Making A Difference With People Who Make A Difference
Turning PROby Steven Pressfield (New York: Black Irish Entertainment LLC, 2012)
“The thesis of this book is that what ails you and me has nothing to do with being sick or being wrong. What ails us is that we are living our lives as amateurs. The solution, this book suggests, is that we turn pro.”
Steven Pressfield suggests that Turning Pro is free, but it demands sacrifice. The author suggests that turning pro is not for everyone. He states that we have to be a little crazy to do it or even desire to chase after it. In may ways we do not chose to turn pro – it instead choses us.
What do we get by turning pro? we find our power. We find our will and voice, and we find our self-respect. We become who we always were but had, until now, been afraid to embrace it and to live it out. Do you remember where you were on 9/11? you will remember when you make the choice to turn pro.
The author suggests that many people are working and living in shadow jobs and careers. We do it because we have learned to provide money that in turn pays for the things of life. However, the passion is missing, because this is not who we saw ourselves becoming. We are either living in the past or dreaming of the future, while failing utterly to do the work necessary to progress our life’s purpose in the present.
Something that is boring goes nowhere! It travels in a circle. It never arrives at any destination. The repetitive nature of the shadow life and of addictions is what makes both so tedious. No traction is ever gained. No progress is ever made. We’re stuck in the same endlessly repeating loop of life.
All addictions according to the author have two primary qualities:
They embody repetition without progress.
They produce incapacity as a payoff.
When you fail you are off the hook to perform…”I tried, but…..I am glad that is over so that i can get back to normal!”
This book is a must read if you desire to accept the challenge of taking your life and goals to the next level. join me as we Turn PRO!
When To Lead Is As Important As What to Do and Where To Go. Every time a Leader makes a move, there are really only four outcomes.
1.The Wrong Action At The Wrong Time Leads To Disaster. You will experience negative repercussions every time.
2.The Right Action At The Wrong Time Brings Resistance.
3.The Wrong Action At The Right Time Is A Mistake.
4.The Right Action At The Right Time Results In Success.
Good Leadership timing requires a number of factors:
Understanding – having a grasp of the situation
Maturity – This needs no explanation
Confidence – Be confident in God’s calling and leading in your life for others to follow you with confidence
Experience – Wisdom is a byproduct, you will have a difficult time leading without it
The Law of Explosive Growth
To Add Growth, Lead Followers – To Multiply, Lead Leaders
Becoming a leader who develops leaders requires an entirely different focus and attitude from simply attracting and leading followers. It takes a different mind-set. If you develop yourself, you can experience personal success. If our develop your team, your organization can experience growth. If you develop leaders, your organization can achieve explosive growth.
A Different Focus….
Leaders Who Attract Followers – Need To Be Needed
Leaders Who Develop Leaders – Want To Be Succeeded
Leaders Who Attract Followers – Develop The Bottom 20%
Leaders Who Develop Leaders – Develop The Top 20%
Leaders Who Attract Followers – Focus on Weaknesses
Leaders Who Develop Leaders – Focus on Strengths
Leaders Who Attract Followers – Treat Everyone The Same
Leaders Who Attract Leaders – Treat Individuals Differently
Leaders Who Attract Followers – Spend Time With Others
Leaders Who Attract Leaders – Invest Time With Others
Leaders Who Attract Followers – Grow By Addition
Leaders Who Attract Leaders – Grow By Multiplication
Leaders Who Attract Followers – Impact Only People They Touch
Leaders Who Develop Leaders – Impact People Beyond Their Reach
Leadership development compounds. The more you invest in people, the greater the growth and the higher the return!
The Law of Legacy
A Leaders Lasting Value Is Measured by Succession
What is your life sentence? I have adopted this one; I want to make a difference with people who make a difference! This mantra came into focus as I began to understand that most people do not lead their lives, they simply accept their lives and call it FATE! You have to be intentional in developing your leadership legacy.
Know The Legacy You Want To Leave Behind – Your life is a book. The Title is your name. The Preface is your introduction to the world. The pages are daily journal entries of your activity.
Live The Legacy You Want To Leave – In order to leave something behind, you must first live your legacy
Choose Who Will Carry your Legacy – succession is one of the key responsibilities of leadership(Max Dupree). Great organizations will function well beyond you!
