“I don’t know what my calling is, but I want to be here for a bigger reason. I strive to be like the greatest people who have ever lived.” – Will Smith There are (4) ingredients to Step #7. The first ingredient is “calling,” which refers to the invitation you should be broadcasting for others to join you. I love to use social media outlets and my website to “call” others to join us! But this “calling” is not limited to people seeking employment with your company. It’s also providing an opportunity for others to learn from you. A good leader is always looking for potential team members and pupils. You should always be prepared to share, explain, and encourage others to join you in your journey to success. Let them help you and be an inspiration to reach for greater heights! The second ingredient to Step #7 is “electing.” This refers to your choosing of certain individuals from your base of followers and pupils. Success typically invites and attracts attention. More specifically, it attracts the attentive minds of those who also desire to succeed. Take full advantage of this attraction! Your “group” of followers/pupils may be small, perhaps consisting only of your employees or even your family. The power of investing in others cannot be overlooked by those seeking gnosis and therefore, success. This happens all across the world everyday. Improvement occurs when pupils stand on the shoulders of their mentors. Imagine how much more successful this country would be if those who succeeded would invest their time and energy into those who have the potential! The third ingredient to Step #7 is “training.” In my opinion, “training” is self-explanatory. Understand though, that training is not merely teaching. To teach is to explain, review, and test. When training, one begins with teaching but moves onto doing/taking action. Those who are doing the work are those who are also learning. My father taught me daily but he always had me by his side working with him….that’s training! The final ingredient of Step #7 is “empowerment.” This is the confidence that you bestow on your pupils by the responsibilities and knowledge that you entrust to them. When one of your followers experiences your trust, it increases his confidence and encourages him to reach greater heights than he previously thought possible for him to reach. It’s rare that someone has their own confidence equal to their potential. They need to have a successful mentor or leader that believes in them. That’s empowering! There’s only one more Step to Sure Success! So join us next week when we discuss Step #8 – Sacrifice. ...
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“The most sublime act is to set another before you.” – William Blake I recall a story that took place many years ago at a hospital in the Midwest. A little girl named “Liz” was suffering from a rare and deadly blood disease. The doctors had tried virtually everything to find a cure. Several years before Liz came down with the disease, her younger brother was stricken with the same disease and somehow survived even though his doctors had given up on his recovery and told his parents that death was imminent. After further research, her doctors realized that her only chance at recovery would be a blood transfusion from her younger brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease a few years previously. See, his blood carried the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctors explained the situation to her little brother and then asked the little boy if he would be willing to provide blood for his sister. To the surprise of the doctors, he hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, and replied, “yes, if it will save her, I will do it.” The doctors brought both of the children into the hospital room and laid them in beds adjacent to each other. As the transfusion progressed, he laid in his bed and smiled, as everyone in the room did seeing the color returning to his sister’s cheeks. But then, her little brothers color grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and with a trembling voice said, “Will I die right away or how soon?” See, the boy had misunderstood the doctors! He thought that he would have to give all of his blood and his life to save his sister….but he went ahead with the procedure anyway. Sacrifice. So now that I have tugged on your heart strings, feel free to grab a kleenex and then continue reading! While on your journey to success, if you’re not willing to forfeit your dreams in order to help someone reach theirs, you have not earned the success you desire. In the story above, Liz’s little brother was willing to forfeit his life in order to help save his sisters. This is a fine example of sacrifice. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you will have to forfeit them…but the fact that you’d be willing to is sufficient in my book. Don’t confuse being successful with reaching your goals. I’m a goal-setter. I do not trust people who have no goals – they are accidents waiting to happen! They are typically drifters, loafers, wannabes and are often underdeveloped in all areas except laziness. A person without a goal is a person without a dream and is probably someone who is more or less dependent on others for their basic necessities in life. I set goals that require...
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“Success is not to be measured by the position someone has reached in life, but the obstacles he has overcome while trying to succeed.” – Booker T. Washington This article represents the tenth and final blog posting for our series “8 Steps to Sure Success.” I hope you’ve enjoyed it and learned from it as much as I have. But I wanted to use this final article as a reminder to all of my readers that this journey never ends. Once you reach your milestone, you will hopefully challenge yourself to reach for greater heights! Let’s do a quick re-cap of the “8 Steps to Sure Success.” First Step: Vision – Conceive it, believe it, and achieve it. Second Step: Virtue – Conforming to a standard of moral excellence and/or having the moral power to accomplish a given effect. Third Step: Know-how – Knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Fourth Step: Focused Attention – When you remain able and willing to say “no” to any and every distractions and keep your attention focused, you will be successful. Fifth Step: Stay Under the Pressure – Pressure is the price of winning and you need it to prove your worthiness. Accept it, embrace it, learn from it, but stay under it! Sixth Step: Earn It – You’re not renting success like you rent a car. You are buying it with your blood, sweat and tears. Seventh Step: Calling, Electing, Training, and Empowerment – “Calling” refers to the invitation you should be broadcasting for others to join you. “Electing” refers to your choosing of certain individuals from your base of followers and pupils. “Training” refers to knowing the difference between training and teaching. My father taught me daily but he always had me by his side working with him, that’s training! “Empowerment” is the confidence that you bestow on your pupils by the responsibilities and knowledge that you entrust to them. Eighth Step: Sacrifice – If you’re not willing to put your dreams “on-hold” in order to help someone reach theirs, you have not earned the success that you desire. There’s going to be times, however, when you feel like there’s no hope. Maybe your dreams were crushed by a personal tragedy or a heart wrenching break-up. Maybe even a negative work situation or some other type of stumbling block. Remember, these are the times when you must push harder! You’re going to hit all kinds of obstacles along the way. The most efficient, effective way to get through those tough times is by charging straight ahead. I know from experience! If you’ve had a chance to read my book, “The Boom After the Bubble,” you’ll remember. After making my first million prior to the crash in 2008, my then-wife had left me and took with her every penny I had. I ended up...
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“Leadership: the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” – President Dwight D. Eisenhower This week, I am pleased to announce a new 9-part series entitled: “The Seven Deadly Sins of Leadership.” Thousands of readers pursued our most recent blog series “The 8 Steps to Sure Success”. It was so successful and popular to our readers that it motivated me to begin composing another multi-part series. This week’s article is a brief introduction to the impending series about the Seven Deadly Sins of modern business leaders. I’m confident in my opinion that most of us have, at one time or another, worked for a “bad” leader. I can recall several situations in which I literally despised my boss or “leader” at work! I employ a veteran of the US military and he once told me about a quote. One of his drill instructors barked at the recruits during recruit training. The drill instructor told his platoon, “A good leader never requires his troops to engage in work that he is not willing to do himself.” How many times has your boss given you a directive that you know deep down that they would never do themselves? I can think of countless times this has happened through the years! Nothing loses respect of subordinates like a boss that barks orders. Especially ones they’d never do themselves if the roles were reversed! Being a leader is probably the most difficult challenge any of us will ever face. At least during the course of our professional careers. It matters not how long we work at it, but practicing the proper behaviors is a never-ending task. Knowing and evading misguided behaviors is also never-ending. Therefore, over the next several months we will discuss the Seven Deadly Sins of Leadership and how to avoid them! Peter Drucker was once quoted as saying that “management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” Great leaders possess sensational social intelligence, the drive for change, and above all, a vision that grants them the ability to set their sights on the issues that truly merit attention. It would be irresponsible if we didn’t at least try to include these skill sets in our leadership quiver! So be sure to check in next week as we discuss the first Deadly Sin of Leadership – RELEVANCE. ...
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