From the book, "The Power of Positive Confrontation," by Barbara Pachter we learn the five reasons people don't confront. 

Remember the first day back to school? 

Were you excited at a new beginning? 

What if we took today as a start to a new year?  

Will you join me? 

Here is a Back to School Poem I found online

The day has come

Sharpened pencils,

I'll meet new friends

Another unarmed man shot in the back. This time it was seven shots at close range. As I watched the video in horror, I could only think of one thing. The devil is alive and well in 2020.

Many will take sides. One will say it’s because the officer was white, and Jacob Blake was black. Others will say when an officer instructs you to stop, you must stop or something like this will happen. I refuse to take sides. I refuse to judge all police officers for the actions of one officer. I refuse to judge all protestors for the riots occurring across our country. By not taking sides I can see what is happening in this country, the devil is real and looking to destroy.

In ten days, we will be in September. In three months, we will be in November. The political climate that we are heading into is going to be bloody. I just finished a book called Lincoln the Unknown and a lot of the book referenced the Civil War, we are heading into a social media Civil War. Don’t be a participant in the social media civil war. Be better than those who are just trying to bring you down with accusations of your character or motive. And if people are going to hurt you on social media – unfriend them. If you have to block them.

Yesterday I spoke on how much I hate agendas. Today, I’m going to speak about how much I love agendas. Different from individuals, companies, or movements having hidden or personal agendas, an effective agenda is a list of items to be discussed at a formal meeting. A list everyone can see.

How many of you have been through meetings that were a complete waste of time? When you have an agenda that attendees can see, it keeps everyone on point with the ability to follow along. Start you meeting by referencing your agenda and give a clear objective of what you are going to cover; include the expected outcome of the meeting. By putting everyone on the same page, if an attendee has missed something, they were expecting to receive, they can bring it as a question or clarification.

Having an agenda can be helpful in a one-to-one meeting as well. I’m in sales and after I schedule a discovery meeting with a potential client, I include an agenda in the calendar invite. This accomplishes two things:

1. It shows them I know what I’m talking about

2. They can bring up anything I may have missed prior to the meeting.

A hidden agenda is when someone or a group is secretly trying to achieve something or cause it to happen while they appear to be doing something else. Something you most likely will disapprove.  People with hidden agendas have goals that they wish to accomplish at the cost of others. This contradicts love and living by the golden rule (treat others the way you wish to be treated).

Being productive each day isn’t looking for hidden agendas, yet it doesn’t mean we aren’t aware of our current social climate. Be alert and pay attention. Listen closely to messages and watch actions very closely. Always give someone the benefit of the doubt yet if something doesn’t seem right, it most likely isn’t.

Hidden agendas are led by people who are controlling. They could be your pastor, politician, boss, or social organizer. They are toxic and I would make a conscious effort to avoid them. If you are in a position where you can’t avoid them, confront them head on when you feel the words coming out of their mouth don’t match their intent.