Make Sure You Pass The Baton – any person can make an organization shine for a moment. Leaders who leave a legacy take a different approach. Elton Trueblood stated; “We have made a least a start in discovering the meaning in human life, when we plant shade trees under which we know full well we will never sit.”
LINKS
Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE
Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on Stitcher – SUBSCRIBE
In my previous blog post I wrote about what a World Class Training Camp might like for you. Here’s one way Josh Waitzkin tells us we can go about doing that.
Think about you at your absolute best. And make that your new baseline.
In The Art of Learning, Josh tells us about his quest to be the best Tai Chi Push Hands martial artist in the world. His training videos are inspiring to say the least. He’d film his sparring sessions, reviewing moments when he performed a new move that was better than something he had done before. He’d study it in the finest detail until he figured out how to make that prior best his new baseline — discovering little things like the fact that his opponent was vulnerable at the moment he was blinking.
Think about the most recent film of your life – TODAY! Stop for a moment and journal your thoughts about…
What comes to mind when you think about your daily activity? Journal your thoughts and start here as the new normal of your life. Now you know what to improve!
Why is momentum a leaders best friend? Many times momentum is the only thing that makes the difference between losing and winning. When you have no momentum, even the simplest tasks seem impossible. Small problems look insurmountable. Morale is low. The future appears dark.
On the other hand when you have momentum on your side, the future looks bright, obstacles seem small, and troubles seem inconsequential. Here are seven (7) insights about momentum.
Momentum Is The Great Exaggerator
We see this in the sports world many times. It seems when momentum shows up, every shot is made and every obstacle is conquered. In this sense momentum is like a magnifying glass, it makes things seem larger than they really are.
Momentum Makes Leaders Look Better Than They Are
When leaders have momentum on their side, people think they are geniuses. They look past their shortcomings. They forget the mistakes the leader made. Momentum changes everyone’s perspective of a leader. People like associating with a winner.
Momentum Helps Followers Perform Better Than They Are
Average people can perform far above average in an organization with great momentum. When leadership is strong and there is momentum in an organization, people are motivated and inspired to perform at higher levels.
Momentum Is Easier To Steer Than To Start
If you have ever been water-skiing, you know that it is harder to get up on the water than to steer once you are up on top. Getting started is a struggle, once you are moving you can do some amazing things.
Momentum Begins Inside The Leader
It has been said that you cannot kindle a fire in any other heart until it burns within yours. People do what people see! If you are not sold on the idea, no will follow.
Momentum Is The Most Powerful Change Agent
It takes a leader to create momentum! The story of Steve Jobs buying the computer graphics division from Lucasfilm Ltd and renamed Pixar – well the rest is history.
Momentum Is The Leaders Responsibility
It takes a leader to create momentum. Followers can catch it. Management can use it to their benefit. Everyone reaps the benefits. Creating momentum starts with a visionary leader. If th
The Law of Priorities
Leaders Understand That Activity Is Not Necessarily Accomplishment
Stephen Covey once exclaimed, “A leaders is the one who climbs the tallest tree, surveys the entire situation and yells, ‘Wrong jungle!’” There are times that you must evaluate and re-prioritize the direction of your life. John Maxwell gives us a three step process of evaluation.
What is Required?
The key question is, “What must I do that no one else can do for me?” If we are doing something that is not necessary, then get rid of it. As you get older your list of things that only you can do should be getting shorter.
What Gives The Greatest Return?
People are more productive and more content when their work is within their natural gifting and strengths. Ideally leadership should get out of their comfort zone and stay in their strength zone.
What Brings The Greatest Reward?
Tim Redmond of the Leadership Institute stated “There are many things that catch my eye, but there are only a few things that will catch my heart.” Life is too short to do things that you do not love or enjoy.
The Law of Sacrifice
A Leader Must Give Up To Go Up
He are four key things to understand about the Law of Sacrifice.
There Is No Success Without Sacrifice
Every person who has ever obtained success in life has made great sacrifice. Ralph Waldo Emerson stated, “For everything you have missed, you have gained something else and for everything you have gained, you lose something.” Life is a series of trade-offs, one thing for another.
Leaders Are Often Asked To Give Up More Than Others
The heart of leadership is putting others ahead of yourself. It’s doing what is best for the team. It has been said that becoming a leader, you lose the right to think about yourself.
You Must Keep Giving Up To Stay Up
If leaders must give up to go up, then they have to give up even more to stay up. Sacrifice is an ongoing process, not a one-time payment. Many times we assume that if we win big once, we can duplicate that win over again.
