Author Archives

Garry Brackett

BA - Fort Wayne Bible College
MAR - Trinity Evangelical Divinity
D.Min - Grace Theological Seminary
Birkman Certified Coach
John Maxwell Certified Team Member
Myers/Briggs Certified
FIRO-B Certified
TKI Certified
25 Years Executive Coaching

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What Is Your Dream?

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Here is my definition of a dream that can be put to the test and pass: a dream is an inspiring picture of the future that energizes your mind, will, and emotions, empowering you to do everything you can to achieve it. A genuine dream is a picture and blueprint of a person’s PURPOSE and POTENTIAL!

Some have been discouraged from dreaming by others. Have you ever met someone like that? They usually say they want to keep you grounded in reality. We are thankful the Wrights Brothers did not listen to such advise.

Some people are hindered by past disappointments and hurts. There are events in life that can crush us and wound us deeply. We must rise above the hurts. Disappointment is the gap between expectation and reality.

Some people get into the habit of settling for average. Columnist Maureen Dowd says, “The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.”

“The poorest of all men is not the one without a nickel to his name. He is the fellow without a dream…[He is like] a great ship made for the mighty ocean but trying to navigate in a millpond. Kenneth Hildebrand.

Some people lack the confidence needed to pursue their dreams. Erma Bombeck once stated that it takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else.

Do you feel that you have a dream worth pursuing? So what do you do next? I want to share 10 questions that we are going to explore in the coming weeks that will assist you in the discovery of your dreams.

10 Crucial Questions

  • Ownership – Is my dream really my dream?
  • Clarity – Do I see my dream clearly?
  • Reality – Am I depending on circumstances within my control to achieve my dream?
  • Passion – Does my dream compel me to chase hard after it?
  • Pathway – Do I have a strategy to reach my dream?
  • People – Do I connect with the right people I need to realize my dream?
  • Cost – Am I willing to pay the cost for my dream?
  • Tenacity – Am I moving closer to my dream?
  • Fulfillment – Does working on my dream bring satisfaction?
  • Significance – Does my dream benefit others?

LINKS

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on Stitcher – SUBSCRIBE

FREE GIFT – “The Art of Balancing Candor With Care” – Click on the icon at the bottom of the page

Executive Coaching Service– Private message me for details on this customizable service

Music: “8th Anniversary by Diamond Ortiz



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Leadership Lid

Invest in yourself – you are worth it!

Success is within reach of every person! While every person cannot receive a 10 rating on a scale of 1-10, most people are capable of achieving some level of success in their lives. Everyone will confront a “LID” in their leadership ability. The higher the leadership ability, the greater your potential. The lower your ability the lower your impact will be.

For illustration purposes, let’s say that your leadership ability is a “6” out of 10. That is pretty good! But like most people you want to grow your ability to a higher level. You have 2 choices; You can focus all of your energy on increasing your personal effectiveness. You work harder and longer. With all of the dedication you can invest, you might grow some. Eventually what will happen is that you fill your life and schedule up with personal growth and you exhaust yourself. A more effective and fulfilling use of your time and energy would be to focus on growing as a leader.

When you raise your leadership ability, you increase your success potential a great deal. When you raise the lid your influence will grow as a result. More people will follow and want to work with you to achieve a goal.

More people devoted to the vision, the more time and energy devoted to its success. The more people you lead the more positive influence you have on them, the more you will achieve.

Leadership ability is a lid to any organization’s effectiveness. If an organization’s leadership is strong then its lid is high. If not, the organization is limited. This why in difficult days and economies, people look for strong leaders! When a sports team is losing, they look for a new coach. When companies lose money, they look for a new CEO. When church’s struggle, they will look for a new pastor.

The more that you want to achieve, the more you need leadership. The greater the impact that you want to make, the greater your influence must become. Whatever you will accomplish is always restricted by your ability to lead people. If you will exercise growth as a leader you will multiply your –  and your organizations – success. Leadership ability determines a person’s level of success. This is the Law of the Lid!

