Who's life are you NOT saving?

Recently on my drive to an early-morning appointment, I plugged in my favorite song from Mumsford & Sons,  Little Lion Man.  It's amazing what a well versed lyric and uplifting melody does to the psyche. Better than a double-shot of espresso!  

Then an awful thought occurred to me, followed by intense emotion.

What if all the songs that inspire and uplift me had never been written?  

There are so many  small things that make such a great big difference in our lives. A song  that energizes us, a word that uplifts us, a story from that book that tugged our heartstrings ––what if the collection of these small things makes the difference between joy and depression–– the degree of difference that gives special meaning to our lives?

That thought led to another idea... what if the people that wrote the songs, told the stories, or shared the words of encouragement had never done so?  What if each one of them surrendered to the critical voices that are all too common,  

"You're just not good enough.  You'll never be good enough.  Just quit."

Too many people give in to the fear and criticism inside them.  I've been there myself...  I still remember times when I've been so hard on myself that I refused to follow my passions and dreams, believing that the world was better off without me even trying... but those thoughts are lies.  Have courage.  Have Faith.

You make a difference.
The stories that you tell others about overcoming adversity, inspire others to overcome their own weaknesses...

Even if it's just sharing about someone else’s victory, stories of overcoming can directly or indirectly have a profound impact on hundreds or even thousands of lives around you!

Many of the moments that have impacted my life greatly are a result of such stories.  My friend, and business owner, Frances is a great example.  Her story of how she became a millionaire–– before she had even more than $100 dollars to her name–– is an inspiration to me. 

"I became a millionaire the day when my father-in-law said to me that I would never amount to anything but a coffee-shop girl.  No one had ever treated me like that.  I was so angry, I got in his face and told him that from that day on, I didn't serve coffee... people would serve coffee to me.  That month I started knocking on people's doors to sell their houses for $1,000 dollars.  I sold ten houses and nobody could tell me I was the coffee-shop girl anymore."

What about the stories that you don’t tell?  

What about the excellence that you resist pursuing because of your self image and fear?  What if your story is that one degree of difference that someone down the line was waiting for to make a change for the better?

You have a responsibility to your fellow man. A responsibility to overcome your obstacles to become an inspiration to others.

Don't underestimate yourself. Be bold.

Realize, that you have the potential to impact people's lives in a profound ripple effect with every positive actions and every act of courage, love, or compassion that you have ever shared in your life. 

You may have become the story or memory in someone's mind that makes them one degree better.

That one degree better is compounded over time into millions of positive interactions… but then… 

...so have the negative thoughts that you have had about yourself or shared with others.  

Those vibrations have also been broadcast into our world.

This is why self pity is a waste, and destructive. When you hold yourself back from overcoming, when you hold yourself back from creating–– and inspiring others to create!

When you hold yourself back from doing the thing that you were designed to do, (your calling, your destiny)  you are stealing from the world the gift that is your life. In your selfish self pity, you are denying the world the one degree of better that makes a difference.  

Who’s life could you be saving, simply by pursuing excellence in all your dealings… in overcoming your adversity… and in becoming the you that you were destined to be?  

I know it’s hard…  but who said it was supposed to be easy?  Do the right thing anyway.    Push yourself to be the best version of you. Then inspire others with your story.

Growth is a Process

"Relax, growth is a process…"

… is what I keep telling myself in my journey of personal development…  in this adventure of leading myself.

I keep meeting people struggling to overcome this obstacle.  They don’t even have the words to understand what’s going on inside them.  But they’re frustrated with their jobs, careers, business, relationships…  

Have you ever felt like the same problems just keep coming up over and over?

I’m sorry to break it to you, but It’s true––  growth is a process.  And that means nothing more and nothing less than understanding a very simple concept:

Before you can get to steps 7 and 8…  you’ve got to figure out and take step 1.

I’ve been there before.  Trying to figure out why step 8 hasn’t shown up yet.  And I’ve placed the order in my dreams-book!  And I... I’m praying! Believing for step 8 to show up and just land on my doorstep!!!  Why hasn’t it arrived, signed-sealed-delivered?

