20 Things I’m Glad Life Taught Me
March 13, 2008
How many times have you heard someone say, “Hindsight is always 20/20″? If you are like me, you hear it a lot and think it a lot more. Last year Jay wrote an article listing things he wished he’d known earlier. It got me thinking that the most crucial lessons in life and success aren’t taught in books or written on blogs, but they are found by living life itself.
Sure, there may be nuggets of wisdom that we pick up from Dumb Little Man, Zen Habits, or Life Remix, but it is up to us individually to act upon them and learn the lessons. If it takes a failure for us to learn something important, so be it.
Here are 20 things that I personally came to understand and believe in. Your 20 could be totally different. Perhaps you only have 5, it doesn’t matter. The key is that you learn from your life, your failures and your successes. Neglect any one of those and you are taking a rocky road to learning and personal development.
1. You must create and look for opportunities: Opportunities rarely ever come knocking on the door of someone who’s not seeking them. You have to create and seek opportunities for yourself. You have to take the initiative to get the ball rolling and the doors opening.
2. Negativity will only bring more of it: When you focus only on negativity, obviously that’s all you will see. You will not seek out positivity, and even when positivity comes into your life, you’ll look for the negative part of it.
3. Where you are does not determine where you can go: It doesn’t matter if you’re homeless or living in a mansion, poor or rich, or if you have a 4.0 grade point average or “failing”, it won’t make any difference in the future. There are countless rags to riches stories to back this point up. If you have the drive and talents, you can go anywhere. You create your own limitations and horizon.
4. If you can’t help others, you can’t help yourself: Even if it’s just to hold the door for someone or some other simple gesture, it will do wonders for your life. You’ll feel great and you’ll eventually be returned the favor sometime during your life, whether you realize it or not. If you don’t want to help others, then others won’t want to help you, and nor should they.
5. Follow your passion, money will follow: If you have passion and have fun doing your job, then I wouldn’t consider it a job. You can focus on creating even more passion for that subject and money will eventually follow you. If you focus only on the money, it won’t come because you’re focused on the quantity of your work and not the quality.
6. Enjoy yourself: Have fun as much as possible, don’t take everything so seriously. Push your worries aside and bring enjoyment closer.
7. If it were easy everyone would do it: This is why get rich quick schemes will never be true. If it was so quick and easy then everyone would be millionaires. Making money and accomplishing tasks is hard work, but well worth it.
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Strategic Storytelling - A Leadership Development Tool
October 30, 2007
As the waiters cleared the dessert plates from the banquet tables, Joanne, the VP of Sales, stepped to the podium and began the annual meeting. The CEO, Jeff Carlson, could feel the heat building under his collar. He wiped his sweaty palms on the linen napkin and took another sip of water to wet his cottonmouth lips.
Joanne welcomed everyone with charm and candor. She got a few laughs with a short story about the Region Three delivery truck that was impounded for parking illegally. Then came the moment when she introduced Jeff.
As he moved toward the podium, he felt time stand still. The room was dark except for the spotlight, which felt to Jeff like a heat lamp beaming on his face. He glanced down at his notes, made a funny comment about the driver of the truck, and then, with hands shaking almost uncontrollably, launched into his speech.
Afterward, as his mental acuity returned to normal, he asked his wife how he did. He really didn’t know. It was as if he wasn’t there during the speech, at least not as the confident and secure CEO that he knew himself to be.
Jeff knew instinctively that something was missing when he spoke in front of a group. After observing the confidence and poise of the guest speaker that followed him, he finally put a name to it: his power. In every other aspect of his life, he was a confident and powerful man. But when he stepped in front of a room full of people to speak, he lost connection to that power.
Does that happen to you? Do you feel the same level of confidence and power while giving a speech as you do while running your company or department? If not, it’s time to learn an important skill that will make sure you retain your power on the platform: strategic storytelling.
Storytelling is a powerful leadership tool. It puts you in touch with your authentic power so you can motivate and inspire your audience. Professional speakers have learned how to turn storytelling into an art form. They know they can both connect with their audience and deliver vital messages using the power of storytelling.