CASE STUDY: Aaron and Moses Exodus 32:1-25 – The Bible

Study Questions

  • At the beginning of this story, who had the greater influence on the other; Aaron of the people? EXPLAIN.
  • What does this say about Aaron’s leadership? How did he handle his responsibilities? For what purpose did he use his influence?
  • How did Moses influence God in this passage? What did he say, and what was the outcome?
  • Describe Moses’ responsibilities as a leader related to…..
    • God
    • Aaron
    • Joshua
    • The People
  • For what purpose did he use his influence? How successful was he? What was the outcome?
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How To Motivate People

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I am going to give you 13 insights on how to motivate people in this Podcast. Get your note page ready and let’s dive into this content.

How To Motivate Other People

Appreciate the power of motivation

  • We do not lose weight because of a lack of knowledge, rather a lack of motivation.
  • Motivation helps you helps you to know what to do, what habits to break and how to excel.

Belief in your team

  • Believe in the vision
  • Believe in the cause
  • Believe in your team members

Give a person a reputation to uphold

  • Talk up an image they must uphold
  • Give them a reputation based upon their strengths

What gets done gets rewarded

  • Follow the 4 to 1 principle – 4 positive strokes to every single negative

Hold more celebrations

  • Ken Blanchard stated that people do better when they feel better about themselves.

Encourage participation

  • Give people a chance to create – they will own it when you do

Set high standards

  • The real issue is that we will not aim at high standards and miss, rather we will aim a low standards and hit them

Know motivational moments

Communicate effectively

  • What do they sing about, cry about, dream about?

Reinforce motivational versus hype

  • Habits change your life
  • Hype excites in the moment

LINKS

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on Stitcher – SUBSCRIBE

FREE GIFT – “The Art of Balancing Candor With Care” – Click on the icon at the bottom of the page

Executive Coaching Service– Private message me for details on this customizable service

Music: “8th Anniversary by Diamond Ortiz

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The Sorites Paradox

Small Habits Make A Big Difference

There is an ancient Greek parable known as the Sorites Paradox, which talks about the effect of one small action can have when repeated enough times. Can one tiny change transform your life? If you constantly repeat micro-habits daily, you will come to see that tiny changes can make a big difference. The idea we miss is that small habits do not just add up, they compound!

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The Power of Motivation

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What motivates you to become a great leader?

  • Books are at the top of the list for me – they motivate me.
  • Pictures are inspiring and motivating.
  • Podcasts.
  • Music is inspirational.
  • Seminars and various learning experiences are motivating.
  • Places and spaces can motivate.

Average leaders direct people!

Good Leaders Direct and explain to and for people

Great leaders Direct, Explain,Inspire, and Demonstrate for people.

The Leader who motivates other is self-motivated

  • Motivational leaders do not lack motivation. They are self starters.
  • Your motivation gives you credibility to motivate others.

The Leader who motivates should motivate others with the right motives

  • Manipulation is moving people for personal advantage. Motivation moves people for mutual advantage.
  • Do I motivate only people who can help me?
  • Do I motivate only people when I am in a leadership assignment?
  • Do I motivate others by using leverage or guilt?
  • Do I unconditionally love others if they do not respond to my leadership?
  • Motivate people out of their comfort zone but never out of their gift zone. You frustrate people when you do that.

A Leader who motivates creates a motivational environment

  • In the book Coaching For Improved Work Performance, lists 5 reasons that people do not perform the way they should.
    • They do not know what they are supposed to do – A mission issue.
    • They do not know how to do it – A training issue.
    • They do not know why they should do it – A soul issue.
    • There are obstacles beyond their control – A leadership issue.
    • They do not care enough to do excellent work – An attitude issue.

