It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
Greetings to you!
Each week I send out a short leadership blog that's called "Tuesday at 2:00pm". The purpose of this is simply to provide a brief thought on leadership that you can read and think about in just a few minutes. I send it out every week at 2:00pm (PST) and encourage you to make an appointment with yourself to pause and think about the thing I'm writing about.
Russ...
LEADERSHIP QUOTE:
"I believe any success in life is made by going into an area with a blind, furious optimism." Sylvester Stallone
What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.
A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:
I'm going to continue some quotes from Sylvester Stallone this month simply as a way to prompt some deeper thinking.
I finished his book The Steps this past week. It's his early story of growing up, and it ends with him winning the Oscar for Best Picture in 1977 for Rocky. The journey to get there was long, somewhat dark, but a true story of perseverance!
In this quote, he focuses on three words, and I think there's something there for us. "Blind - Furious - Optimism". This is what this says to me:
BLIND:
Stallone says over and over, "don't let the odds stop you", even when things look bleak, don't focus on your chance of failure, don't be "blind" to the opportunities around you, don't be careless. Stallone worked for years and years writing, re-writing, learning and failing before he wrote the screenplay for Rocky in just 3 days. He worked hard to get to this point, especially as everyone around him told him he'd never succeed.
FURIOUS:
This idea from Stallone is about intensity. He would say you have to bring an aggressive effort to everything you do, willing to work hard, willing to fight for what you believe in. This isn't a passive hope that things will work out, but a relentless pursuit of something you believe in.
OPTIMISM:
Stallone defines this as "believing in the outcome before there's evidence for it." Belief comes first, the results follow.
I don't know about you, but these three words are really challenging to me today. I'm doing a little self-audit to see how these words are currently playing out in my life and I'm challenged, but I'm also inspired.
Stallone's personal story and journey describe what these words meant to him, and I guess I need to determine what they mean to me.
It seems at times that I am OK simply rolling through life, through work, through relationships, through challenges with a lack of intensity, a lack of focus and I can easily get lulled to just "cruise" by the steady state of the calendar that just keeps moving forward, one project, one event at a time.
That's not what I want or how I want to live.
What would my life reflect if I was a little more BLIND to the obstacles facing me, and I saw a vision of what could be?
What would my next project look like if I applied some FURIOUS energy to it, putting all my effort into it instead of just a little bit?
How would I lead if instead of a general toxic sense of OPTIMISM, I truly believed in the vision and purpose before it actually became a reaility?
Cue the Rocky theme HERE.
Do you find yourself drifting to sleep at a time when you should be fully engaged, completely focused and excited about what you're doing and who your called to be?
DEEPER STILL:
In the book of Genesis, we see another story of perseverance. Joseph went through so many trials in his life, but in the midst of that he kept believing that God had a plan and a purpose.
He believed that God would use him to lead others
He worked hard everywhere he went, even after being sold into slavery.
He kept his integrity
He endured being forgotten for years
He didn't let bitterness take over his life
He trusted that God had a purpose for all that was happening
He was ready when opportunity presented itself
Joseph didn't compromise when he had every reason to just give up.
This is BLIND, FURIOUS, OPTIMISM clearly displayed in and through his life.
Stallone's quote might have activated something inside me, but Joseph's story and God's invitation on my life should be the foundation of my life, lived with...
BLINDNESS to all the reasons why I can't do something, and a faith that I CAN with His help and guidance.
FURIOUS focus and intensity meaning I'm going to put everything I have into what He's created me for and called me to.
OPTIMISM that is contagious to others, helping them see and believe in something so much bigger then themselves.
WOW. That's where I want to be!
I need to figure out what's keeping me from this, but what's keeping you from approaching everything with that BLIND, FURIOUS, OPTIMISM?
Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:
I'm doing some work with The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni, and I recently pulled it from my shelf to revisit the model. Such great tools for every organization!
This is the book I just finished:The Steps by Sylvester Stallone. Try listening to the Audible version, read by Stallone himself.
We are hosting Tim Elmore here in Southern California on November 17th and we're holding a seminar that afternoon from his book, "The Future Begins with Z: Finding, Keeping and Leading Generation Z on Your Team". If you'd like to join us at Concordia University, here is the REGISTRATION LINK You can learn more about Tim at timelmore.com
Recently, I purchased some "cheaper" chart paper to use with a LifePlan, and I was really dissatisfied with the quality, packaging and durability. Forget that. Back to my trusted favorite chart paper that is worth the price! Anchor Chart Paper
I enjoyed listening to Carly Simon Essentials album on Apple. Some great songs and ones I had forgotten about!