Live with intensity -- there is great power there

ILISTEN Carefully. To many voices. In the past week: A famous coach. A political leader. A “recovering” lawyer. A business school leader. And a general. Disparate voices, snatches of conversations. Like these:

The World Cup-winning coach, to a large crowd in the Winelands, warned: “Across the world, people leave bosses, not companies.”

The political leader urged: “Radical economic transformation will happen if we just radically do our job.”

The lawyer – quoting Leo Tolstoy: “Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs, privileges or beliefs.

“This state of mind is not common, but it is essential for right thinking; where it is absent, discussion is apt to become worse than useless.”

The business school leader said quietly: “I’d like to urge you to do three things: “Live with meaning. “That will enable you to: Live with purpose.

“And DO NOT settle for lazy thinking. Not by ANYONE.”

And the general: “I see a lot of highly skilled activists in the room. People capable of galvanising social cohesion and energy.

“Where are you, in our community organisations? “Where are you?” he asked. In 1986, the legendary actor, Sir Lau rence Olivier, said – in the musical

“Your life is an expression of your mind.

“You are the creator of your own universe – for as a human being, you are free to will whatever state of being you desire through the use of your thoughts and words. “There is great power there. “It can be a blessing or a curse – “It’s entirely up to you. “For the quality of your life is brought about by the quality of your thinking – think about that. “Thoughts produce actions. “See the pettiness and the envy and the greed and the fear and all the other attitudes that cause you pain and discomfort.

“Realise that the one thing you have absolute control over is your attitude.

“If you truly want to change your world, my friends, you must change your thinking. “Choose your words with care.” Six voices. So clear. And the common denominator? The power they share? I think it’s: Intensity. Dictionaries explain: “Intensity is the measurable amount of a property, such as force, brightness, or a magnetic field.”

“The quality of being felt strongly or having a very strong effect.”

“An extreme degree of strength, force, energy or feeling.”

In a world awash with avarice, fear, apathy and despair; Those who spoke the words above: Are my kind of people.