work

"Shelton’s Field Leadership is a clear and engaging blueprint for leaders worldwide. What a fascinating story of amazing life experiences, remarkable people and lessons learned. Initially I planned to skim this book, but it grabbed me. I was captivated from the first to the last page and felt inspired to keep going in my own journey because of Ken’s courage to stay the course amid untold hurdles. This is a must-read for students and practitioners of leadership everywhere."

John Parker Stewart, Leadership Coach

"Profound! Deep! Relevant! Field Leadership, like Ken himself, is profound, since he distills decades of first-hand, experience-based learning as a leader and entrepreneur; deep, since he enables you to go deep in meaning, understanding and learning; and relevant, since your ability to apply leadership principles will be on a different level."

Thomas Reichart, Author, Live with Intent, pilot, and Founder of Reichart Effectiveness Solutions, Munich, Germany

FOREWORD BY ERIC KRUEGER

WIN THE GAME OF LIFE

FIELD LEADERS OVERCOME FEAR WITH FAITH.

I have long admired great field leaders worldwide, and especially in the two nations that I know best: the United States of America and Japan. I admire them for their uncanny ability to start companies, innovate products, deliver services, lead people in competitive fields, get jobs done and model so consistently the best in leadership principles and practices. Their personality and performances often transcend their fields as they become heroic examples of people and teams performing at their best. They are often so filled with faith and courage and well prepared for competition that they can be free of fear and anxiety and just have fun being their best selves.

Name Brands and Product Brands

In every nation and culture, behind the many brands that we know so well are the stories of bold field leaders—creative, inventive, innovative, entrepreneurial, daring and enterprising men and women who started with an idea, purpose or cause (why) and along the way discovered the people (who), products (what) and process (how) necessary for growth.

This is the premise and promise of Field Leadership. If you anticipate starting a business, full time or part time, or now find yourself in some entrepreneurial or professional field where you are expected to deliver desired results, I highly recommend this book, both for its content and for the credibility of its author, Ken Shelton.

Ken is the perfect author for this book, as he has worked both from the inside as a talent (internal field leader) and from the outside as a business entrepreneur (external field leader). He knows what it’s like to excel in his field and yet be expelled by bureaucratic organizations. And he knows what it’s like to start a business from scratch, to make something from next to nothing, and to grow it against all odds and against internal and external opposition.

Power of Applied Principles

I affirm the power of applied field leadership principles to transform individual lives, teams, and organizations. I especially endorse one of this book’s major themes: faith is an action principle that can serve as an antidote to fear and a catalyst for high performance. We all operate somewhere on a fear-faith continuum.

Great field leaders are positive deviants with regard to their management of fear and their exercise of faith in ways that allow them to enjoy peace of mind and conscience and make a greater contribution. Free from fear, they are free to flow. The byproduct of applied faith is authentic freedom from doubt and fear. Your faith is transformed into knowledge that the course you are pursuing will lead to life victories. And winning at life, needless to say, is more fun and rewarding. Field leaders tend to shift the spotlight and redirect the applause to their coaches and players to achieve the team win. They are consummate team players and players’ coaches.

Our Time and Our Life

Of all the times and seasons in recorded human history, I truly believe that we are most fortunate to be living now. In this book, Ken extends to us an invitation to make the most of our game time . . . to put our best talents, traits, and abilities to the test in service of a noble cause. From my seasoned perspective, there is little to fear and so many fun games to play in this probationary period called life. In this time of testing, we are invited to prove how faithful and effective we can be in some great cause or field of choice.

PREFACE

TAKE THE LEAP OF FAITH

OPT FOR THE FIELD, EVEN WITH THE RISKS.

The 1969 movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid tells the story of two 1890s Wyoming outlaws: the affable, clever, talkative leader of the Hole in the Wall Gang, Robert LeRoy Parker, aka Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman); and his laconic dead-shot partner, Harry Longabaugh, aka the Sundance Kid (Robert Redford). After a botched train robbery, Butch and Sundance are pursued skillfully by a crack posse with renowned Indian tracker Lord Baltimore and relentless lawman Joe Lefors. The posse was paid by Union Pacific head E. H. Harriman and told to remain on their trail until Butch and Sundance are both killed.

In admiration of their pursuers, Butch remarks, "I couldn’t do that. Could you do that? Why can they do it? Who are those guys?"

In the next scene, Butch and Sundance face a tough decision as they are trapped by their pursuers and in order to elude them, they must jump from a cliff into a river far below.

With great fear and trepidation, the two men talk out their dilemma.

Butch: They’ll never follow us.

Sundance: How do you know?

Butch: Would you jump if you didn’t have to?

Sundance: I have to, and I’m not gonna.

Butch: Alright, I’ll jump first.

Sundance: No.

Butch: Then you jump first.

Sundance: No, I said.

