When I was in my 20′s I spent four years in the US Navy.  While I was on the ship I did everything I could to grow as a leader.  I learned all the systems and procedures.  I worked on every qualification I could get.  But I neglected on thing, studying for the advancement exams.  While I was busy learning about my ship and everything on it, my peers were studying for advancement.  I knew so much about the ship my higher ranked peers had to stand watches under my authority because of my qualifications.  They did outrank me, but they did not have the respect attributed to the watches I stood.

Leadership isn’t about money, it is about respect.  I couldn’t learn anything from Donald Trump because I don’t respect him.  If people don’t respect you, you can’t lead them.  Knowing where you are in life leads you to growth. Even if you work in the mail room, learning your trade, doing your job well, and treating people with respect will allow you to lead people.

The flip side is where are you mentally.  I got out of the Navy because I knew I could do more with my life outside of the structured environment.  Many of the guys who advanced ahead of me stayed in because they saw themselves as thriving within the structure.  My brother-in-law just retired after 20 years in the Navy, and he thrived not only physically but mentally in that structure.  He was also a leader of men and women.  His list of accomplishments was longer for things he did outside of his duties than within his duties because he also knew that the Navy was not his be-all-end-all.

No matter where you are in life, you can become a leader if you want to.  It may take time, it will take learning, but when you wake up in ten years and you realize you aren’t where you started it will all be worth it.

First of all has to be books.  We are a book buying society.  Whether or not we read the books we buy is another story, and that is part of the self-discipline problem.  If you buy a book to help you then at least take the time to read it.  You can read five pages a day and complete a 200 page book in a month and a half, so reading is not hard.

Next you can get apps on you computer or phone to help teach you discipline.  I have an app that I enter every bite of food that goes in my mouth on.  It tells me how many calories i need, what I take in, and how much exercise I have done.  I use it because I needed discipline in that area, and it is great.

Find someone to keep you accountable.  If you can’t hire a coach then get a friend, but make sure he or she is willing to ask you tough questions, and make sure you are ready to give truthful answers.  If you are not willing to be honest, you will never do this.

The bible says Knowledge begins with respect for the Lord. but Foolish people hate wisdom and discipline. (Proverbs 1:7 NCV) Get smart, learn to discipline yourself, and get growing.

Gratitude Will get you pretty far. Being thankful for what you have and for anything you receive will change your outlook on life.  Once you are content with what you have you won’t need anything else.  You can choose to be grateful everyday.  Write down three to five things you are thankful for every night before you go to bed and begin to cultivate a new attitude.

Your thought life determines how you live. This is a play on the first one since all that we put into our mind is what we are going to get out.  If you are continually thinking, “I wish I had that,” or “He’s lucky to get that promotion.”  You will never find happiness.  Seek the Lord first and all you need will be given to you.

Know where you are going. If you have a destination in mind you are more likely to get there than if you don’t.  Take the time to find out where God wants you.  We were given the Holy Spirit as a counselor to help guide us in our walk with Christ.  If you are not seeking him in where you are going then you may not be going the right way.

Don’t worry about what others think.  This is a hard lesson to learn but ties in with the first two above.  We buy and want a lot of new stuff because we are scared of what people think about us.  Grown men shop at clothing stores for teenagers, plastic surgery is sky rocketing, and the lines are around the block to get the newest cell phone that doesn’t even work very well.  All because people worry about what others think.  Look at the birds and the flowers, do they worry and toil, no.  God still provides them with everything they need.

You can only give what you have. Put good stuff into your mind every day so that when you meet people who need what you have you can give it to them.  Listen to good music and teachers, read good books and blogs, don’t watch the news or graphic television shows.  You can get the top news headlines at Google News or newsmap.  When I learned that my TV watching was nothing more than a habit it was easy to stop watching and change my habit.

Be kind. When you find yourself not being kind think about why you are not.  What is in your mind that is causing you to be anything but kind to those around you.  Jesus said to, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  The person that is closest to you or in need of your help at any point is your neighbor. Love every one like you would yourself.

Image courtesy of Samuel Stocker via cc2.0 licences

Not Everyone Goes At The Same Speed

When you are driving this is obvious as cars go flying by you at 90 mph, or maybe for you it is reversed but that’s your business.  When you are leading you may not see it as clearly. When you want to see growth in a group of people your first tendency may be that, “I got it, why can’t they.”  Not every concept is as obvious to those we lead as it is to us.  Whether it is their maturity level, or the place they are at in their growth, not everyone will get it at the same time.