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the realization that we’re nowhere near where we want to be.  Take a breath. 

No one is exactly where we want to be.  We always want to be just a little bit further along…  Until, that is, we learn the subtle art of appreciating that growth is a daily process.

High performance leaders work their whole lives on becoming an overnight success.

“I’m a lazy person. I never get my work done when I know I’m supposed to do it. I’m just not a productive person..."

Realize that focusing on your past to determine “who you are” is an ineffective way of identifying with yourself.

You’re perpetuating a story about yourself that does nothing but cause you harm.

There's a season of sowing and reaping.  Just like a farmer needs to sow a field, tend the field, and continue to tend the field until the harvest time comes–– your growth works the same way.

The actions you have taken in the past are JUST the actions you took.  Redefine yourself and recreate yourself ONE STEP AT A TIME. 

Sow good seed in your daily routine and given enough time, you'll reap the reward of great habits.  It'll be hard and you won't be perfect.  

You'll be better tomorrow than you were yesterday if you put in the energy to change today...

Here’s a list of to-do’s that might help.

1. Get all your auto-criticism out of your system by writing all the negative things you think about yourself on a piece of paper until you’re literally tired.  
2. Burn the list.
3. Write down in first person a new list of “I am” statements.  Such as  “I am a productive person.”  “I am a courageous person.”  (Even if you don’t feel it).
4. Write down a list of things you’re grateful for.
5. Determine a list of daily habits that could change your life.  
6. Study high-performance, disciplined leaders and reproduce their systems one at a time in your life.  Little by little.  Over the course of a year, maybe.
7. Start with ONE daily habit, then add another, then another.
8. Reflect.  Learn.  Apply what you learned.
9. Celebrate the little victories along the way to the big victories.
10. Keep reading and keep learning.  Keep growing.  

Where There is No Vision...

Vision

There is a several thousand-year-old saying.

"Where there is no vision, the people perish."  You'll find it in Proverbs.

I want to challenge you today.  Do you have a clear vision for you life, your business, your relationships, your team?  Is it clearly stated so that the relevant parties are aware of that vision?  Have you written it down?  Is it in a visible place where you must see it often?

Visionary Leadership

Visionary leaders can see things the way they are in reality–– And they see things the way they are potentiality.  Both are a prerequisite to bring ideas into being.

Seeing things first as they are allows the visionary leader to assess the situation effectively and to begin to engineer change.  The ability to see the way things could be potentially enables the visionary leader to cast the vision and relate it to others.

Once the vision is clearly cast, written down, and communicated to all relevant parties, the next step is to bring the picture of the way things could be into the world of being.   

Warning! 

You will meet resistance as you pursue a vision that those around you cannot see.    To be a leader, by definition, means to go first where others have not gone. As you cast the vision of change that you want to bring about, you will find resistance.  Especially if your vision of change means others must step outside their comfort zones.

Often times, this resistance comes from your own leadership (such as superiors) and from your peers (your friends and co-workers).   

Visions often die between the "what" and the "how". 

The number one question that presents a danger to your vision is "how are you going to do that?"

This is where your grit and your mettle will be measured as a leader.  Often times, visionaries have the idea––  they have a picture of what they want to achieve–– and no idea how to achieve it.  And so they let the great idea die.  

Great ideas are a dime-a-dozen.  It’s the execution and bringing of ideas into reality that we recognize as extraordinary.

To avoid getting holes shot into your vision, make sure that you have your vision firmly planted in your mind.  Make sure that your vision is so clearly detailed in your mind that you could see, smell, taste, and touch your vision.  Make it such that if a genie granted you a wish and your vision suddenly became reality, you could walk through the new landscape as if it had always been so.  Make your vision familiar.  Make your vision the new normal.

Avoid sharing your vision with those that would discourage the vision for lack of all the steps necessary to make your vision a reality.  Some of your peers and leadership will require you to have a clearly cut plan.  Wait until some of the details are clear before sharing with these people.