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Why do Some People Consistently Inspire Others to Follow Their Lead?
September 22, 2007
John C. Maxwell is world renowned for his knowledge of leadership, and his book, The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader (published by Thomas Nelson, 1999), is clearly the place to get started. But first, let’s start with a simple question: Why do some people consistently inspire others to follow their lead? According to John C. Maxwell, it is the “character qualities” they possess. In The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, he identifies these top traits and then defines them in ways that readers can absorb and utilize. View PDF excerpt
Each character trait is covered in a separate chapter and contains relevant quotes and anecdotes, details on its meaning, suggestions for further reflection, and exercises for improvement. In essence, John provides a mini-course in each quality. So what are the 21 indispensable qualities? They are listed below:
1. CHARACTER: Be a Piece of the Rock
2. CHARISMA: The First Impression Can Seal the Deal.
3. COMMITMENT: It Separates Doers from Dreamers.
4. COMMUNICATION: Without It You Travel Alone.
5. COMPETENCE: If You Build It, They Will Come.
6. COURAGE: One Person with Courage Is a Majority.
7. DISCERNMENT: Put an End to Unsolved Mysteries.
8. FOCUS: The Sharper It Is, the Sharper You Are.
9. GENEROSITY: Your Candle Loses Nothing When It Lights Another.
10. INITIATIVE: You Won’t Leave Home Without It.
11. LISTENING: To Connect with Their Hearts, Use Your Ears.
12. PASSION: Take This Life and Love It.
13. POSITIVE ATTITUDE: If You Believe You Can, You Can.
14. PROBLEM SOLVING: You Can’t Let Your Problems Be a Problem.
15. RELATIONSHIPS: If You Get Along, They’ll Go Along.
16. RESPONSIBILITY: If You Won’t Carry the Ball, You Can’t Lead the Team.
17. SECURITY: Competence Never Compensates for Insecurity.
18. SELF-DISCIPLINE: The First Person You Lead Is You.
19. SERVANTHOOD: To Get Ahead, Put Others First.
20. TEACHABILITY: To Keep Leading, Keep Learning.
21. VISION: You Can Seize Only What You Can.
Printed with permission of Dr. John C Maxwell
5 Leaders Who Inspire Everyone
August 15, 2007
Great leaders inspire. They inspire everyone in their personal and professional lives, including customers, colleagues and employees. Here are five men who stand apart, and what we can learn from each of them.
Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group
Richard Branson turned a small student magazine into one of the largest and most diverse conglomerates in the world. His Virgin empire now extends to airplanes, soft drinks, music, mobile phones, and more (some 350 companies in all!). After launching his magazine, Branson started a small record mail-order business and opened a music shop in London. His record label, Virgin Records, signed an artist who would become a bestselling hit maker at the time, Mike Oldfield. Virgin also introduced the Sex Pistols and Culture Club to the world.
Branson went on to launch Virgin Atlantic Airways and Virgin Mobile, as well as many other businesses. But he’s best known for the outlandish lengths he’ll go to for self-promotion (for instance, dressing up in a wedding dress for the launch of Virgin Brides) and as an adventurer. He has made several attempts at flying a hot air balloon around the world and now has plans to take citizens into space.
Whether you’re flying, drinking or being entertained, Virgin’s got you covered. Branson is one of the world’s most inspiring entrepreneurs because, as Inc. Magazine once wrote, “He’s game for anything… in fact, everything.” Branson’s motto is to have fun. If a particular business enterprise doesn’t bring him enjoyment, he’s out of it. But it’s more than his fun, gregarious personality that inspires those around him.
Branson is well known for encouraging fresh ideas. He even keeps a notebook in his pocket to write them down in case he’s away from his office — which he usually is. Branson is always interested in learning new things and he encourages others to do the same.
Quote: “A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Before Arnold “The Governator” Schwarzenegger won the hearts of voters in the 2004 gubernatorial election in California, few could have predicted that the former six-time Mr. Olympia and action movie star would end up running the fifth largest economy in the world. Except for Arnold.
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