Not Everyone Will Follow You.

This has to be one of the most overlooked aspects of being a leader.  You may think everyone will follow you but the odds are that some one will not. Just like cars people will go faster or slower than you do.  People will pass you and some will drop off altogether. This is usually proportionate to your level of leadership.  We all know that if you have a lower level of leadership, people with a higher leadership aptitude will not follow you.  The reverse is true as well.  If you are an eight or nine there are threes and fours that will be jealous of your leading and they won’t follow.

Big Ideas Don’t Come Along As Often As Small Ones.

We went through tens of small towns along the way several medium towns but only three big cities: Atlanta, Chattanooga, and Nashville.  Big ideas are direction changers and take time to work through.  Developing a big ideas may take outside help to give you direction, but they also provide more options than smaller ideas.   Small ideas keep you going and build on the  momentum of the big idea. Smaller ideas may add to the big ideas or they may help your sort out details, but they are not direction changers.  Some small ideas may become big ideas if they are developed right, but that is for another post.

When Coming Out Of Something Big It May Take Time To Get Everyone Up To Speed.

When a big idea has run its course there will be people who want to stay at that level.  They want to hang on to the big idea because it gave them security and some it gave a leadership position to.  If it worked before why will it not work again many ask, not able to realize that times change and ideas become safety nets to keep us from being stretched and changed.  Some will abandon you or the organization for another place that can give them the safety of that one big idea that meant so much to them.

The Going Can Be Slow At Times

Traffic moves slow at times, and so does growth.  There will be times when you are developing an idea and it will feel like no one but you gets it.  Whether it is your growth, your people’s growth, or just the wrong time it will feel like you are going nowhere fast.  During these times you may want to give up or get off the road, but now is not the time.  It is okay to pull over and reevaluate and check your direction, but you need to get back on the road and keep going in the direction you believe you should.  Eventually you will see the pace start to pick up and changes start to take place.

image by flicker user kool_skatkat used under cc2.0 liscense

Luckily Ron Edmondson is where Jessie got the question from.  Ron had posted on his blog  Three Questions to Write a Personal Development Plan.  I immediately went to Ron’s post and scoured the article.  Ron is a leader and leaders help those around them.  I am not going to put Ron’s three very simple keys on here because I want you to go to his site and read them for yourself.

So do you have one?  Post it here, or over at Catablog.  If you are like me and don’t have one let’s get started together.

Forest Gump said,”Stupid is, as stupid does.”  So do your best not to be stupid.  But when those times come that you are not flexible. When your humanness just jumps right out and bites you on the butt. When you just become stupid.   There are things you can do to Reconcile Your Stupidity.

Take Responsibility For Your Stupidity

Sounds simple enough.  Well it’s apparently not.  I like many of you have been caught red-handed in blazing stupidity and just let it ride. The phrase “I don’t know what you’re talking about” comes to mind.  Really? When you think about it, why would anyone try to own up for some of the stupid things people do?  I love the TV show “Cops.”  It’s the only reality show I watch and I only get to watch it once or twice a month.  When some one is caught with drugs, or speeding, or drunk driving, or name the offense.  Rarely do they own up to what they have done. These people are caught on camera committing a crime, and refuse to take the blame for their stupidity.

Cops is not the only place you can see this.   It happens in offices, it happens in homes, it happens in religious institutions.  It happens everywhere.  So the next time you do or say something stupid, and you know there will be a next time because you are human.  Take responsibility for it.  This isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of maturity.  Owning up to your mistakes will show that you are willing to learn from them.   When you learn you grow.

Deal With It Immediately

Getting past your blunder in the fastest way is always the best way.  Once you have taken responsibility, find out how you can make it right.  Saying your sorry is a great way to start, but is not the last thing you should do.  Find out what you can do to make it better and really do it.  You’ve been caught in your stupidity, so now is not the time to try to get off the easy way.  Comedian Ron White said, “You can’t fix stupid.”  while I agree with Ron on that, you can at least make it better after you have done it.

