Hello … my name is Ramsey. Sometimes I go by RamseyZ. I’ve been hiding for the last five years or so. I’m not sure why. Probably because of fear. Fear of judgement or loss or misunderstanding. I wrote these 12 Core Values nearly 5 years ago and chose to leave my name off of the website. I believed it was because it was “not about me” that I was writing. But was that really true? Or was it ALL about me? Maybe neither and both. Doesn’t matter. What matters today … is that I think I am starting to glimpse and live out some of the Creative Rewards that I theorized of back in 2016 when God revealed to me the 12 Core Values (sorry to be so melodramatic, but I do believe it was revelation, and I don’t take credit for these ideas). So for the first time on this site, I want to share with you from a personal perspective. I want to express myself. That’s a bit of foreshadowing by the way!
Service
I guess in the most basic sense you can think of Service as work in the Community that you don’t necessarily get paid for. But I believe it is so much more than that. Service is an act that builds and contributes for others, it’s an investment in something apart from yourself. The benefit of Service comes back around. People notice your Service, they appreciate your Service, they are inspired by your Service to perhaps join in or to find their own unique form of Service. All these things benefit the common good and benefit you. For me, I’ve begun serving again. I’m volunteering with www.ThePeople.org and I’m getting more involved with my church and my local theater group that my kids have grown up in. I’m trying to make meaningful contributions on things that I care about. I’m trying to use my skills and talents in ways that I am positioned to do so. And I encourage everyone to do that. Find places where you recognize a need and feel uniquely positioned to make a meaningful impact. In your Community, find ways to focus your Service on improving the Opportunities for people to live and thrive.
Love
So much has been written and said about Love over the centuries … and I believe it deserves that and more. I believe that God is Love. I believe that Love is the rock, Love is the foundation, Love is the beginning and the end. I believe that Love is sustainable and renewable, Love pushes out fear, Love spreads and multiplies. I embrace Love and I try and want to always act out of Love. I Love openly and shamelessly; yet ironically I don’t express it in words often enough to my family. I carry Love around with me daily, or perhaps Love carries ME around daily. I encourage you: embrace Love! Love God, Love yourself, Love your neighbors, Love you enemies, Love nature, Love your family, Love other people’s families. When you see a perfect stranger, imagine how their family Loves them as a daughter or son or husband or wife. Lean into Love! Love is the purest motivation and I don’t see how people could commit evil towards another person if true Love for that person is their motivation. When seeking and speaking the Truth, do so in and with Love, so that your Respect for others will grow in their hearts as well.
Innovation
I’ve been working professionally for more than 25 years now. I’ve done a bunch of stuff. Some of it worked great and some of it failed miserably. At some points in time my Productivity has been really high and others I’ve been “hardly working instead of working hard.” Some of the things I accomplish had great Effectiveness and made a real difference. Other times there were unintended consequences, resulting from my blind spots or my arrogance or my lack of understanding. But a couple of times … I’ve found NEW ways of doing things. Better ways. That’s exciting! That’s Innovation. Finding a new solution to an old problem, or finding a better technique that is faster and/or cheaper than how people usually do it, without being less effective. So if you’ve tried and failed, and tried something else, and did better, and worked at it, and found something that works, then great! And if along the way you had some insights about WHY something does or doesn’t work, and you’re ready to experiment and create something NEW that does it better, then now you’re cooking! Now you’ve found Innovation! So when you are being Productive, keep an eye toward Innovation and implement new things if you can show their Effectiveness toward accomplishing your business goals.
Expression
This has been the hardest one for me and the longest time coming. I’m a shy and quiet person by nature. I don’t push myself into a conversation. In a group of 5 people I often do great. But more than that and I’ll just sit back and let the other people talk. Unless I’m facilitating or the one holding the microphone with my name on the agenda. Then I’m fine. I actually love public speaking and group facilitation. Weird right? And I am a writer. But I’ve been writing this website anonymously for 5 years now. So has it really been true Expression for me? Sort of maybe. But I wasn’t really expressing myself until now, because I only just put my name at the top of this blog today. What was I so afraid of? Losing everything. Losing my family, my friends, my job, my home, my standing. If I say the wrong things. It seems like we’ve been talking a lot about Cancel Culture lately, but I was painfully aware of it 5 years ago when I started writing this project. Because perhaps my ideas run counter to the culture. Because my politics are complicated. Because I don’t subscribe to one party line or the other. Because my 12 Core Values are different from others. Because I value Truth so strongly, yet many things I truly believe to be true are not reported by the mainstream news media. As we seek Health & Safety, our Expressions manifest and clarify what’s going on inside and what we’re giving Protection to. Expression connects us to others, for better or worse.
I think I’ve come to the conclusion that by NOT expressing myself, I lost a lot these last 5 years. Out of fear of what I could have lost if I spoke up more. I need to walk my own talk, and let Love cast out fear. My name is Ramsey. And it’s nice to meet you!