LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up." Rocky Balboa/Sylvester Stallone

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

It's summer and I thought I would go a little "lighter" with some quotes over the next few months, and thought I'd start with some thoughts from Rocky Balboa aka Sylvester Stallone.

I remember watching the movie Rocky in 1976. It's a classic comeback movie, but I remember the people in the theatre cheering for this fighter as he came from nowhere to standing in the ring with the World Champion.

When I think of the Rocky franchise, the idea of never giving up is a part of every one of Stallone's stories. Each time, when everything was against him Rocky dug in and refused to give up.

I'm sure you remember the moment in each film when the music changes and we see the momentum shift, either during his training or during the actual fight. He's down and ready to just throw it all in, and he finds a way to come back, finds a way to turn things around.

This turn-around is what we all get excited about, whether it's a film or our real-life story.

I think the Rocky story is extra compelling when you learn about Sylvester Stallone's story and the way he was at the end, but he had this dream and he turned that into opportunity.

Think about a time in your life when you felt that you were done, then the music changed and you caught a second wind. What was it that really changed?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"If you want to make everyone happy, don't be a leader. Sell ice cream." Steve Jobs

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This month I want to look at some words from the late Steve Jobs. While much of his life was focused on building Apple, he has a lot to say about leadership, culture and perseverance.

This final quote from Jobs this month is an appropriate one. Years ago, I read the biography of Jobs written by Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs. In telling Jobs story, Isaacson also shares some of the tough things about Jobs.

Looking at the quote above, Jobs never tried to make people happy. He was relentless in his pursuit of his vision, and he often ran over and through people on his way forward.

The quote is a simple reminder to all of us as leaders: You won't make everyone happy, so don't try!

Leadership is difficult, and many times you're trying to serve, please, cater to and pay attention to the needs of those you're serving, yet if you're goal is making people happy, you'll never accomplish that which is the most important. You'll be distracted in your never-ending pursuit of people pleasing and this will make you ineffective.

This doesn't mean you have to lead like Jobs did. There can be a happy medium, but the challenge is still true: If your goal is making people happy, you're in the wrong seat!

While Steve Jobs was clearly focused on "perfection" in his pursuit of the perfect product for the world, some people loved working in that high pressure environment where everyone was focused on the vision and the task at hand, and they were willing to fight through the conflict to follow Jobs on this journey.

Others didn't want to work in that high-stress culture, and they jumped early.

Have you ever worked for someone who just wanted to make you happy? Who's sole purpose was to serve you? What was that like?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do." Steve Jobs

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This month I want to look at some words from the late Steve Jobs. While much of his life was focused on building Apple, he has a lot to say about leadership, culture and perseverance.

Jobs was a disrupter.

Over the years, I've read a number of books on his life and leadership, and watched a couple of movies & documentaries on him, and they all tell the story of him as a disrupter.

He never liked people telling him that he couldn't do something, and when he got an idea in his head, he was relentless in his pursuit of it. While this characteristic was a difficult one to manage and work with, he was able to do things that no one ever dreamed were possible.

People called Jobs "crazy" in his pursuit of innovation and in his desire to impact the world, yet today, more than 2 billion people are actively engaged with Apple products.

Jobs believed that he and his company could change the world, and he lived his life in constant pursuit of that and even following his death in 2011, others continue to carry the vision that he began.

Changing the World. That's a crazy goal!

What would it take for you to believe that you can change the world? What are you doing about that?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time." Steve Jobs

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This month I want to look at some words from the late Steve Jobs. While much of his life was focused on building Apple, he has a lot to say about leadership, culture and perseverance.

I love this quote today from him.

In a world of instant communication, a world of comparison marketing and a world where we can say anything we want, it's pretty easy to jump to conclusions about someones journey or story.

On one hand, we assume that people are sharing the whole story, when they're really just sharing the highlights.

We also assume because they're we're only seeing the success side, that there wasn't any failure or struggle along the way.

