Leadership From Within
When most people think of great leaders they picture someone extraordinary, like Mother Theresa, Mahatma Gandhi or Bill Gates, but the truth is everyone is born with leadership qualities.
As children we start out having a real sense of who we are and what we’re passionate about. We dream, are perpetually curious and live in the moment, plus we feel things and are not afraid to show it. We trust ourselves and our beliefs.
Then life gets in the way.
The world chips away at our potential by imposing limiting assumptions, nay saying and criticizing until many of us desire conformity above all else. Those people want to do a good job and work to achieve what is expected but look to others to show the way. Leaders, on the other hand, strive to be the best they can be at whatever they do and accept added responsibilities as another chance to become even better.
Although society thinks of leadership in terms of title and prestige neither is a pre-requisite for being a leader. True leadership is about leaving the world better than you found it, whether it is by doing charitable work or making the best, value-added products that you can. One need not be the CEO to drive a company towards encouraging its employees to take chances, grow by making mistakes and feel safe enough to dream big. The type of work you do is actually less important than how you do it. For example, cab drivers who strive to make someone’s trip the best they’ve ever had are exhibiting the qualities of leadership.
When you think about things this way a business that has many leaders is bound to be wildly successful since each of them is passionate about the purpose, product or service that company provides. That passion fuels a commitment to excellence and fosters the ability to meet adversity with creativity and greatness.
Since so many of us are trained to live low or no-risk lives, how does one recapture the qualities that instill confidence to take action based on personal truths and jump out on a limb where the fruits of leadership hang? Here are eight proven steps for becoming a leader:
1. Rediscover who you truly are by taking the time to be alone with yourself, away from the noise and distractions of life. Think about what makes you tick, is meaningful to you and fulfills you so that you can achieve clarity of purpose.
2. Set overall objectives for yourself based on achieving the things that are most important, like being a better parent, selling a product or service you believe will solve a problem in the world, etc.
3. Divide the big goals into achievable ones, starting with years, then months, weeks and days focusing on mind, body, emotions and spirit. Visualize daily goals as having already been met and build activities and thoughts around making that true. Plus, don’t end your day until you’ve completed them (remembering that your list must be meaningful but manageable and that small goals, like being grateful for something, count too).
4. Keep your passion alive and thriving by allowing yourself to get excited about what ever it is that you’re doing or discussing.
5. Connect with other people; build relationships; show your clients the importance of doing the same with their customers; adopt the process of MasterMinding with people you respect and encourage those you work with as well as lead. When people know they are respected and cared about they are more likely to grow, contribute and love their jobs. And, the more the people in your business love what they’re doing, the more committed to it they are and the more they want it to succeed beyond your wildest dreams.
6. Always be in testing, that is looking for ways to improve yourself or your product.
7. Work towards being physically fit so you have the energy and resources to fulfill your purpose.
8. Practice these principles every day to keep yourself motivated.
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