I met Roger Anthony, founder of Crocodiles Not Waterlilies™, nearly two decades ago. My brother and I were working together when Roger’s great lessons and principle-based teachings changed everything. Each time I associated with Roger, I walked away a better person.
Roger Anthony, founder of Crocodiles International
Pleasant, fun, intelligent, and wise, Roger always made me feel like a million bucks.
“Whatever you give out comes back multiplied.”
“When I live in integrity, I have great cause to smile.”
Five Step Plan of Mastery
Roger wrote the following:
During the prehistoric age, crocodiles roamed the earth side by side with their dinosaur cousins. They shared the same hunting grounds and experienced the same dynamically changing environment.
Today, crocodiles are still alive upon the earth, adapting and thriving!
When was the last time you saw a dinosaur alive?
A crocodile is one of the world’s greatest survivors! It has outlived the dinosaur and is incredibly flexible, thus able to thrive in a changing world. In this writer’s opinion, the single most significant reason for the crocodile’s success is the strategic approach it has to life’s circumstances.
Emergency response teams, genuine masters of the martial arts, firefighters, SWAT teams etc. are all trained to follow the same strategy as the crocodile, especially when confronted with a dangerous or potentially dangerous situation.
As humans, we would do well to follow the Five Step Crocodile Plan of Mastery—as we commence any new day or new project, handle a sensitive issue, design and implement a sales strategy, enter into negotiation, conduct a meeting, manage stress, negotiate a deal, terminate an employee, or discipline a child, etc.
The Five Step Crocodile Plan of Mastery should be the automatic process through which we make all of life’s decisions! Over the next five weeks, we’ll look at each step individually to lay a foundation of success for the new year. 2013 is the year for you to achieve success and live on purpose!
(Now I Understand, Pearls of Wisdom for One’s Pathway of Mastery — For the Avid Seeker of Truth; grammar may not be verbatim)
Roger taught many principle-based lessons. Better yet, Roger exemplified and lived them.
Roger recalled:
“[A lady] once said to me in a very angry manner in an open forum that I was delivering, ‘Roger, you said that there is good in every circumstance. What about your father committing suicide and using a 12-gauge shot gun on himself? What about that?’ I later learned that she had lost a loved one in a similar way. She said, ‘What good was in your father’s death?’ And I remember saying to her, ‘I don’t know. I can only tell you that there was good in it. I know that to be a true and natural eternal law. There was good in it, but I don’t know what it was.’”
“About a month later, a gentleman challenged me almost the same way, had the same set of circumstances that caused him to be angry. I went to say that I don’t know, and out of my mouth came this: ‘There would be no language of Crocodiles Not Waterlilies™ on the planet today, no system that enables people to recall in our toughest and darkest times principles of light and hope without ever having to go back to their notes again. That would not be in existence. Crocodiles™ would not be a vision on the earth today if my father hadn’t gone through that tragic event in his life.’”
Crocodiles Not Waterlilies™ has become a legacy among those in the CEO space.
https://crocodilesintl.wordpress.com/about/
Hoodwinked
Pain stayed so long, I said to him
I’ll not have you anymore!
I stamped my foot and said ‘be on your way!’
I was startled by the look he wore
He turned and looked at me and said
‘I who have been your teacher. I who have been your friend,’
All you know in regard to understanding love and empathy and patience
I have taught you. Shall I go?’
You know I watched him leave and knew that he was wise.
Wise because he left a heart grown tender in my breast.
He left a far clearer vision in my eyes.
I dried my tears and lifted up a song
Even for one who had tortured me so long.
-Author Unknown
I still enjoy watching Roger’s speedball demonstration. He often concludes his presentations with this type of activity. I think that I equally enjoyed watching Roger’s life demonstration. He lived with integrity and was worthy of our admiration. He definitely won mine.
“No walls! No barriers! … And prevailing upon the unlimited potential we all hold.”
“What a great swerve.”
To read more of Walter’s articles, click here.
As phenomenal a career as he built and international fame in the CEO space, that career wasn’t his best work. Roger’s best work was definitely his sweet wife, Cindy, and their fine boys. His family will forever be his masterpiece. And so it is with us. Our careers and daily work is simply a means to an end. And that end is an eternal family in the presence God. No barriers!
Don’t be hoodwinked — bamboozled, beguiled, bluffed, conned, deceived, deluded, duped, faked out, fooled, gaffed, hoaxed, misguided, misinformed, mislead, spoofed, strung along, tricked — into thinking you are anything less.
There are a lot of words that perpetuate this misconception of life. We can’t let it.
With Jesus Christ’s help, we are all winners.
We can learn important lessons from our colleagues. I personally feel that our purpose is to become joint heirs with Christ and become like Him and our Heavenly Father. We do that one lesson at a time.
In 1989, Walter Penning formed a consultancy based in Salt Lake City and empowered his clients by streamlining processes and building a loyal, lifetime customer base with great customer service. His true passion is found in his family. He says the best decision he ever made was to marry his sweetheart and have children. The wonderful family she has given him and her constant love, support, and patience amid life's challenges is his panacea.
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