July 28, 2014 Focus Point

Everyone Benefits from Effective Leadership!

"Don't find fault, find a remedy." ~Henry Ford

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader." ~John Quincy Adams

"A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit." ~Arnold H. Glasow

The most effective leaders I know, help other people before they help themselves, they think of others more than they think of themselves, they ask for forgiveness, they include and involve everyone they can, and when their team wins they give the credit to their team mates. So what is leadership to you?

Maybe for a high school student it would be to treat others with respect and help them see and feel of the value they have as a person. That being different from everyone else is a good thing. With this mindset, can you imagine how bullying would decrease?

Maybe for a department head or a leader in a higher level management position it would be recognizing the different talents and strengths of those on your team and to do your best to make sure that they are able to have fulfillment in their work. Maybe for a midlevel manager or someone with no position at all, it would be choosing to come to work with a positive attitude that would lift and build those around you, and in turn help improve morale and effective work. It may include going the extra mile to fulfill the requests and demands of the job, proving to add excellent value to working associates, customers, and to the company. This is called 360 Degree Leadership, beginning with leadership of self.

No matter the position or lack of position, no matter the station in life, true leadership is influence with other people for good or for bad. A leader driven by confidence will help people. A leader driven by ego will hurt people. Leadership is more a learned skill than it is natural talent. Leadership is not a position or title but rather the attitude that we choose to carry.

July 21, 2014 Focus Point

Yesterday Ended Last Night!

"I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying." ~Michael Jordan

"It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure." ~Bill Gates

"Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out." ~Benjamin Franklin

I am convinced that our success and overall happiness in life will greatly be determined upon our perception of and our response to failure. We all have failure situations in life or circumstances that are tough to get through. They may happen as a result of poor judgment on our part, or they may come as a result of someone else's actions or behavior, or they may come all on their own. In any case, having the correct perception and response will make the outcome far more effective and turn a potential stumbling block into a future building block of opportunity.

John Maxwell lives his life by particular guidelines in order to remain effective and on track. One such guideline is that he will only allow himself, after a failure to give attention and feel awful about the situation for a period of 24 hours and no more. After that time has passed it is time to get up, dust off, and get moving again.

My challenge to you this week is to identify some situation that you would otherwise like to feel yucky about, and choose rather to work out a positive solution. As far as the ugly things in the past, well, do not let bad things that happened in the past control your future opportunities, because yesterday ended last night and today is a brand new start.

July 14, 2014 Focus Point

Set Goals the SMART Way!

"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment." ~Jim Rohn

"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals." ~Henry David Thoreau

"Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible." ~Tony Robbins

Set your goals high and do not stop until you get there. Stick to your work until it sticks to you. I love those statements because they work with our minds in creating the goal as well as reminds a person to work hard in order to accomplish it. Goal setting is the way to turn your hopes, dreams, and desires into reality. It is the movement from a lower level of potential to a higher level of actuality. I remember a lesson Stephen Covey did where he said: "Make a commitment and keep it." Goals are commitments we make to ourselves. Goals are how we grow to become better, rather than just grow to become older. 

Goals should be:

Specific: This is about having a clear picture in your mind what it is you desire and the picture in your mind is then written in detail on paper.

Measurable: This part of your goal is so that you can track progress. If I were to set a goal to become a better father to my children, well.... how do I know if I am improving? Instead what if I set a goal to do two activities this week with my kids, of their choice? At the end of the week I will certainly know if the goal was met or not.

Attainable: This is about keeping a balance of what is within your ability, but also to not limit yourself because of your current reality. Keeping goals attainable suggests that we take life on in bite sized pieces.

Relevant: Does it pertain and lead to the bigger picture you have of yourself? I often ask people: What is the next step in the direction of your success?

Time-Bound: A specific date should always accompany a specific goal. This reminds you to check in with yourself, be accountable, work hard, and re-adjust where needed. When the date arrives simply ask: Did I meet my goal? If the answer is yes, then celebrate. If the answer is no, then rework the goal. This is where most people give up and the determined successful people push through.

July 7, 2014 Focus Point

Increase Your Confidence!

"To walk around with an ego is a bad thing. To have confidence in yourself is a great thing." ~Fred Durst

"If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life." ~Marcus Garvey

"Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence." ~Vince Lombardi

Decide to be more confident. Confidence is such a great word and a tremendous attribute that really adds to the quality of life. How would your life benefit from greater confidence? You do not need a reason to be more confident. You don't need to have someone compliment you on the way you look or compliment you on a job well done to have more confidence. You don't need someone to say that they believe in you in order to be more confident. Successful people make it a habit to show all of these courtesy's to others, but their success and confidence is not dependent upon someone else showing the same courtesy to them. They simply take control and decide to be more confident. To increase your confidence starting right now and immediately, all you have to do is decide that: "Today I am going to be more confident." That's it. Decide that today I choose to take control. It is not about being someone or something you are not, but rather being your better self, your best self. What if the hero that you are looking for is already inside you and will develop as you start living more of your potential?

Speak words that give life. Don't base the opinion you have of yourself on what someone else said or did. Don't let past mistakes define your future. Never let the negative opinions of someone else control who you will be. Negativity kills confidence, so learn to speak words that give life. In Proverbs 18:21 we learn that: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue." We must learn to use our words to speak life into our own situation in order for improvement to happen. I believe that any person will perform better if they have confidence and a healthy self image.