"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." - Soren Kierkegaard
Wednesday, 12 April 2017
Tuesday, 11 April 2017
Quote for the day
"We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot." - Eleanor Roosevelt
Monday, 10 April 2017
24 of the Most Powerful Life Lessons
If you are going to succeed in life, you have to learn life's most important lessons.
By Lolly Daskal
How you approach life says a lot about who you are.
There are some who are content to passively coast through, hoping they land where they need to be and know what to do when the time comes.
Then there are others, who make active choices to understand who they are and what they want, and set the goals that will keep them moving in the right direction.
But a big part of having a successful life, is learning how to cope with the lessons that life has to teach us.
Here are 24 powerful life lessons that will happen to us, learn how they will be significant:
1. Make yourself necessary and you will always be needed. If you want to feel successful, learn to create, innovate or design something other people can use and need.
2. Your thoughts are like boomerangs. What you pass along to others is what will come back to you.
3. You are more defined by what comes out of your mouth than what goes in it. The way you speak and the things you say have power. Speech gives us the power to create or destroy.
4. The journey of your success will always begin with the small step of taking a chance. In business, in relationships, and in life, it all begins with a small step grounded in a desire to be better and do better.
5. Your education is never complete. Determine to live fully and continually learn. Prepare for what life has to teach by being open to the lessons in everything you do and experience.
6. Don't allow the voice of your fears to be louder than the other voices in your head. Make sure the voice of reason, the voice of belief, the voice of confidence are all strong enough to drown it out.
7. A good reputation is more valuable than money. Your reputation is built on the foundation of your character; it entails the words you speak and the actions you take. Take care of your character above all other things and your reputation will take care of itself.
8. You never really lose until you stop trying. The words I can't never accomplish anything. I'll try, on the other hand, can perform wonders. Until you try you don't know what you can do.
9. You get more by giving more. Success doesn't result from how much you get but from how much you give. If you want an abundant life, give as much as you can.
10. Rule your mind or it will rule you. When you rule your mind by controlling negativity and doubt, you rule your world. The choice is yours to make every day.
11. Great heroes are truly humble. Most of us underrate the importance of humility. It's an important skill because it keeps you teachable, regardless of how much you already know.
12. Defeat isn't bitter if you're smart enough not to swallow it. At one time or another we will all experience failure. In fact, the more we are willing to risk, the more we will fail. The trick is to think of failure not as the end but as part of the process.
13. Your thoughts are powerful, make them positive. To have a life that's more abundant and more successful, you must think in the limitless terms of abundance and success. Thinking is among the greatest powers we possess, and it's our choice to use it negatively or positively.
14. Forgiveness benefits two people--the giver and receiver. The bravest and the smartest thing you can do in a bad situation is to forgive and move on. Don't allow grudges and grievances to add to the weight you carry on the road to your own success.
15. The word impossible contains its opposite: "I'm possible." What impossible may be a matter of a limited point of view. Allow no limiting beliefs to restrict your outlook on life.
16. Preparation is a stepping stone to success. As the old saying goes, failing to prepare means preparing to fail. Success can be defined as being totally prepared.
17. You are constantly creating your own reality. Your reality is built out of your thoughts, so remember how much power you have. What you think you become, what you feel you attract, what you imagine you create.
18. You are in control of your own heaven or hell. You're the master of your own destiny. You may not always be able to control your circumstances and environment, but how you respond is always within your control.
19. Envy consumes itself. And if you give it a foothold in your life, it will take you with it.
20. You can become bitter or better as a result of your circumstances. Your attitude is always up to you. No matter the circumstance, remind yourself that you have a choice. It's up to you to get the results you want.
21. Those who seldom make mistakes seldom stumble upon new innovation. Mistakes are proof that you're trying, creating, exploring and discovering. Every success story, every fulfilled life needs mistakes. We may think of mistakes as meaning you've done something wrong, but in truth they mean you're doing something right.
22. It's in losing yourself that you find yourself. The greatest challenge in life is discovering who you are, and the second greatest is being happy with what you find.
23. When you're facing the right direction, all you need to do is keep walking. If you're lucky enough to know what you want, you can apply your passion and always love what you do. If you're still working to discover what you want, keep exploring. Either way, stay persistent and determined.
24. Be grateful every day, because that's the source of true power. The most important power lies in a grateful heart. Practice turning your thoughts toward appreciation and thanksgiving, because that is where you will find your gifts, strength and power.
