“Leadership - Inspiring others by the courage of your own example”.
This is the essence of what I personally believe is the ultimate leadership definition.
Perhaps the best way to fully understand its meaning is to re-read it, think deeply about it, and ultimately, evaluate our own “daily examples”. This would lead us to a “personal leadership score”.
We would base our “score” on our daily leadership example. And our basis should be brutally honest.
It seems, to me, that on days where I don’t need much courage, I’m probably not a very good example. Hope today is a courage-filled day for all of us.
Fortune favors the brave. It does indeed. But what does that mean, “favors you“? Or what does it mean, “brave“?
This sounds pretty inspiring, yet how do we apply it or gauge whether we are brave? Try this on for size.
I believe if everyone likes you, you are not brave enough. Courage implies risk. And risk implies challenging the status quo. Generally, people do not like being challenged.
This also applies to us when we look in the mirror. I am often tempted to not challenge myself to do more, do better, do differently.
Why?
Because it’s too much work, too much risk, too much uncertainty. Isn’t it? Ever find yourself thinking like this? Good.
Most people intuitively understand that hard work pays off, that uncertainty is part of life, that risk is a key ingredient for continuous improvement and that fortune favors the brave.
A few years ago it hit me, I have the Faith of Mount Everest - you know, the tallest peak on earth.
And then it struck, I have the fear of K2- the second tallest peak on earth, a fact most don’t know.
They are roughly 800 feet different in height. A relatively trivial amount, but enough for Mount Everest to triumph.
In the quest to be a great leader, if we’re successful, we also become a good person. Good enough to keep most of our fears at bay. Some refer to it as courage.
jungle jeff loves vision. Being able to see? You love that? Well, yes, and that’s not what I meant. Not seeing what’s in front of us now,but seeing what could be in front of us well into the future.
“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” -Japanese proverb
If you went and looked in the mirror and were compellingly honest, which side of the Japanese Proverb would you fall into? The left side or the right?
“A frog in a well can not conceive of the ocean”. — Japanese Proverb
Hope you can comprehend the first proverb. If you have the title (real or assumed) and you don’t understand it, go look in the mirror again. Are you an amphibian?
It’s been said, “The unexamined life is not worth living”. Carpe diem.
My Family and I visited Magic Kingdom a week ago. Then Wednesday we visited Epcot. And this past Saturday, back at Magic Kingdom. Then a LinkedIn Group discussion shared this cool Disney Parks You Tube video:
The cooler weather is bringing out us locals to seek what Disney Guests from all over the World seek. The Disney Magic and the Disney Fantasy – and an escape from a tough reality.
PS. There a bit of a screen size overlap. Oh well. Life goes on. Carpe diem. :)
Meeting with a writer this morning after Church. We’re collaborating. I’ve written somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,300 jeff noel blog posts, from five individual jeff noel blogs. Began writing consistently six months ago.
He agreed to read every single Mid Life Celebration blog post prior to today’s meeting. While it wasn’t required, I decided to do the same. Wow. It’s pretty inspiring content, because it is written by a common man.
Here’s an example from August 1st, entitled “Indescribable“.
My friend is a small business owner. He’s been in business for over 30 years. Yesterday he told me, “This is the worst I’ve seen it”.
No one is coming into his store. He has gotten creative and started, for the first time ever, going out looking for business. If business won’t come to him, he’s going to go to it.
I congratulated him on being successful for so long, and mentioned I started an LLC in January, and the odds are (overwhelmingly) stacked against me. In fact the odds are stacked against anyone starting a (small) business.
T-shirts. We all have a few. Some of them are part of who we are. A form of self expression. They are usually priced right, which is why many people have too many. Plus, it’s difficult to part with them.
The other day, while driving in Central Florida, a man was wearing a t-shirt that caught my attention. It read, “Shut Up And Push“.
Instantaneously, this led me to wonder about the slogan and how it applies to business. This is the way my crazy mind works.
In today’s economic crunch, in addition to doing all the daily things we always do, there are two other line items that demand our attention. Number one – worry about the future. Number two -prepare for the future.
If you think about it you will realize, the future is extra work, but only if you focus on it. Not to mention, the future is hard work, but only if you focus on it.
What I decided I need to do is, “Shut up and push“!
John F. Kennedy said, “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining”.
Here’s the secret to “Are You Serious”, from yesterday’s post.
Think. Read. Watch. Listen. Talk. Write. Blog.
A lot.
Then repeat.
For example. I invested about about 30 minutes Sunday to listen toTHIS.
That’s how I do it. And yes, I are serious.
PS. If you missed it two sentences up, (click THIS) Seth Godin explains, book by book, his thinking with each book. If you are serious about becoming better, this will rock your thinking – especially if you are a traditionalist.
