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:
"Every champion was once a contender who refused to give up." Rocky Balboa
What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.
A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:
OK, this is the final quote and thought from Sylvester Stallone. Next month I want to talk about IMPACT and I'll share some great quotes that will get you thinking.
Today though we'll finish with this final thought from "Rocky Balboa", and it circles back to the core of the Rocky franchise: Never Give Up!
I think that's the message that I first experienced when I watched Rocky, it's the idea of Rocky doing something that everyone else said was impossible, and he just refused to believe that, instead, he kept working towards the impossible until he was able to achieve it. He just wanted to go the distance.
"Yo Adrian, I did it!"
That's the cry of success.
This quote reminds us that we will never have a chance of succeeding if we don't try.
I remember the day I decided to "run for office" to be the Student Body President my senior year of high school. I had always wondered what that would be like, to go through a campaign, an election, and then serve as a representative.
I signed up on a whim, told my parents about it, forgot to mention it to my friends, and off I went, creating a campaign based on some promise I can't even remember.
I don't remember the other 2 people I was running against, but I don't remember being afraid of losing. If I had lost, I would have just found something else to do, so it wasn't fear that kept me from jumping in, it was the honest belief that I could make a difference.
I jumped into the campaign, and I won.
And honestly, I learned a lot about leadership that year from those in office with me and from our staff advisor, Randy. It was a great experience and I felt that we did some good, so I ran again in college and again, had a great experience.
Watching the election campaign process here in the U.S. right now is crazy, and I often wonder what would compel someone to dive into a public race and have it thrown all over the world to see. I hope it's that same idea that they can make a difference someplace!
I'm glad I took the risk and ran for office. I'm sure there are other opportunities that I missed along the way for a variety of reasons.
What's something you jumped in to do, maybe against some great odds? How did that turn out for you?
DEEPER STILL:
We've talked about this before, but I think it's worth revisiting.
Looking at the quote above, what is it that might keep you away from jumping into an opportunity?
I think for me there are 3 main reasons for me:
#1) FEAR
I'm just afraid. Afraid I won't succeed, afraid I'll look bad, afraid others will see me fail, afraid I'll be a bad reflection on my organization, just afraid. These are the kinds of thoughts that run through your mind in the middle of the night when you can't sleep and they often paralyze you. Often, not rooted in reality, but they weigh heavily on me.
#2) DRIFT
Sometimes we have a hard time knowing if we should or shouldn't do it. We haven't worked on our system of decision making well enough, and usually that comes back to a lack of clarity around our purpose and the direction we're going into. If you know where you're going, it's easy to determine what will get you there or not. Listening to God's voice, understanding others influence on your life and using your past experience all helps you to see clearly what you should and shouldn't do.
#3) I CAN'T
This is the "Moses Excuse" and it's you simply not believing that you have the skills and abilities to do what's in front of you. It's easier to make an excuse then to dive into something that might seem difficult. Different then fear, this is more about confidence. For many of us, we have learned to make that our first response, "I CAN'T", which is really just another way to say "I WON'T". You don't need to make an excuse. Look what Moses ended up doing!
There are many reasons to say NO to things that's don't line up, but don't let any of these things keep you from doing exactly what it is you should be doing. Don't be afraid to get in the game.
Which one of these do you most resonate with or which one do you use the most: Fear, Drift, I Can't?
Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:
I get a joke regularly, almost daily from Mikey's Funnies. It's free. It's clean. It takes just a few minutes. Subscribe HERE.
This is the book I just finished:The Steps by Sylvester Stallone. Try listening to the Audible version, read by Stallone himself.
Found a fabulous coffee spot in Costa Mesa: Moongoat Coffee Greenhouse
What fun to hang-out with our friends Rich & Lisa with Inca Link. Watching the impact of their lives and the growth of their organization and vision has been inspiring! Check them out.
It's a small thing, but when I use these white board markers I can feel the difference from other ones. Highly Recommend! Pilot V