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The Architect of Excellence - Creating Personal & Professional Success & Happiness Through the Art of Simplicity
von: Steven Roberts, Anthony Roberts
BookBaby, 2017
ISBN: 9781543920437 , 278 Seiten
Format: ePUB
Kopierschutz: DRM
Preis: 9,51 EUR
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The Architect of Excellence - Creating Personal & Professional Success & Happiness Through the Art of Simplicity
Prologue
Living a Life of Purpose
It was April of 2016. Patrick and Claire Dodgion stood on the outskirts of the city of Aswan, in east Africa’s Sudan Valley. Aswan was the southern-most city of Ancient Egypt and home to many ancient wonders and ruins. The city was no longer the Egyptian jewel it had once been in the days of the great Pharaoh Ramses II, who was responsible for legendary architecture in the surrounding valley. Thousands of years of social and political turmoil had taken a tremendous toll on the once majestic city, but the spirit of the mighty culture remained. It was now more representative of the contradiction between the glory of man’s historical artistic accomplishments and the lack of the basic staples of life for those now living.
Patrick and Claire stood in the mists of a light rain, and as many others did, wondered how this famous and once illustrious city had fallen into its current state. They stood among the contradiction of the numerous philanthropists and World Health Organization volunteers and workers who had come to support and rehabilitate the struggling community. The group had gathered to support the W.H.O. Education Foundation during World Hunger Week and felt a sense of renewal and commitment to bettering the lives of those who called this city home.
Their passion was for the support of the agricultural education of local farmers and Nubians. The attending World Health Organization instructors were demonstrating the use of modern tools and strategies to improve the condition of the soil and increase their success during the planting and crop rotation process. Patrick and Claire looked out over the valley in the distance in amazement, taking in the history and its people through the vistas and beautiful landscape. Patrick wondered what might lie ahead in their quest to do more for others and why it seemed that even the greatest of civilizations eventually failed and fell.
Among the group were also supporters of Not on My Watch, a charitable organization founded by George Clooney and his peers. They were there in support of the World Food Program and the plight of the people of Sudan. Patrick and Claire were told by the Director of the group that George Clooney, his father Nick, and Republican Jim Moran had been arrested in Washington D.C. during a protest at the Sudanese Embassy as representatives of international advocacy and humanitarian rights.
Patrick and Claire gazed at the shimmering waters of the Nile River in wonder and appreciation while the sun set in the auburn sky. Claire remarked to Patrick that the Nile somehow looked more ancient and mystical than others she had seen during their travels. Patrick agreed and added that a strong case could be made that the Nile may have helped more than any other river to give civilization its start. They turned their attention back to the agricultural training and immersion training that was taking place among the local farming community members. W.H.O.’s agricultural specialists were teaching the Sudanese new methods of bio-intensive and holistic farming to the assembled local farmers as Patrick looked on and pondered what they could do to improve their odds for success.
These modern methods increased yields, reduced nitrous oxide and greenhouse gases, and created a more sustainable means to use fewer resources, which reduced costs for the farmers while maximizing yields. They noticed the rain that had begun ticking on the tin roof of the brick hut they were standing beside. It was somehow soothing and made them both feel optimistic.
Claire and Patrick had come to the Sudan earlier in the month to take part in World Health Day, in which education and medicine were provided to support the eradication of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue.
The usually wind-swept hills and dry landscape had been temporarily replaced by lush bush and well-saturated trees, thanks to the recent rainy season. As the early evening turned to dusk, the training session came to a close. Patrick and Claire had gathered in the field with the farmers and instructors and they spoke about the Aswan High Dam and how it had changed the way they planted and maintained their crops throughout the year. It was a satisfying endeavor for the Dodgion’s and those who were there to support the community. Patrick and the other volunteers saw it as an opportunity to give back that which they felt was due based on their own success and personal life blessings.
As the quietly falling rain began to subside, the group assembled in the common yard and excitedly spoke of the results of the day’s events. The gathering spot was on a rise outside the village, providing a fantastic view of the surrounding valley, the patchy green and gold foliage coloring the rolling hillsides, and landmarks in every direction. Patrick and Claire couldn’t help but notice the golden hued Nubian Temples in the distance. The group spoke of their progress and the challenges they had overcome over the past weeks of poor weather and civil unrest. The community leaders thanked the agricultural specialists and volunteers for their knowledge and guidance as the discussion ended and the local villagers made their way past the training center entry to travel back home and into the evening.
The Dodgions looked out into the evening as the stars began to appear, leaning against a rock wall after everyone parted ways and openly wondered how such a rich and dynamic people had seemingly lost their way. Those who built these wondrous temples and pantheons had now found themselves in a state of lack, having lost the greatness and prosperity with which they once dominated the world. They discussed how brutality, lack, greed, and poverty had seemingly overcome such a rich and resourceful nation; it seemed unfathomable to both of them.
Claire recalled that one of the trainers had earlier stated that it was unimaginable how more than a billion people on this continent lived on less than a dollar per day. Many of them were among the people they were spending time with here in Aswan, as she had learned. They discussed how international culture still advocated the isolation of separate countries and not one world of people with similar interests, beliefs, dreams, and desires. Patrick realized that their thoughts had led them to the topic of lack rather than the answers required in making a difference and moving forward in support of solutions that mattered. He mused to himself how simple it was to focus on what you lacked instead of what you wanted if you were not paying attention to the thoughts you were thinking.
They reviewed the development training that had taken place within the group that afternoon, and couldn’t help but remain mesmerized by the temples and palm trees. They were awestruck by the statuesque figures carved into the mountainside and how the water of the Nile would cause those figures to glisten and sparkle in the late evening as a glimpse of the sun’s glow made its appearance on the river. Quietly sitting next to one another, Claire and Patrick shared a sense of wonder as to how these marvels had been built thousands of years ago and still remained such mystical and magnificent backdrops. Both thought transforming the people of the Sudan, as the natives’ ancestors transformed the landscape, would be as fulfilling as anything they had done or could imagine doing for others.
Patrick and Claire had committed to a life of philanthropic servitude after Patrick sold the print-media company he founded and cultivated twenty-five years prior. As a young man, he had always dreamed of changing the world and making it a better place for all in any way he could. Patrick recalled a line in a movie that had stuck with him from the moment he heard it: What man is a man that does not try to make the world better? Patrick fell in love with the idea and believed it was meant to be an integral part of his life’s pursuit.
He had created his printing and print-media company and named it Architects, Design, & Press (ADP) in 1990. In doing so, though he didn’t know it at the time, he had created one of the most dynamic companies in its industry. With his small and humble start-up, he had committed to offering excellent value, a client experience second to none, and a proposition that would make ADP the best in its class. This was what allowed Patrick and Claire to give back and do what they desired in the present. Patrick’s father would tell him when he was young “The teacher appears when the student is ready for the lesson.” I was a quote, which Patrick himself would use throughout his life, and this belief was integral in his success.
Patrick had sold the company to Edwards & Sons Ltd. in 2012 for $800 million in cash; stock and ownership after all debts were paid to investors and partners. The Dodgions then went on to invest in sustainable energy technologies, computer technologies, and international trade interests through his brother Erik (a formidable international trader living in London) and his Mastermind network. With a current net worth of $800 million the Dodgions could have remained on easy street but committed instead to pursue their real passion: the betterment of life for others and the humanitarian rights and advocacy of environmental protection and supporting Third World educational concerns.
During the rise of his business enterprise, Patrick created two foundations: the Live Atlanta At-risk Youth Center as well as the Young Entrepreneurs...