LINKS

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on Stitcher – SUBSCRIBE

FREE GIFT – “The Art of Balancing Candor With Care” – Click on the icon at the bottom of the page

Executive Coaching Service– Private message me for details on this customizable service

Music: “8th Anniversary by Diamond Ortiz

Intentional Living Mastermind Learning Group – ACCESS CODE: Intentional2019


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4 Laws of Behavior

We have started out our year by looking at the power of consistent tiny habits that compound over time. In this blog lets study the 4 Laws of Behavior. Here they are…..

  • CUE
    • CREATE GOOD HABITS –Make it obvious
    • BREAK BAD HABITS –Make it invisible
  • CRAVING
    • CREATE GOOD HABITS –Make it attractive
    • BREAK BAD HABITS –Make it unattractive
  • RESPONSE
    • CREATE GOOD HABITS – Make it easy
    • BREAK BAD HABITS –Make it difficult
  • REWARD
    • CREATE GOOD HABITS –Make it satisfying
    • BREAK BAD HABITS – Make it unsatisfying

Keep in mind with this simple chart that what gets immediately rewarded is repeated. What is immediately punished is avoided. The key is to think super-tiny baby step actions. Excellence is the fascination of doing the same thing over and over again. It is OK to fall in love with boredom!


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Rule of Five

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John Maxwell teaches the Law of The Lid in his 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. This laws states that you cannot lead beyond your current capacity. If you are currently a 4 and yet desire 6’s – you must grow yourself to be become a 7. This reinforces the leadership maxim that “Everything rises and falls on Leadership!” Understand this maxim is not 80%-90% of the time. It is 100% of the time.

The Daily Five suggests that if you had a tree to chop down and you take an axe and swing it fives times daily at the trunk, that tree will fall eventually. What is the tree in your life that you desire to conquer? What is your dream in life? Where is your axe? What tools are you using? Use them daily for success!

First, Lead Yourself

  • Before you can lead others, you must lead yourself. If you would not follow you, why would others follow you?
  • Mahatma Gandhi stated that we should be the change we desire to see in others. People do what people see.
  • The Law of Magnetism suggests that we attract who we are not what we want. We teach what we know, but we reproduce who we are.

Second, Add Value To People

  • Zig Ziglar stated that if you help people achieve their goals, they will help you obtain your goals.
  • When I stop valuing people, I risk manipulating people.
  • Start by making yourself more valuable today so that you add value tomorrow.

Third Study Leadership Daily

  • Thankfully we are living in an era in which we have access to some of the best leadership thinking in the world by means of digital technology.
  • Learn from deep thinkers not just what is trendy. Deep thinkers help you build a solid foundation that endures. Trendy thinking is like a sugar high!
  • Visit Presidential Libraries. David Gergen’s book Eyewitness To Power gives insights to four Presidents leadership.
  • Leaders do not grow in a day rather, they grow daily. What is your growth plan? If you cannot articulate it on paper, your are probably day-dreaming.

Fourth Practice Leadership Daily

  • What are you doing to train others in the craft of leading?
  • Do not waste your time on individuals that will not practice the disciplines of leadership.
  • Practicing leadership gives you confidence in your leadership abilities. It helps you to have a mastery of the issues.

Fifth Intentionally Grow Daily

  • Put yourself in a place where others are better than you are.
  • Put yourself in a place where you are challenged for growth.
  • Your focus should be forward. Your attitude should be affirming.
  • Wake up excited to do something significant.
  • Get into a place where failure is affirming.

LINKS

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on Stitcher – SUBSCRIBE

FREE GIFT – “The Art of Balancing Candor With Care” – Click on the icon at the bottom of the page

Executive Coaching Service– Private message me for details on this customizable service

Music: “8th Anniversary by Diamond Ortiz

Intentional Living Mastermind Learning Group – ACCESS CODE: Intentional2019


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Identity

We have started out this New Year with a discussion around James Clear’s new book Atomic Habits. I want to take another look at a key point from this book about our identity. He suggests that identity change is the North Star of habit change. He goes on to write the first step is not what or how, but WHO! You and I must settle the thought of who you want to be. Without answering this question you will most likely wander aimlessly through life.