The clearer the vision is in your mind, the more ideas will begin to mature from your vision as to “how” to make it a reality.  Once a few of the steps are clear, you may want to bring it to your mastermind inner circle.  These are the people that are fellow idea generators.  The individuals that can help take your idea to reality.  These are the people you trust will just take it as a given that your vision will be a reality.  These are the individuals that instantly jump into thinking of ways to manifest your new reality.

Next, take the next available steps!    

Often, only a few steps in your plan are visible to attain the vision in your mind.  Embrace the unknown!  A great leader takes the information at hand and makes decisions.  A poor leader waits for all the minute details to become clear and often misses the window of opportunity.  

As you move forward to attain the vision, resources will continue to make themselves available.  People will become attracted to your vision.  Because you behave as your vision is the already-certain future, and because your inner circle takes action toward that already-certain future, then others will begin to take it for granted that your vision is the certain-future. 

Some will remain against you until the very end.  Some will join you.   Be ready to meet resistance, but be ready to recruit help from those that are inspired by your vision.

Vision without execution is just hallucination -  Henry Ford

Are there seeds of greatness within you?

The tree:

Imagine a full grown, healthy apple tree.  

(For those with poor imagination, use the picture ;))

Each branch of the tree represents a role in a person's life, such as:   business owner, manager, teacher, father, brother, sister, son, daughter, friend, church-member, club-member, etc.   You get the idea.    

The leaves represent the memories of your success and failures–– the  experiences of your life that come and go.  Much like the leaves of a tree soak up light of the sun, your memories soak up the light in your life and nurture you in the different branches or roles in your life.

The fruits represent the results your life have produced.  They are what you have to show for your efforts. When you share the fruits with others, and they are good fruits, then the fruits of your life will nurture others in turn.

Finally, and most importantly, beneath the tree, holding it all together and anchored into solid ground, are your roots.

A tall tree catches much wind ~ Chinese Proverb

A tall tree with shallow roots doesn't last too long in a 
hurricane ~  Miami Common Sense

Roots are the most important part of a tree, aren't they?  They are what keeps the tree anchored to the soil.  They absorb the nutrients that feed the rest of the tree.

So what do you think the roots represent?  What purpose would roots have if we were running the metaphor into your life?  

The roots are those things that feed and nurture your psyche.  

The roots are your values, your principles, your paradigms, 

your thoughts and beliefs that hold you up.  

Top level performers in every industry are well grounded with a solid roots system.  They don't second guess their ability to succeed–– and you might thing, "of course they believe in themselves, they're already successful!"  And you are absolutely right:  success multiplies success.  However, top performers that stay top performers never forget where they came from.  They believed in themselves and the results they sought to create long before the results ever showed.

Your roots system begins in your thoughts.  Thoughts crystalize into actions.  Actions crystalize into habits.  Habits crystalize into character.  Character determines your destiny!  - From As a Man Thinketh  by James Allen

What do YOU feed your roots?

       

I remember the first time I heard the words:  "the seeds of greatness are within you."  I thought that was the most ignorant motivational hokey feel good nonsense that people liked to say.  But it wasn't true, of course.   At least, not for me.

Just look at my life, I thought.  

What have I done that's worth anything?

I never realized how terrible self talk can destroy you  until I hit rock bottom with depression.  I never realized how paralyzing the words I told myself were!  These were the thoughts and opinions I carried with me from my youth and upbringing.


Feed your roots positive nutrients with good uplifting books, motivational messages, and an environment conducive to growth.  Practice saying out loud all the things you are grateful for.  Look in the mirror and tell yourself you are beautiful.  You ARE beautiful.   The value and potential you add to the world is unique to you.  No one else in the whole planet has what you have.  There is something about you that will be able to connect with a whole network of people out there that I will never touch.  That John Maxwell will never touch.  And all you have to do is fulfill your calling!

No matter how successful you are, there is always room for growth.  Evaluate your values.  Evaluate your foundations.  And as long as you're intentionally (and regularly) drinking in positive nutrients, then you'll be able to feed the branches of your life–– which in turn will create great, lasting memories and good fruit!