Blogs

“Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement.” | W. Clement Stone

“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, I used everything you gave me.” | Erma Bombeck

Coach John Wooden knows how to lead a team to victory. His UCLA teams hold important National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) records for men’s college basketball, including the most national titles (10) and the most consecutive wins (7). Coach Wooden’s philosophy was based on one principle: give a task your absolute best effort, and let it stand.

“You become what you believe.” | Oprah Winfrey

From when we wake up in the morning until we go to bed, every moment of our day is filled with thoughts. Like a long freight train crossing the Prairies, our thoughts are a seemingly endless stream of consciousness, filling us with emotion, and forming the basis of the actions we take throughout the day.

“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” | Leonardo da Vinci

Some people seem to be perpetually winning, moving forward all the time, despite the fact that they may not have gone to the best school, or come from the ‘right’ circumstance or, quite frankly, even be that bright. These people seem to be able to attract success in an uncanny way; they are always doing the right things and moving in the right direction.

“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.” | Steve Jobs

Whether we realize it or not, every one of us is a leader in some way: in our families, workplaces or communities. Whether your goal is to make money, create great art or contribute to your community, each of us benefits from developing leadership skills.

I believe great leaders have these four significant qualities:

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” | Amelia Earhart

Decision-making is, and will continue to be, a critical part of your personal and professional development. Throughout your career, you will be faced with many decisions, both large and small, that will have a significant and material impact on your life.

I have the good fortune of working with a number of great CEOs, executives, entrepreneurs and other business leaders across different industries and stages of growth, giving me a unique perspective on the key traits that make some business leaders more consistently successful than others. Without a doubt, strong character, leadership and management skills, intelligence, critical thinking and structured decision making are absolutely essential for long-term success. However, there is one factor that I regularly see in the truly great CEOs.

“We become what we think about.” | Earl Nightingale

There have been countless times in my career when the situation did not look great. In fact, it looked utterly hopeless. What I did in these situations was generate hope that the situation would improve while dealing with the practical reality facing me. I have found over the years that the following technique worked particularly well for me: I reminded myself of my past successes and the challenges that I overcame.

“There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.” | Aristotle

It’s natural and healthy to feel enthusiastic about setting goals and deciding to make a meaningful and important change in our lives. Usually, our first instinct is to tell someone since we hope that they will feel as good about the goals as we do. Often, we start telling the people we are closest to, either friends, family or workmates, with little or no consideration given to how enthusiastic they are about us achieving our goals.

“The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.” | Socrates

How often have we held certain feelings toward someone without really understanding why? Those feelings or perceptions are the brand reputation you associate with that person, and result from all of your interactions with them over time. They can be feelings of love, trust, integrity and hard work, or of deceit, mistrust and pain. Whatever they are, we unconsciously are creating our brand every moment of the day through the little things we think, say and do.