Butch: What’s the matter with you?

Sundance: I can’t swim.

Butch: Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you.

In June 1983, when I was faced with the prospect of venturing into the field, I felt like the Sundance Kid when he said: I have to (jump off a cliff) and I’m not gonna, in part because I didn’t know how to swim and feared the fall into the river . . . or the free solo climb up a cliff.

Great Solo, Team and Field Leaders

Great field leaders tap into their personal reserves and rally their teams to make amazing leaps, climbs, comebacks and revolutions.

Alex Honnold: 2017 Super Solo Leader. Climber Alex Honnold was the first to go free solo up El Capitan, the ultimate high stakes bet with no safety net. Alex is the bold rock climber whose free-solo ascents of America’s biggest cliffs have made him one of the most respected climbers in the world. A gifted athlete, Alex is known as much for his self-effacing no big deal attitude as he is for the cliffs he has climbed. He has been profiled in media and the film Alone on the Wall. Alex maintains a simple lifestyle, living out of his van and traveling the world in search of the next great vertical adventure. His 2017 free solo climb of the 2,900-foot Freerider route of El Capitan in Yosemite is chronicled in the spine-tingling, Academy Award-winning film Free Solo. It’s one of the greatest athletic feats of any kind, ever. In free solo, climbers don’t use any ropes, harnesses or other gear to protect them if they fall. Alex has also free soloed the 1,200-foot finger crack that splits Zion’s Moonlight Buttress and the 2,000-foot, glacially bulldozed Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome, an amazing ascent.

Patrick Mahomes: 2020 Super Team Leader. Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes regularly makes dramatic comebacks. The Chiefs are the first team ever to trail by 10 points or more in all three of their postseason games and then win each one by at least 10 points. Patrick’s excellence inspires the rest of the team to believe that no game is out of reach, regardless of how dismal the prospects of victory.

In the divisional round, the Houston Texans jumped out to a 24-0 first-quarter lead against the Chiefs, but in the second quarter, Mahomes rallied his offense, going from player to player on the sidelines, to take the lead before halftime. Chiefs won the game by 20 points.

In the AFC Championship, the Chiefs started slow against the Tenessee Titans. After trailing 10-0 and 17-7, Mahomes erased the deficit before halftime finished with a 35-24 win.

In the 2020 Super Bowl (LIV) against the San Francisco 49ers, MVP Mahomes led the Chiefs on three successive touchdown drives to erase a 10-point 4th quarter deficit. On a third-and-15 in the fourth quarter, with the Chiefs trailing 20-10, Mahomes threw a pass 57 yards in the air to a wide-open receiver. It was the play of the game. In week 7 of the season, Patrick made a dramatic comeback off the field when he dislocated his knee. The TV cameras caught a Chiefs trainer popping his kneecap back into place. Many expected Patrick to miss the rest of the year. He missed only two games, and threw for 446 yards and three touchdowns in his return.

Patrick Henry: 1775 Super Liberty Leader. On March 23, 1775, Patrick Henry delivered an impassioned speech for liberty against British tyranny to rally an assembly of Virginians at St. John’s Church in Richmond, where the colonial legislature was meeting. The legislators were divided on whether to mobilize for military action against the British military forces. Henry argued in favor of mobilization and called on the House delegates to adopt resolutions that would link Virginia with the other 13 Colonies in the First Continental Congress. Henry ended his speech with the words: Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death! The fiery speech overrode the qualms of more conservative patriots. The crowd reportedly rose as one and shouted, To arms! To arms. The British march on Concord, followed closely by Henry’s speech, started an American Revolution.

Follow such field leaders to win your free solo, your revolution, your Super Bowl, your liberty and to take your leap of faith.

Indiana Jones and the Leap of Faith

Remember in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Indiana is in search of the Holy Grail in hopes of sipping from the cup and attaining everlasting life. But first, using clues recorded in a book, he must make his way past three challenges, the third being a bottomless chasm with no bridge. He reads the clue: Only a leap from a lion’s head will prove his worth. Indiana is terrified to step off the edge, but he recognizes that it’s a leap of faith. He closes his eyes and steps out onto nothing. Suddenly his foot touches something solid. He walks across the path and then tosses some sand onto the previously invisible plank.

Yes, you must exercise faith as you step onto the field. Faith is required as the future will be unpredictable, uncharted, unfamiliar, and frightening. Don’t leave home without it!

2020s: Decade of Disruption

What does the decade of the Storming 2020s portend? I don’t know the particulars, but I predict that it will be like the decade of the Roaring 1920s in America with both excess and excellence, with bootleg gin and leg-boot wins, a decade of disruption, displacement, relocation and adventure in various fields. Millions of people will be uprooted, booted out, or opt out and find themselves with no pension, no benefit package, no tenure, no passive income stream. They thought they were secure, but now they are unsure, and so they must take a chance and dance—and not just migrants, immigrants, and transients, but all travelers and those in transition or reassigned to field offices. By choice or by chance, they will need to leave home or the home office and enter the field. The field may still be within the same organization, or it may be some place in outer space with new cultures and languages, where you must keep learning and running to keep pace in the race, not of rats but of well educated, seasoned professionals of all ages.