The Higher The Level of Leadership The Greater The Sacrifice
Think about an auction. The higher the bid the fewer the people that are willing to pay. Think about the highest position of leadership in our nation – the Office of President. Have you considered the sacrifice to be in that office?
LINKS
Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE
Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on Stitcher – SUBSCRIBE
What Would Your World Look Like If That Was The Standard?
Do you remember the movie, Searching For Bobby Fisher that featured a young prodigy? Josh Waitzkin was that young kid. He conquered the chess world as a kid, but ran into a major defeat at the world championships years later. It was this loose that taught him the most about loving the game or performing for others. Josh would turn his focus to Tai-Chi and has since become a world class champion in this field. He has written about this learning experience in his best-selling book, “The Art of Learning; An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance.” On his web site he offers personal coaching, one-on-one. He suggests that you need not apply if you are unwilling to step into a world class training camp.
Think about this statement for a moment; World Class Training Camp! What if you decided to step into a world class training camp for yourself? What would it look like? To start with with you need to decide if you only want to become DECENT or GOOD or GREAT or AMONG THE BEST, or THE BEST at what you do! If you only desire to become DECENT at your life, you probably could sit on a couch and eat Cheetos for a month or so after having lost your job. But if you desire to become the Best Version of YOU, then you keep moving forward to a goal of becoming the BEST version of yourself as the Almighty Creator has made you, in spite of your loss. In order to go where God has ordered your steps, you cannot stay where you are, you must leave something behind. What are you willing to stop doing in order to start your World Champion Training Camp?
Leadership Axiom: Know thyself in order to grow thyself. Self-awareness is a key step forward into your world class training. Executive Coaching is essential in this journey.
This book is filled with awesome quotes. Here is a sample of gems:
There is a lot more to leadership than great individual work.
You can lead with or without a title. If you wait until you get a title, you could wait forever.
If you don’t demonstrate leadership character, your skills and your results will be discounted, if not dismissed.
The servant leader constantly works to help others win.
Leadership character, like other character traits, once established, is hard to hide.
This is only a sampling of awesome content. The heart of the book is about leadership character. there are three insights into this fact.
Without leadership character, no one cares about your skills.
There are five core traits that describe leadership character.
H unger for Wisdom
E xpect the Best
A ccept Responsibility
R espond with Courage
T hink Others First
Leadership character can be formed and transformed.
About the Author
Mark Miller began writing about a decade ago when he teamed up with Ken Blanchard on The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do. Since then, his books have sold almost 600,000 copies worldwide. Miller encourages leaders through his posts on GreatLeadersServe.org. It’s rated as one of the top leadership blogs in the world and has garnered almost 2 million page views since its inception less than two years ago. Miller also sells chicken. He started his Chick-fil-A career working as an hourly team member back in 1977. He joined the corporate staff in 1978, working in the warehouse and mailroom. Today he serves as the vice president for organizational effectiveness.
Miller also sells chicken. He started his Chick-fil-A career working as an hourly team member back in 1977. He joined the corporate staff in 1978, working in the warehouse and mailroom. Today he serves as the vice president for organizational effectiveness.
The Leaders effective modeling of the vision makes the picture come alive! The mission provides the purpose, the vision provides the picture, and the strategy provides the plan. Author Hans Finzel stated, “Leaders are paid to be dreamers. The higher you go in leadership, the more your work is about the future.
If you desire to be the best leader that you can become, you cannot ignore the Law of The Picture. As you strive for mastery remember these four insights.
Followers Are Always Watching What You Do
Followers may doubt what their leaders says, but they usually believe what they do. General Colin Powell observed, that you can issue all of the memos and give all of the motivational speeches you want, but until people see you put forth your best, they will not either.
It’s Easier To Teach What’s Right Than Do What’s Right
Mark Twain stated to do what is right is wonderful. To teach what is right is even more wonderful and much easier. Norman Vincent Peale stated, “nothing is more confusing that people who give good advise but set a bad example.” In other words Leaders tell but never teach until they practice what they preach.
We Should Work on Changing Ourselves Before Trying To Improve Others
As leaders the first person that I need to lead is myself. The first person I should try to change is myself. My standards of excellence should be higher for myself than those I set for others. To remain a credible leader I must work first, hardest, and longest on changing myself.
