Welcome back brew nation! As 2022 comes to a close, I want to express my gratitude for your subscribing to, sharing, and engaging with the readers of the Champions Brew. As the “Friday Coffee Guy” I am excited each week to provide a weekly assembly of material I am reading, listening to, watching, or thinking about that is designed to equip and call you to uncommon leadership, and I am grateful you choose to spend a few minutes with me!
Here is your weekly sip of what I have been reading, listening to or watching to equip me to:
- Read More, Think & Reflect Positively – It’s that time of year… The time for us to ring in the new year and ‘sing’ (or hum!) Auld Lang Syne. I thought I would do a little research and learn a little more about the history of the song. Here is what I found out:
- The phrase “Auld Lang Syne” is from the 18th-century Scots language, and translates to “old long since”, or more generally, “the olden days”.
- The poem “Auld Lang Syne”, by Robert Burns has often been credited as the primary source of inspiration for the song’s lyrics.
- The lyrics are about old friends having a drink and recalling adventures they had long ago. There is no specific reference to the new year.
- The Canadian-born bandleader Guy Lombardo helped make “Auld Lang Syne” a New Year’s Eve tradition in North America. His band, the Royal Canadians, played the song at the turn of the new year in a series of popular radio (and later television) broadcasts that began on December 31, 1929, and continued for more than 30 years. (Source: Britannica)
So, don’t get caught pretending to mouth the words at New Year’s Eve this year. Luckily for you, I found the lyrics and put them below so you can serenade yourself and all your friends into the New Year!
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And old lang syne?
(Chorus)
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
And surely you’ll buy your pint cup!
And surely I’ll buy mine!
And we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
We two have run about the slopes,
And picked the daisies fine;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
Since auld lang syne.
We two have paddled in the stream,
From morning sun till dine;
But seas between us broad have roared
Since auld lang syne.
And there’s a hand my trusty friend!
And give me a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
For auld lang syne.
- Be Happy – I hope you get the chance to ‘toast’ a drink to someone you care about on New Year’s Eve. So, where did the “toast” originate? Well, this time of year, that is another topic I thought I would look up! (Actually, I found this topic as well as the origin of Auld Lang Syne from a daily digest that I get – the 1440 digest – a daily assembly of news, sports, and miscellaneous happenings that I peruse each day rather than wasting time watching the depressing news that is on TV every night!). Anyway, here is an excerpt of what I discovered about the history of the ‘toast’:
The custom of drinking a ‘health’ to the prosperity, happiness, luck or good health of another dates back to ancient times—and, perhaps, into prehistory, writes author Paul Dickson in his book Toasts: Over 1,500 of the Best Toasts, Sentiments, Blessings and Graces. He follows the drinking ritual back to the ancient Hebrews, Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Saxons and Huns (apparently Attila was a fan). Although people had been drinking to one another for centuries, it wasn’t called ‘toasting’ until the seventeenth century, when it was customary to place a piece of toast or a crouton in the drink. (SAY WHAT!!!!).
The specific habit of tapping drinking glasses together has several potential origins. Some practitioners believed the practice warded off evil spirits by creating a bell-like noise, Dickson writes, while others thought that clinking cups—and splashing liquid between two vessels—was a means of proving that one person wasn’t trying to poison the other (YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!). But in truth, nobody quite knows the true origin of toasting drinks.
Whatever its origin, toasting is an enduring and beloved feature of the human experience. New Year’s Eve is a time to look back with nostalgia, while also offering a toast to our hopes for the future. So, let’s raise a glass to these toasting traditions from around the world, and as the song says, “We’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for the sake of Auld Lang Syne.” (SEE STORY 1 ABOVE!)
P.S. – Eye contact is a MUST when you partake in a toast! This is a Gallagher house rule!! It is much more respectful, and you can avoid seven years of bad……luck (or something like that!!)
- Read More – I have committed to reviewing one law per week from John Maxwell’s 25th anniversary edition of the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. This week’s law is:
Law # 10 – The Law of Connection
Leaders Touch a Heart Before They Ask for a Hand
“The heart comes before the head. You can’t move people to action unless you first move them with emotion.” For leaders to be effective, they must connect with people.
I recognized the need to connect early on in my leadership career. I am not sure if there was a catalyst that made me aware of this, but I had an instinct for connecting with individuals at multiple levels. For me as a coach and a consultant, this law is even MORE important as I must use influence rather than use positional leadership to move people to action.
One of my favorite quotes mentioned in this chapter is “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” The stronger the relationship and connection between individuals, the more likely the follower will want to help the leader.
So, how do you become a better connector? The author offers three things to keep in mind whether you are speaking in front of a group, or chatting with someone in the hallway:
1) People need to know you believe in them – One of the most precious gifts a leader can give people is belief in them. Your belief must be genuine, though.
2) People need you to practice what you preach – This is effective with people you lead whether you are a CEO, volunteer leader, or family member. If people hear you say one thing, but you do something else, you will lose integrity and it will be more difficult to connect. Do what you say… say what you do!
3) People need to feel valued by you – As a leader you cannot value people AND add value to them if you do not care about them or secretly dislike them. People can see right through that if your ‘caring’ is superficial.
Another key takeaway for me in this chapter was when Maxwell said, “When it comes to connecting with people, it’s the leader’s job, NOT the follower’s job.”
- Quote – “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.” — T.S. Eliot
What You Need to Do:
Call to Action: Print this Brew out before midnight New Year’s Eve so that you can be THAT guest to provide the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne. At the same time, you can suggest that others go and subscribe to the Champions Brew to help them as part of their 2023 Leadership Development Plan!!
I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of Champions Brew. If you did, I would appreciate it if you would share it with someone who might enjoy it as well and ask them to subscribe! I will make sure they automatically get this email every week.
Until next time, Be Happy, Read More, and make good eye contact with those you toast this New Year’s Eve!
P.S. – Are you a podcast fan? Maybe the Uncommon Leader podcast is for you. Are you interested in being a guest on the Uncommon Leader Podcast? Do you have a story to tell? Email me [email protected] and let’s have a chat and set something up!!
