This phrase actually came from Tiger Woods. At his news conference before the 2010 Masters.  He actually said that his father told him he must, “Learn to help himself, before he helped others.”  But I decided I liked “lead” instead of “help” so thanks Tiger for the quote.

I have experienced many types of leaders through my life.  Many of them never really lead as much as they told those that worked for them what to do. They then went about taking credit for the good, and giving blame for the bad.  I worked with a man once that complained about Dr. John C. Maxwell’s writing on leadership, but never read any of it.  I would suggest he never learned to lead himself.

Discipline is hard, but discipline is a must for anyone who wants to be successful at whatever they do.  If you are always late, it is because you are not disciplined enough to be on time.  Not because your family is a late family and you always have been.   When I was in the Navy I learned this lesson first hand.  I was relieved from my watch every day by a man who was consistently late.  I reported the man several times and he was moved to other watch sections but his tardiness never ceased.  He was finally taken to Captains Mast and reduced in rank before being released from the Navy.  His inability to be on time cost him his job, and he never knew why.

Control your tongue. Swearing is one of the best signs of an  undisciplined mouth.  In the bible we are told that the tongue is like the rudder of a ship.  A rudder is small in comparison to the ship, but turns the thing.  Your tongue can lead you down roads you do not want to travel.  Swearing is not the only sign of an undisciplined tongue.  Arguing, sarcasm, complaining, and gossip are other signs.  No one wants to be around someone who complains all the time.  It’s just not fun.  Learn to control what you say and do by Forming Better Habits which can take some time, but pay huge dividends in the long run.

Discipline is more than being on time and controlling how you talk.  But being on time is a good start and controlling what you say is a good start.  Make a list of things you need to do and stick to the list this way you can be encouraged by you progress, and prodded when you slack.  Always remember, you can only accomplish something if you do it.   The minute you put it off, you will stop and lose your momentum.

From Mary Jo Asmus  Stuck? Admit It and Ask For Help

The story goes like this,” a tourist walking through a small town in Europe asks an older man, ‘Were there any great leaders born here?’ The man replies, ‘No, only babies.’”   Many people dream of being great, whether they think of greatness as being a world leader or a mom who takes care of her children,  people dream of greatness.  The problem is, many people “DREAM” of being great but never act on the dream.  Most of these people want greatness handed to them with no strings attached.  They have a skewed view of greatness.

What is the right view of greatness?

You must first realize that greatness is grown and not given.  You can not wake up “great” one morning unless you have put in a lot of time learning to be great before that morning.  I heard John Maxwell say, “What you are in ten years will be determined by what you are reading today.”  If you do nothing you will get exactly that.  Work is part of greatness.  If you want to be a great leader then you have to work toward that.  If you want to be a great parent, you have to work toward that.  If you want to be a great person, you have to work toward that.

Don’t confuse Greatness with Fame.

Many people in today’s American culture believe greatness is being on television or being famous.  The problem with that thinking is, being on T.V. does not make you great, and from what I have seen it usually makes you a jerk. From the local news guy or woman to the Hollywood star or starlet most people who are “famous” to us are great bu any means.  Don’t confuse politics with greatness either.  Think about it, how big of an ego do you need to believe you are better than anyone else in an entire state or nation for one job.  These guys fall all the time because their ego has to be continually fed.   Don’t get me wrong, we used to have great leaders and great news people and I am sure we still do.  The majority makes the great ones look bad and they all get lumped together.

Spend Time Working On Yourself

Make a habit of getting up daily and going to work on yourself.  Spend as much time as you possibly can every day reading books and listening to Cd’s or mp3′s from speakers that build up your life.  Change the way you think about life and the world.  If you hate everything or if you complain stop doing it.  Make a conscious effort stop the bad habit.  If you are a religious person spend time reading your holy books and learning from them.  I am a Christian and I spend time daily not just reading the bible and praying, but trying to practice what I have learned.

Work with a coach if you need a good swift kick in the rear a coach is great for the job. I offer coaching but if you need someone to run through a thought process you are having, feel free to contact me.