The Most Valuable Gift That A Leader Can Give Is Being A Good Example
The number one characteristic quality most admired in leaders is that they lead by example. Following behind this quality by 7% is a leaders ethics and morals, followed by 9% is a leaders business knowledge. Do you get the idea that leaders lead first.
The Law of Buy-In
People Buy Into The Leader, Then The Vision
The leader finds a dream then the people. The people find a leader then the vision. The truth of the matter is that people follow worthy causes and then follow leaders who promote those worthy causes. Consider the following:
LEADER + VISION = RESULTS
Don’t Buy In Don’t Buy In Get Another Leader
Don’t Buy In Buy In Get Another Leader
Buy In Don’t Buy In Get Another Vision
Buy In Buy In Get Behind The Leader
As leaders your success is measured by your ability to actually take people where they need to go. But you can only do that if people buy into you first.
The Law of Victory
Leaders Find A Way For The Team To Win
Victorious leaders possess an unwillingness to accept defeat. The alternative to winning is totally unacceptable to them.
Winston Churchill once declared; “What is our aim? I can answer in one word: VICTORY! – victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival.” There are three components of Victory.
UNITY OF VISION
Teams succeed only when the players have a unified vision, no matter how much talent or potential there is.
DIVERSITY OF SKILLS
A Team does not win a championship if its players are working from different agendas. No Business succeeds with just sales without accountants, or non-profits succeeding as fund-raisers without visionary purpose. Diverse talent is needed to succeed. The difference maker is that we are pulling in the same visionary pathway.
A LEADER DEDICATED TO VICTORY
Lou Holtz stated, “You have got to have great athletes to win. I don’t care who the coach is. You can’t win without good athletes, but you can lose with them. This is where coaching makes the difference.” In other words you always must have good leadership insure victory!
LINKS
Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE
Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on Stitcher – SUBSCRIBE
In his famous March 2017 book release, Irresistible, The Rise of Addictive Technology and The Business of Keeping you Hooked, author Adam Altar mentions a line from an addictive recovery therapist. “Once your brain is pickled, it can never go back to being a cucumber.” In other words you cannot unpickle a pickle!
WOW! This is a powerful illustration that Altar’s uses to discuss the power of technology and its effect upon our daily lives. Neuro-scientist are stating they simply do not know the long term impacts upon humans. There are a number of studies that have begun on adolescents and are following them through their twenties. What is obvious to researchers is our social behaviors and interactions have definitely changed and in many cases are pickled! The famous news program, 60 Minutes, did a feature on “Brain Hacking” that is a great segway into this discussion.
Adam Altar’s reports that New York Times journalist Nick Bilton reports Steve Jobs as saying in 2010 that his children had never used an iPad. Jobs reported that we limit our children’s use of technology in our home. Bilton further discusses other Tech Giants such as Chris Anderson former editor of Wired stated that he limits his children’s use of technology in the home admitting to Bilton, “…because we have seen the dangers of technology first-hand.” Evan Williams, a founder of Blogger, Twitter, and Medium has bought hundreds of books for his two sons, but has refused to give them an iPad. Bilton would go on to write in his article, it seemed as if the people producing tech products were following the cardinal rule of drug dealing: never get high on your own supply!
We all have addictions on some level. The science is compelling, our brain fundamentally changes by means of repeated stimuli – before your realize it, you brain becomes pickled in that area. You cannot unpickle a pickle!
You may ask the question, “So what is the answer?” I would suggest a simple starting point of imposing a DIGITAL SUNRISE and SUNSET! Do not touch you digital technology until a specific time to start your day. Turn off your use of it at a designated time in the evening! Before you send hate mail, I am not discussing emergency calls. That said, ask yourself one question, “How do likes, streaks, and tweets make my life better?” You decide! What does this mean for the faith community in attempting to communicate an ancient eternal message in a tech world? That is a blog post for another day.
You cannot move people to action unless you first move them with emotion. The heart comes before the head. The stronger the relationship and connection between individuals, the more likely the follower will want to help the leader. As a leader you develop credibility with people when you connect wit them and show that you genuinely care and want to help them. Here are eight guidelines in effectively connecting with people.
1.Connect With Yourself – You must know who you are and have confidence in yourself if you desire to connect with others
2.Communicate With Openness and Sincerity – Legendary NFL coach Bill Walsh observed, “Nothing is more effective than sincere, accurate praise and nothing is more lame than a cookie-cutter compliment.”