Realize It Is Not The End Of The World

Some times our stupidity gets the best of us and we lose jobs, homes, and friends.  When that happens you have to realize that tomorrow will come and this is not the end.  Your final forgiveness comes from a place not seen by human eyes.  You also have to forgive yourself.  Many times that is the reason we hide from our stupidity.  It is harder to forgive yourself than anyone else. Once you say your sorry, and if you genuinely are, and there is nothing more you can do you have to move on.  Give it to God and start again.

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Do Your Best

Doing your best  is part of doing what you were created to do. You can not do better than your best, and you can only do your best at what you were created to do.  We are all unique, and have been given abilities to do things that no one else can do, and be someone no one else can be. You may not have been able to decide where you were born, but you can decide what you do with the life you have been given.

Think Small To Grow Big

We were all created for a reason.  While I can’t tell you what you were created to do,  I can tell you that you have a natural ability that only you can use.  You are in control of yourself, and you are in control of whether or not you use your gifts.  Our tagline is, “Get There, Stay There, And Pass It On.”  I use it because I know the only way to get to the top of the mountain is to start the climb.  Mountain climbers know that training and climbing smaller mountains is the key to success when climbing bigger mountains.  You will never climb Everest, if you have not first climbed a hill.  The same goes for your life, if you are not willing to do your best and climb the smaller hills first, you will never be a true success.

Thrive Where You Are

If you are beginning a small business or working from home, don’t give up the job you have now if you are not willing to do it to the best of your ability.  I see many people who are not happy where they are.  They have a bad boss, or bad people around them, or they just hate the job they have.  If this is you; my suggestion is to learn to do the job as best you can and if you are starting a business let the job be your seed money.  I know many other career/business coaches that will tell you to get out now if you hate the job because the pressure of being unemployed will drive you to do whatever it takes to get the business off the ground.  That may be true, but if it takes a year or more, you may run out of money  and in today’s economy you may not get a job if you need one.  So learn to do your best at the job you have, and do your best at the career you are creating until it can support you.

Give Only 100%

Many times we are hampered in doing our best by believing that doing more, is doing our best.  If you are trying to do more, or even less than you can, are you really doing your best?  If you do more than 100% you are probably skipping things and are out of balance in one or more areas of your life.  If you are doing less than 100% you are getting the benefit of someone elses work and that is just like stealing.  Give 100% to whatever you do.  If you can’t give 100% cut out things until you can give it to all you do.

Practice, Practice, Practice

This may seem childish but it is the only way to become the best at what you do.  If you want to speak in front of audiences then get in front of the mirror and talk.  If you want to play golf then get on the range and hit.  Michael Jordan didn’t learn to shoot playing video games, he went out and shot tens of thousands of baskets.  You have to as well.  If you want to teach a subject you have to read books and take notes.  The process is long but it has to be done.  Dr. John C Maxwell said this, “There is a price to pay for everything. You can either pay it now, or you can pay it later, but there will be a price paid.”

Success is built one accomplishment at a time. If you never do anything you will never accomplish anything.  So as you stand at the bottom, or the middle, or wherever you are on the mountain of life remember this.  You and only you can figure out what you have been created to do.  You and only you can decide to be a success at the job you have.  And, As long as there is breath in your lungs you have a choice about how high up the mountain you go. Decide what success looks like and start the climb today.

Image Via Wikimedia Under CC 2.5 Liscense

Castillo de San Marco St. Augustine Florida

I heard Bill Bennett  say that a couple of years ago and it has stuck with me.  When we were children we wanted everything we saw. We would beg our parents to buy this or that and many times if they could they would.  Other than the Star Wars toys, I don’t really remember all the things my parents bought me when I was a child.  I do remember going camping, fishing, hunting, and family trips.

As adults many of us have not grown up, I am included in that.  We want everything we see and if we can get it we do.  As a whole we have spent ourselves into a very bad place, and while this is not about our debt it can be applied.  At some point we must shed our childhood ways and begin to think like adults.  We have to stop buying everything in sight for us or our kids. When we focus on getting more stuff we enter the “Rat Race” and begin to live for the stuff, and not live a God centered life.

What will your children remember when they are grown.  Will they remember the time you spent with them or the things you bought them?  Will you be able to spend time with them when you are older or will you have to keep working to pay for your stuff?

I know this is a short post, and maybe I am just talking to myself.  If you have any thoughts on this I would love to hear them.

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