By Lolly Daskal
How you approach life says a lot about who you are.
There are some who are content to passively coast through, hoping they land where they need to be and know what to do when the time comes.
Then there are others, who make active choices to understand who they are and what they want, and set the goals that will keep them moving in the right direction.
But a big part of having a successful life, is learning how to cope with the lessons that life has to teach us.
Here are 24 powerful life lessons that will happen to us, learn how they will be significant:
1. Make yourself necessary and you will always be needed. If you want to feel successful, learn to create, innovate or design something other people can use and need.
2. Your thoughts are like boomerangs. What you pass along to others is what will come back to you.
3. You are more defined by what comes out of your mouth than what goes in it. The way you speak and the things you say have power. Speech gives us the power to create or destroy.
4. The journey of your success will always begin with the small step of taking a chance. In business, in relationships, and in life, it all begins with a small step grounded in a desire to be better and do better.
5. Your education is never complete. Determine to live fully and continually learn. Prepare for what life has to teach by being open to the lessons in everything you do and experience.
6. Don't allow the voice of your fears to be louder than the other voices in your head. Make sure the voice of reason, the voice of belief, the voice of confidence are all strong enough to drown it out.
7. A good reputation is more valuable than money. Your reputation is built on the foundation of your character; it entails the words you speak and the actions you take. Take care of your character above all other things and your reputation will take care of itself.
8. You never really lose until you stop trying. The words I can't never accomplish anything. I'll try, on the other hand, can perform wonders. Until you try you don't know what you can do.
9. You get more by giving more. Success doesn't result from how much you get but from how much you give. If you want an abundant life, give as much as you can.
10. Rule your mind or it will rule you. When you rule your mind by controlling negativity and doubt, you rule your world. The choice is yours to make every day.
11. Great heroes are truly humble. Most of us underrate the importance of humility. It's an important skill because it keeps you teachable, regardless of how much you already know.
12. Defeat isn't bitter if you're smart enough not to swallow it. At one time or another we will all experience failure. In fact, the more we are willing to risk, the more we will fail. The trick is to think of failure not as the end but as part of the process.
13. Your thoughts are powerful, make them positive. To have a life that's more abundant and more successful, you must think in the limitless terms of abundance and success. Thinking is among the greatest powers we possess, and it's our choice to use it negatively or positively.
14. Forgiveness benefits two people--the giver and receiver. The bravest and the smartest thing you can do in a bad situation is to forgive and move on. Don't allow grudges and grievances to add to the weight you carry on the road to your own success.
15. The word impossible contains its opposite: "I'm possible." What impossible may be a matter of a limited point of view. Allow no limiting beliefs to restrict your outlook on life.
16. Preparation is a stepping stone to success. As the old saying goes, failing to prepare means preparing to fail. Success can be defined as being totally prepared.
17. You are constantly creating your own reality. Your reality is built out of your thoughts, so remember how much power you have. What you think you become, what you feel you attract, what you imagine you create.
18. You are in control of your own heaven or hell. You're the master of your own destiny. You may not always be able to control your circumstances and environment, but how you respond is always within your control.
19. Envy consumes itself. And if you give it a foothold in your life, it will take you with it.
20. You can become bitter or better as a result of your circumstances. Your attitude is always up to you. No matter the circumstance, remind yourself that you have a choice. It's up to you to get the results you want.
21. Those who seldom make mistakes seldom stumble upon new innovation. Mistakes are proof that you're trying, creating, exploring and discovering. Every success story, every fulfilled life needs mistakes. We may think of mistakes as meaning you've done something wrong, but in truth they mean you're doing something right.
22. It's in losing yourself that you find yourself. The greatest challenge in life is discovering who you are, and the second greatest is being happy with what you find.
23. When you're facing the right direction, all you need to do is keep walking. If you're lucky enough to know what you want, you can apply your passion and always love what you do. If you're still working to discover what you want, keep exploring. Either way, stay persistent and determined.
24. Be grateful every day, because that's the source of true power. The most important power lies in a grateful heart. Practice turning your thoughts toward appreciation and thanksgiving, because that is where you will find your gifts, strength and power.
Source:www.inc.com
Quote for the day
"When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself." - Wayne Dyer
Sunday, 9 April 2017
Understanding Your Gaps: Why Some People Succeed and Others Don't
Within each of us are two competing sides, a polarity of character. Only one leads to greatness
By Lolly Daskal
Do you ever wonder why some people succeed and others don't? We've all seen deserving people who never quite got things off the ground, and others who made it look easy. It doesn't always seem to make sense.