What is your answer to this question? Great Husband/Wife/Mother/Father/Productive? Keep this in mind when answering this question; The more that you repeat a behavior the more you will reinforce the identity associated with that behavior.

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Leadership Culture – Live Intentional

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As we begin a New Year – New You dialogue, we are examining what it means to have the right Culture for your team. Culture is a visualization of what we value as a team, so people can see what you personally value. There is no confusion – absolute clarity is achieved.There is a crucial question that must be asked; “Why do you want to be a leader?” There truly is only one answer – Add value to people! What? Did you really think it is about the perks and privileges? This New Year – New You dialogue is about re-examining the true essence of being a leader.

Most people do not lead their lives, they simply accept their lives and call it fate! Many people never come to terms with the correlation of personal action and results. To them there is always this mystical force that I cannot know or control that keeps me from being my optimal best.

It is time in this New Year – New You dialogue to stop accepting your life and start leading your life. Here are 4 insights to consider if you are serious about intentionally leading your life.

There is nothing in your life that is beautiful, lasting, and worthwhile that is easy.

  • Our digital age has distorted reality. We believe that everything significant is instant.
  • Relationships are one inch deep and one mile wide. Lasting relationships take more than Likes, Shares, and Tweets.
  • Life is worthwhile when…
    • You Learn
    • You Try
    • You Stay – do not quit!
    • Care
  • Digital Technology doesn’t replace the human element – HU

Achievements are not accidental.

  • Many people have uphill dreams and downhill habits.
  • You cannot coast uphill.
  • Achievement is not always success, while reputed failure often is. It is honest endeavor, persistent effort to do the best possible under any and all circumstances. Orison Swett Marden

Willful Choices.

  • Consistency compounds! No one ever rewarded consistency for one weeks effort.
  • Stephen King, one of the great authors of our time was asked, How do you stay inspired to create? He responded by saying that creativity fortunately shows up for me every morning at 7:00am. Stephen King writes an average of 2,000 words per day. Willful choices!
  • Consistency doing the right things over the course of life compounds into significant legacy’s.

Become the author of your life.

  • Stop reading your life and start writing your life.
  • Is your life a page-turner? A yawner? A cliched story you’re tired of repeating? Every life is a story. The story of your life doesn’t have to read like a bad novel, filled with guilt, anger, and hopelessness that limit your understanding of the past and close off possibilities for the future. Even ordinary lives have the elements of great literature, and we can revise trite or destructive story lines to craft a new narrative of courage, fulfillment, and imagination.(See the book, The Story of Your Life, by Mandy Aftel).

LINKS

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on Stitcher – SUBSCRIBE

FREE GIFT – “The Art of Balancing Candor With Care” – Click on the icon at the bottom of the page

Executive Coaching Service– Private message me for details on this customizable service

Music: “Canal 3” by Quinicas Mooreira

Intentional Living Mastermind Learning Group


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Latent Potential

James Clear’s new book, Atomic Habits, suggests that mastery requires patience. The San Antonio Spurs has a quote in their locker room from Jacob Riis that reads; “When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it – but all that had gone before.”

In our last blog article I discussed the power of tiny habit that bring big results. The problem is that it takes time for little things to add up to those BIG moments that we all seek. The gap between our effort and the results is called Latent Potential. This is the hallmark of any compounding process. The most powerful outcomes are delayed!

Our digital world has conditioned us to seek instant gratification on almost everything in life. When we do not achieve it, we are led to believe that something is wrong with the method and we need a new method. The outcome almost never leads to the goals we desire. Have you ever given up on latent potential before you get to see the true value of what you were building?
The purpose of setting goals is to win the game. The purpose of building systems is to continue playing the game. True long-term thinking is goal-less thinking. It is not about a single accomplishment. It is about the cycle of endless refinement to continuous improvement. Ultimately, it is your commitment to the process that will determine your progress.