Epic Living - Leadership Development Career Management Training Executive Life Coaching Author

Focusing on the Small

I wrote the following some months back.  It seems appropriate considering how big (those in the media would say "really big") things are right now.

Regardless of your endeavor, you probably have at one time or another thought about hitting it big.  Natural as the air you breathe it seems.  In many respects big is a good thing-if it is a part of your destiny.  For example, Nelson Mandela was meant to have worldwide notoriety and focus.  He was the right man for the journey South Africa was in.  It's also quite a statement how he released power, while some of his contemporaries held (and are still holding) on.  See Robert Mugabe and Zimbabwe on this.  In an ironic way leadership plays out like this everyday in organizations across the globe.

So as we hear the music playing our tune, it's easy to embrace the big. 

I've been asked about Oprah, about fame, about money, about feeling the love.  But rarely am I asked about the input, the mission, or the pain.  Maybe there's no surprise here, since we are enamored with the output.  If I were not careful, I could easily miss the small while going for the big.  Thankfully, humility is now in my blood work.  Wasn't always this way.

Here's why the small is important:

1. Hitting the big is very temporal.  Hitting the small refines your soul.
2. The small people are the biggest people.
3. Those who are only fascinated by the big will leave you in a heartbeat when the party is over.
4. The small allows you to serve from a perspective of reality and measurable outcome.
5. The small will stay with you come good or bad.  The small knows dedication.
6. The small will pave a way for greatness.
7. The small reminds you (daily) that life truly is a moment by moment game.
8. The small will not detour you from your destiny.
9. Customers are always found and served in the small.

The Way Through

During these times many are saying we need to find a way out.  I say we need to find a way through.  We'll never be the better for this time if all we find is an escape hatch.

Thanksgiving

Here's hoping your Thanksgiving will be full of much happiness.

I am infinitely thankful for you.

Thankfulness in the Midst

 

When you think of thankfulness, is it bitter, sweet or both?  In America we're soon to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.  This one is quite different than many before.  So many issues pressing against us.

I have many friends who are now downright pessimistic about the future.  They see so much bad on the horizon that it causes them to lose hope. 

One conclusion I've come to is that I don't have the power overcome their fear.  All I can do is live out an example.  To that end, here's what I'm doing:

• Giving thanks in the midst of hard times.  It's easy to be thankful when all is going your way.  The test of our integrity comes when we have to fight through our own losses.
• On-purpose indifference to the media.  Don't get me wrong, I'm staying informed.  I'm just not confusing substantive information for selling.  This is big.
• Continue my habit of speaking about a better future.  Not a future provided, but a future created.
• Embracing the little things that are large.  For example, one glance to create a connection with another human being, so they know how important they are.
• Remember, remember, remember that fear only needs my attention in-order to succeed.

I'm confident that by doing the above I will live a life of thankfulness.  That's the best legacy I can leave for my friends.

The Two Paths to Great Leadership

            

Had a great conversation with Marc yesterday.  We spoke a lot about future plans with our two companies, but it was his brief statement below that made me pause:

    "You have two paths you can go on in this environment.  One says this sucks, and the other says I see an opportunity."

Those words cconfirmed mmuch in my heart. 

Even when things have been bad, I have gravitated toward optimism.  No applause needed here.  Many (family, friends, and associates) have come to count on me for looking up.  This hasn't always been easy.

Even in the times where I wondered if Epic Living would make it, I wrote from the perspective of optimism.  Why?  You don't need another source/media that communicates how bad things are-in my life or the world as a whole.  Believe me, this is not lofty fee-good babble.  It hurts me when people fall into the quick sandd of pessimism.

I know that many are experiencing difficult times right now.  But could these hard times be the preparation ground for your greatest opportunity?  I fear that many could miss it because of that quick sand I mentioned.  Pure gold can't come about without some intense heat.

The real battle is in our heads.

 

Grasping Power

Those who seek to grasp power and promotion are usually the least fit to manage it.

Leadership Development and Your Authentic Wiring

There is a lot of emphasis in leader development on knowing who you are.  In other words, how you're authentically wired.  This is a good thing.

Analyzing a leader's wiring is effective in making sure the leader finds the work best suited for their strengths.  It helps organizations as they determine right fits for their structure.  I can't think of a more liberating place to be than to see oneself doing what makes the heart come alive.

There are some downsides though. 

As it is with a country who has lived under dictatorial rule for decades, so it is with leaders who've been squelched in their attempts to be authentic.  But sometimes liberation can lead to license, or worse, addiction to self-empowerment.  Almost like the liberators deciding that being a dictator is not so bad now that power is in hand.

The practical danger for leaders who discover they're authentic wiring comes when they believe the organization/team must submit to their way of seeing the world.  For example, I'm the type of leader who needs to connect emotionally, before any type of transaction can occur.  This is important to me.  However, I can't expect that a client or partner will give me this every time we meet.  I don't have to deny or give up my value (emotional connection), but I do have to practice the art of give and take.  If I never receive the emotional connection, then certainly I'm in the wrong place/organization. 

Here are some tips on how to prevent your wiring from overrunning your path to becoming a quality leader:

1. Make sure you're organization is a fit with your wiring.  This is not about placing judgment on the quality or health of your organization.  It's about what is the right fit for who you really are.
2. If you've just discovered your authentic wiring, don't begin to believe that the sun, moon and stars now revolve around you.
3. Learn to be a better communicator.  You'll need this as you start to live out what was given within.
4. As Stephen Covey has said; "seek first to understand, then to be understood."
5. Focus on the needs of your followers, before your own.  Leaders who do this build trust and loyalty.

30 Entrepreneurs

Had the fortune of making this list from YoungGoGetter.com.  It's made up of 30 entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter.

Truly an honor to be noted with this fine group of people.

Finding the Gold

Yesterday's Epic Living Hour on the result negative processing can be heard on the player below.

Forgotten

This post relates to a lonely time in my life.  It was a time of being forgotten, a time of isolation.  It made me better, but it did hurt.

The above video comes from Seal (one of my favorite artists) and I found it during that time of isolation.  The director portrays well the idea of being alone (notice Seal singing and all of the people walking past him).  I was struck by how connected I was to the theme.

Fortunately, I had wise mentors/advisors who told me that I would need to go through a period of aloneness.  That counsel prepared me, but it didn't take away the pain. If you're reading this and don't have someone to give you direction, then email me and I will.  No charge, just encouragement.

Now I can look back and see how that time was essential in remaking me into who I am today.

Life is sometimes like Hebrew.