Premise: Storm is the 2020s Norm

In spite of the false promises by corporations and governments of safety and security, people will find themselves at risk in situations they hoped to avoid . . . in new or changing fields, responsible for yields and desired results, having to interact with people to make and sell products, service customers, and achieve results. Overnight or over time, they will need to become a new kind of leader who operates out of the office, in the field.

Rather than be resigned to a woeful fate, you can learn to make the field work for you. Rather than cower in fear, you can exercise your faith in a brighter and better future. You can make your Storming 2020’s a decade of New Norms and New Normals (personal bests).

Field Day or Decade?

The start of the year 2020 proves my point: we are all having a coronavirus Field Day and wondering how long it will last. Normally, having a field day suggests having the freedom to do what we want; to depart from our usual work schedule; to have an enjoyable time; to take part in games and contests; to gain from something that is caused by problems other people are having; to benefit at the expense of others; to enjoy a time of great excitement or to take part in an enjoyable, exciting occasion or pursuit. The expression dates from the mid-1700s and originally meant a special day set aside for troop maneuvers and exercises. Early in the 1800s it included social occasions, outings and special opportunities. Early in the 2020s, it includes layoffs and bailouts. We wonder: will the entire decade of the 2020s will be one of disruption?

Field Mindsets and Skillsets

Even people who have been outstanding stand-outs in their fields may find themselves out standing in a foreign field or standing out for social distance. In other words, for the first time in their carefully calculated lives of organizational security they may find themselves on the outside looking in. Even on-line systems may be disrupted as con-artists, opportunists, computer hackers, enemies, and terrorists will seek to intercept data and steal what they can. Disruption suggests that former insiders may become the new outsiders

Those people who have only known safety and security, rising markets and easy money, peace and prosperity will need to learn new mindsets and skillsets as they cope with new dilemmas resulting from detours, disruptions and difficulties in their fields.

Out on a Limb: Idiot or Idiom, Provo or Proverb?

In March 2020, I was out on a limb, pruning my poor-producing apple trees in an attempt to train central leaders and manage the canopy by removing crossing branches, secondary stems, waterspouts (sucker growth), weak branches, downward growth, lateral growth and dead wood.

Pruning is necessary to help trees produce thick stems and open canopies where light and air can enter to promote flowering, facilitate fruit and mitigate diseases. The best time for pruning fruit trees is early spring before buds break and trees are still dormant. You want fruit tree to grow low branches and balance growth and the root system to keep the plant from getting top heavy. Central leader training gives the tree a strong trunk and laterally branching stems.

Like an idiot, I’ve been imitating the idiom, going out on a limb, by standing on the top rung of a tall ladder trying to cut six-foot suckers that shoot straight up. Now I’m in Provo (Utah) Limbo, wondering whether I’m the sucker in regard to the COVID-19 disease. A major catastrophe can often be traced back to a small start or simple error. The lack of a basic part or a small object can lead from one unwanted consequence to another larger one to yet another one, as in a stack of falling dominos. Due to a minor inconvenience or mishap, something much worse happens, as in the proverb: For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe, the horse was lost. For want of a horse, the rider was lost. For want of a rider, thebattle was lost. For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost. All for the want of a horseshoe nail.

How we lead ourselves and others in the 2020s will long be remembered. We are all in this together. Our roots are intertwined like Aspen Trees, and our branches are intertwined like Apple Trees. We are interdependent and interconnected. We need to prune without killing the tree; feed and drink without killing the mouse . . . or losing the kingdom for want of a nail or falling down, breaking our crown over a pail of water or the pall of coronavirus.

Paradox of Equinox

What we learn about a person or system in happy equilibrium tells us little about human and system behavior during disruption and disturbance, such as earthquakes and pandemics.

In March 2020, Pam and I were in the central plaza in Mazatlan, Mexico, where we were admiring the work of a finger-paint artist. He would compose an image in his imagination, dab his finger with a certain color on the palette and then transpose what he sees in his mind through his fingers onto paper. Likewise, with our fingers and feet, minds and mouths, we compose what we imagine, either consciously or subconsciously, to be our life.

Even in vernal equinox, equal distance from winter to summer solstice, we face a veritable paradox: while there is zero tilt of the earth in relation to the Sun, many of the 8 billion people on planet earth are seriously atilt in relation to the Son (their Savior) expressly because they are out of equilibrium as they compose in their minds and imaginations false images or idols and then seek expression for