Initiative + Influence

Byron Bush

October 13, 2019

Leadership is influence, and we all influence the environment with our presence.

Every living person has leadership and influence ability. Good leadership creates a progressive environment, and the most valuable gift a leader can give is to be a good example. Leadership in action is the best way to create influence, and the art of asking questions is a great approach to achieving self-reflection.

Each month, Aiken Bella Magazine will publish “Influence Information”, a leadership column that will connect to the Aiken Character Trait of the month. Leadership information, questions, and recognition for individuals and organizations that exhibit leadership are examples of the featured characteristics to be shared each month through Influence Information.

The Aiken Character Trait of the Month for October is Initiative.

A person with initiative can assess things independently and take the opportunity or power to act or take charge before others. When we are reactive, something else has to happen before we are motivated to act. This month, we encourage you to take the initiative and act. What is something you have wanted or needed to do, but haven’t completed yet? Where in your life do you need to take the initiative? What is stopping you from accomplishing the objective? What can you do to work around the barrier? Action without vision is just passing time, vision without action is merely day-dreaming, but vision with action can change the world. A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step, and it can be one day, or day one. Initiative requires the desire to act. You have the choice and power to create, and I have faith in your ability to make it happen. Have a great day, a better week, and an amazing month!

Byron Bush is the Director of Business Development for Empowered Global Solutions, Inc., a certified Woman Owned Small Business specializing in engineering, IT, environmental, construction, supply chain, safety, finance, and administrative staffing & recruiting. He is also the President & CEO of Bright & Bold Entertainment and B&B Network, LLC – a network of people and businesses who help each other develop business, wealth, and leadership.

Byron serves on the Board for the USCA Inclusion Advisory Board, Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness (CNTA), Aiken Center for the Arts, Treasurer for Education Matters, and a member of Aiken Young Professionals and the Royal Aikenites.

He graduated from South Carolina State University with a Degree in Accounting, played on the SCSU Football and Golf teams, and joined the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Byron was born in Ellicot City, Maryland, raised in Aiken, SC, and he works to make every day a great day.

Byron Bush

Byron Bush is the Director of Business Development for Empowered Global Solutions, Inc., a certified Woman Owned Small Business specializing in engineering, IT, environmental, construction, supply chain, safety, finance, and administrative staffing & recruiting. He is also the President & CEO of Bright & Bold Entertainment and B&B Network, LLC – a network of people and businesses who help each other develop business, wealth, and leadership. Byron serves on the Board for the USCA Inclusion Advisory Board, Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness (CNTA), Aiken Center for the Arts, Treasurer for Education Matters, and a member of Aiken Young Professionals and the Royal Aikenites. He graduated from South Carolina State University with a Degree in Accounting, played on the SCSU Football and Golf teams, and joined the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Byron was born in Ellicot City, Maryland, raised in Aiken, SC, and he works to make every day a great day.

Byron Bush

In the know

Publisher’s Letter

“Home isn’t a place, it’s a feeling.” Cecelia Ahern The theme of this month’s Bella is expansion. You can find my partner’s editorial and perspective on the idea of expanding from Aiken to the surrounding area on page 3. My perspective on all this is different and in many ways opposite. My story and experience is one more of contraction than expansion. In my entire life I have never lived in any one location more than four years. I was born in southern Georgia and raised, for the most part, in central North Carolina. I was an Army brat and then spent 20 years in the Army. I have

Psychological Flexibility in the Age of COVID-19

Knowing what we control and what we don’t is a vital part of self-awareness. It has been nearly 3 months since social distancing policies were implemented for South Carolina, and there has been a huge range of personal reactions to the pandemic and to changes in our lifestyles. Nearly everyone has experienced the consequences of job loss, reduced income, and anxiety about the virus and getting sick or dying, to say nothing of adjusting to much more time spent with our families in much closer proximity. National surveys are reporting increases in stress, anxiety, and relationship difficulties. The novelty and uncertainty of the virus have resulted in differences in how

A Mother’s Day Prayer

On this fine spring morning, Lord, an extra special prayer; It should be said on every morning for mothers everywhere, A prayer that You’ll keep filling them with blessings from above, The blessings being the blessings three of faith and hope and love. The faith in You she passed along to me through every year, The faith I cling to every day through laughter and through tears. The faith she lives in how she lives in every little way, The faith she passes on to everyone she sees each day. In hope she brought me to this world, in hope we live evermore, The hope we hold which places us

Getting a Good’s Night Rest during a Pandemic

Sleep Despite Uncertainty There are few things as necessary to feeling good, but that can be so negatively impacted by daily stressors, as getting a good night of sleep. Sleep problems were already elevated prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, with at least 38% of South Carolinians reporting short sleep duration (<7 hours/night) per the Centers for Disease Control. The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with social isolation and the resulting economic downturn, has resulted in increased anxiety, stress, depression, and sleep problems. It is well known that changes in routines, job uncertainty, financial pressures, and increased interpersonal demands (beginning homeschooling, for example) are important factors in the growing mental health concerns around