Over the past three decades of coaching top leaders and entrepreneurs all over the world, I have worked with every type of person and every type of personality you can imagine. The thing I've found consistently in people who succeed is the understanding that the same traits that made them successful have a flip side--a opposing counterpart--that can lead to their downfall through a gap in their leadership.
In my new book, The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness, I identify seven leadership archetypes that lead to success. And within each I also identify a polarity, an opposing counterpart. For every archetype that can make you great has a flip side that leads to a gap. This is especially true for high-achieving individuals. Your success hinges on knowing your own attributes and how to leverage them to play from your strengths and avoid the gaps.
Here is a summary of the seven archetypes and their gaps: understand them and learn how to use them to guide yourself to stand in your greatness.
The Rebel
The Rebel wants to make an impact on the world and embarks on quests to achieve remarkable things. The rebel is driven by confidence. But leading to the gap, the Rebel can instead feel like the Imposter, characterized by self-doubt. The Imposter appears when you find yourself constantly having to fight off negative messages in your mind
Three ways to leverage the Rebel and banish the Imposter:
The Explorer is driven to innovate and create new opportunities, new products, new businesses. Fuelled by intuition, they test the boundaries and limits of what is known. They reject the status quo and are constantly looking for something new, listening to their inner voice to forge a new path. But leading to the gap, the Explorer can become the Exploiter, characterised by manipulation. The Exploiter appears when you feel stressed or out of control, bringing a need to micromanage and feel in control of things. It's especially damaging to anyone whose work depends on creativity.
Three ways to leverage the Explorer and banish the Exploiter:
The Truth Teller embraces candor, even when it makes people uncomfortable. They speak with openness and honesty, driven by a sincere desire to be of service. For truth tellers, speaking up is a duty. But leading to the gap, the Truth Teller can become the Deceiver, characterised by the creation of suspicion. It's the leader who withholds information, the boss who tells half-truths, the manager who doesn't address concerns--all forms of holding back that create a culture of suspicion.
Three ways to leverage the Truth Teller and banish the Deceiver:
The Hero is courageous--willing to put their career at risk for a shot at greatness. Heroes act when others will not, even in the face of fear and overwhelming opposition. But leading up to the gap, the Hero can become the Bystander, characterized by fear. The Bystander is paralyzed by inaction and driven by fear. They keep you playing small and stuck where you are.
Three ways to leverage the Hero and banish the Bystander:
The inventor is brimming with integrity, constantly searching for the best way to improve processes and products and to perfect their craft. They are experimenters who make many small bets and are willing to fail in pursuit of big wins. They seek quality and excellence, with integrity always paramount. But leading up to the gap, the Inventor can become the Destroyer, characterised by corruption. Willing to cut corners and do whatever is expedient, the Destroyer works by compromising quality.
Three ways to leverage the Inventor and banish the Destroyer:
The navigator has a way of making the complicated simple and the simple understandable, masterfully steering their organization and the people within it to ever better outcomes. Their hallmark is trust--given and received. But leading up to the gap, the Navigator can become the Fixer, marked by arrogance. The Fixer tells people what to do instead of navigating the way alongside them, bossy and often aggressive.
Three ways to leverage the Navigator and banish the Fixer:
The Knight loyalty is everything. They are always looking for opportunities to serve and protect. But leading up to the gap, the Knight can become the self-serving Mercenary, who tries to lead by self-absorption or self-obsession is a person who will not succeed.
Three ways to leverage the Knight and banish the Mercenary:
By Lolly Daskal
Do you ever wonder why some people succeed and others don't? We've all seen deserving people who never quite got things off the ground, and others who made it look easy. It doesn't always seem to make sense.
Over the past three decades of coaching top leaders and entrepreneurs all over the world, I have worked with every type of person and every type of personality you can imagine. The thing I've found consistently in people who succeed is the understanding that the same traits that made them successful have a flip side--a opposing counterpart--that can lead to their downfall through a gap in their leadership.
In my new book, The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness, I identify seven leadership archetypes that lead to success. And within each I also identify a polarity, an opposing counterpart. For every archetype that can make you great has a flip side that leads to a gap. This is especially true for high-achieving individuals. Your success hinges on knowing your own attributes and how to leverage them to play from your strengths and avoid the gaps.
