Leadership

We all have a struggle to follow advice, but the biggest struggle should not be whether to follow it or not. The biggest struggle should be in determining if the advice is relevant or not.

I think doubt is the “big booger bear” of our lives. Doubt is like the thing that’s under the bed at night. That’s the monster we were scared of when we were kids.

The easiest way to explain the difference is that a principle works every time. A platitude sounds good and they can be funny sometimes. But curiously, one of the most popular quotes in history is this quote about, “People will not always remember what you do, but they’ll always remember how you made them feel.”

I think there is a trick to becoming more productive because I think becoming more productive is a mental game. It’s the difference in a question. Can you be more productive? Will you be more productive? See those are two very different questions.

Wouldn’t you think there are probably 10 different things you can make a case for being the most important leadership quality of them all? As I think about this, I keep going back to servanthood.

There IS a basic skill. Now this is a skill, NOT a talent. The question is, what’s one important SKILL. Sometimes people mistake the two. They think, “what skill do you have?”

Fear is used to keep you from falling off a cliff. If you realize you’re getting more and more fearful as you get closer and closer to this cliff, it should be a clue to you: get away from the cliff.

Believing in yourself is obviously critical – you know that. That’s why you asked the question. But you also have to avoid pride. That can lead to arrogance.

I really believe that we get according to how generously we give. I don’t mean that in the financial way – I’m saying that as our generosity of spirit flows from us, many times we find that coming back two, five, tenfold, from other areas.

Seems like a cynical question, but it’s certainly a question I had at one time in my life. When my parents died and I made some bad moves and ended up living under a pier, I remember asking a version of that question – “Is life, just a lottery ticket?

We’ve talked before about individual cultures – every business has a culture, every family has a culture. And of course, every city has their culture too. Does your city have a culture? Yes, it does.

I think the first thing to point out is that you can only encourage your teenager to be a leader at school with friends. You’re not going to be able to make her me a leader. I point that out because sometimes I hear the question, how do I encourage my child do this?

Well the answer of course is, yes. Setting goals, it is an important process. It is important to put a mark ahead of you, to put a carrot out there to know where you’re going. But everybody knows that setting goals are important.