3.Know Your Audience – When working with individuals, knowing your audience leans learning their names, know their history, and know their hopes and dreams.
4.Live Your Message – The most important thing that you can do as a leader is to live out the message that you speak. This is where credibility comes from.
5.Go To Where They Are – Get out from behind the desk as often as you can and connect with people without a barrier between you and your audience.
6.Focus On Others, Not Yourself – Focusing on others instead of yourself is the number #1 problem of inexperienced leaders.
7.Believe In Others – It is one thing to communicate with others because you believe you have something to say. It is another matter to communicate with people because you believe they have value.
8.Offer Direction and Hope – People simply expect leaders to help them get to where they want to go.
The Law of The Inner Circle
A Leader’s Potential Is Determined by Those Closest to Him
Perhaps Mother Teresa said it best, “You can do what I cannot do and I can do what you cannot do. Together we can do great things.” Who are you attracting to your inner circle? Here are five insights on selecting inner circle members.
1.Do They They Have High Influence With Others? You want someone on your team that will have the ability to influence other people
2.Do They Bring A Complimentary Gift To The Table? Bring people into your inner circle that compliment your weaknesses.
3.Do They Hold A Strategic Position Within The Organization? Some people belong in your inner circle because of their strategic importance. These people do for you what would otherwise take twice as long for you to do. You become the Lid in your organization without them.
4.Do They Add Value To Me and The Organization? Previously we discussed the Law of Addition and how people either add, subtract, multiply or divide. The people in your inner circle must be multipliers. They should have a proven track record as an asset to the organization.
5.So They Positively Impact Other Inner Circle Members? Obviously you desire a good fit. But most of all you want your inner members to make each other better.
The Law of Empowerment
Only Secure Leaders Give Power To Others
Theodore Roosevelt once stated, “The best executive is the one who has the sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”
Leading well is not about enriching yourself – it is about empowering others! Only empowered people can reach their potential. When a leader can’t or want empower others, he is creating a barrier. Here are three significant barriers.
The Fear of Losing What We Have – We foolishly say at times, what if I work myself out of a job? The opposite is more true – if you keep raising up leaders and empowering them, you will develop a pattern of achievement.
Resistance To Change – John Steinbeck once wrote, “It is the nature of a man as he grows older to protest against change, particularly change for the better.”
Lack of Self Worth – Self-conscious people are rarely good leaders because they focus on themselves and what others think.
Admiral Stockdale declared, “Leadership must be based on goodwill….It means obvious and wholehearted commitment to helping others….What we need for leaders are individuals of heart who are so helpful they do away with the need of a job. Leaders like this are never without a job and never out of followers. Leaders gain authority by giving it away!
LINKS
Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE
Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on Stitcher – SUBSCRIBE
Matt McCall, a successful Venture Capitalist suggests an interesting success formula. Here it is:
ONE THING
80 = 80%
80 x 80 = 64%
80 x 80 x 80 = 50+%
If you’re going after one thing, you have, roughly an 80% chance of success.
Try to do two things and you have an 80% x 80% likelihood of success. A 64% chance of success
Add a THIRD thing to the mix and your success math is 80% x 80% x 80%. Just over 50%.
Gary Keller, in his book, The ONE Thing: The Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results, says the same thing slightly different. He states that, “Going small is ignoring all of the things that you could do and doing what you should do. It is recognizing that not all things matter equally and finding the things that matter the most. It is a tighter way of connecting what you do with what you want. It is recognizing that extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you can make your focus.” In other words the way to get the most out of your work and life is to go as small as possible.
Most people think the opposite, believing that bigger is better. In Indiana the mantra is “Go Big or Go Home!” Perhaps Hoosiers need to step back and re-learn some life lessons. In thinking that bigger is better we end up with crowded To-DO-LISTS, quickly becoming over-worked and over-loaded. We remain clueless that big success actually means going smaller. Over time expectations are lowered and we aim for less which in turn increases the probability of abandoning our dream all together.
If you desire that your achievements should add up, then you must start subtracting things out of your life! When you go as small as possible, you will be starting at one thing – that is the point! Here are some questions that demand answers:
How do I want to spend my days?
What should my One Thing be?
Why do I want my One Thing?
How will I achieve my One Thing?
Do I possess the will to win?
Do I give up to soon?
Can I adapt and shift in today’s time?
Can I change bad habits?
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