Here is a summary of the seven archetypes and their gaps: understand them and learn how to use them to guide yourself to stand in your greatness.
The Rebel
The Rebel wants to make an impact on the world and embarks on quests to achieve remarkable things. The rebel is driven by confidence. But leading to the gap, the Rebel can instead feel like the Imposter, characterized by self-doubt. The Imposter appears when you find yourself constantly having to fight off negative messages in your mind
Three ways to leverage the Rebel and banish the Imposter:
- Make a list of all things you do well and review them daily. When your competence goes up, so does your confidence.
- Surround yourself with people who believe in you. When you spend time with people who reflect who you want to be and how you want to feel, their energy is contagious.
- Stop comparing yourself with others. It's a waste of time and a thief of success.
The Explorer is driven to innovate and create new opportunities, new products, new businesses. Fuelled by intuition, they test the boundaries and limits of what is known. They reject the status quo and are constantly looking for something new, listening to their inner voice to forge a new path. But leading to the gap, the Explorer can become the Exploiter, characterised by manipulation. The Exploiter appears when you feel stressed or out of control, bringing a need to micromanage and feel in control of things. It's especially damaging to anyone whose work depends on creativity.
Three ways to leverage the Explorer and banish the Exploiter:
- Quiet the analytic mind and let the intuitive mind speak loudly. No problem can be solved with the same mind that created it.
- Let go of control. You lose only what you cling to.
- Allow yourself to wonder. Accept what is, let go of what was and hold to the wonder of what will be.
The Truth Teller embraces candor, even when it makes people uncomfortable. They speak with openness and honesty, driven by a sincere desire to be of service. For truth tellers, speaking up is a duty. But leading to the gap, the Truth Teller can become the Deceiver, characterised by the creation of suspicion. It's the leader who withholds information, the boss who tells half-truths, the manager who doesn't address concerns--all forms of holding back that create a culture of suspicion.
Three ways to leverage the Truth Teller and banish the Deceiver:
- Always tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It may hurt for a while, but deceit hurts forever.
- Let people be part of the solution. Whatever the problem, allow others to participate in solving it.
- Talk straight. Say what you mean and mean what you say.
The Hero is courageous--willing to put their career at risk for a shot at greatness. Heroes act when others will not, even in the face of fear and overwhelming opposition. But leading up to the gap, the Hero can become the Bystander, characterized by fear. The Bystander is paralyzed by inaction and driven by fear. They keep you playing small and stuck where you are.
Three ways to leverage the Hero and banish the Bystander:
- If you see something, do something. The things we fail to do become our limits.
- If you hear something, say something. Treat fear as an obstacle that can be overcome.
- Feel the fear but do it anyway. Everything you want is on the other side of fear.
The inventor is brimming with integrity, constantly searching for the best way to improve processes and products and to perfect their craft. They are experimenters who make many small bets and are willing to fail in pursuit of big wins. They seek quality and excellence, with integrity always paramount. But leading up to the gap, the Inventor can become the Destroyer, characterised by corruption. Willing to cut corners and do whatever is expedient, the Destroyer works by compromising quality.
Three ways to leverage the Inventor and banish the Destroyer:
- Make excellence a habit. Treat everything you do as your very best work.
- Keep your promises. Don't agree to anything you don't intend to do.
- Make integrity part of everything you do. There's no other path to becoming a person of thorough integrity.
The navigator has a way of making the complicated simple and the simple understandable, masterfully steering their organization and the people within it to ever better outcomes. Their hallmark is trust--given and received. But leading up to the gap, the Navigator can become the Fixer, marked by arrogance. The Fixer tells people what to do instead of navigating the way alongside them, bossy and often aggressive.
Three ways to leverage the Navigator and banish the Fixer:
- Fix the fixer within you. Remember that trying to fix people isn't a good way to be valued or appreciated.
- Empower people. Show them they're smarter than they think.
- Set boundaries and don't cross them. Teach people how to treat each other by modelling a good example of not crossing boundaries. Once you set them, keep them.
The Knight loyalty is everything. They are always looking for opportunities to serve and protect. But leading up to the gap, the Knight can become the self-serving Mercenary, who tries to lead by self-absorption or self-obsession is a person who will not succeed.
Three ways to leverage the Knight and banish the Mercenary:
- Learn what it means to serve others. Everyone can succeed when everyone serves.
- If you want respect, first give respect. It's a two-way street.
- Protect what you love and those you love. The best protection of all is loyalty.
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