Jobs quote is a reminder that there's no such thing as an overnight success. Most great stories are a part of a journey, and it takes work, dedication, perseverance, resilience and discipline to keep moving forward. It doesn't usually JUST HAPPEN.

I was recently talking with a young leader, and my challenge to him was to start small, build a working model, then scale it little by little, adjust along the way, and if it works, continue to grow it.

This is a pretty standard formula but in a day when people can achieve some quick success without much effort, we are often looking at the easy way to build something, not the best way to build something.

Think about something you built or created in your life and leadership... Take a moment to revisit the process you went through to see that thing grow and work.

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice." Steve Jobs

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This month I want to look at some words from the late Steve Jobs. I'm an "Apple Guy"... there are Apple People and Non-Apple People, however I think there are some things that Jobs said and did that can potentially impact all of us.

This quote was so timely when I found it this past week.

We're living in a time of FEAR.

• We're afraid to share what we believe because it might offend someone else.

• We're afraid to have an opinion, so we remain quiet.

• We care, but we choose not to engage because of the noise.

Basically we're paralyzed because we're not sure what we should or shouldn't believe.

I love this quote from Steve Jobs, because he reminds us what is really important.

We are surrounded by noise... all kinds of noise. Some of the noise is really good noise, and some of it is just distracting.

I don't know about you, but sometimes when I go on a walk, I put my headphones in (Airpods) and instead of listening to a book, a podcast or music, I just enjoy the silence!

There is noise all around me. Often I leave a meeting to jump in my car and either make a phone call, or listen to my favorite radio station. I then will watch the news or a tv show at night, and many days the first thing I listen to in the morning in a news podcast.

I go from noise to noise constantly.

I'm not saying those things are necessarily bad, but to Jobs quote, sometimes the noise around me is louder than my own voice, or the Spirit who lives within me.

How would you define your life as it relates to noise? Are you operating at FULL VOLUME? 1 - 10?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Living in a constant state of balance is mostly impossible." Russ Cline

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

Well, I had a birthday milestone this month and turned 60 years old. I don't think it's that traumatic, however being whisked away to a beach in Mexico by my wife for a few days helped a lot!

60 Years.

This month, I want to share some things that I've learned over the years by sharing some interpretations of some great quotes. I realize that nothing is really new, we just share ideas in new and fresh ways and it cycles around again and again. There is still much to learn from these ideas that have been around for a long time, so I'm going to share my top 4 quotes/ideas that I keep coming back to over and over again.

I'm going to close this month with a simple thought on BALANCE.

For years, I learned how to "balance my life", or better yet, how to "strive for balance". I felt that if I could achieve a level of balance in my life, then all would be well. I then taught people about how to find balance in their lives.

Listen to these definitions of the word balance:

"An even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady"

"Keep or put (something) in a steady position so that it does not fall"

I don't know about you, but even though I've thought about balance in my life, I've dreamed about balance and I've worked towards balance, it's been mostly unsuccessful.

This doesn't mean that I'm out of control, it just means that if I'm going to define balance in my life, being "steady" is not the way I would define it.

My life has been a series of "living in the extremes". While this might sound bad, it's been an incredible ride!

Living in the extremes means:

• Moving from being busy to having rhythm

• Being disciplined in areas and being undisciplined

• Hitting goals and targets while sometimes failing

• Being emotionally full and energized to being drained

I don't know if you've experience this or not, but striving for balance in my life has been difficult if balance is defined as being STEADY.

How do you define balance in your life?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Don't be afraid of conflict: Trust is built in the way you lead through these times". Russ Cline

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

Well, I had a birthday milestone this month and turned 60 years old. I don't think it's that traumatic, however being whisked away to a beach in Mexico by my wife for a few days helped a lot!

60 Years.

This month, I want to share some things that I've learned over the years by sharing some interpretations of some great quotes. I realize that nothing is really new, we just share ideas in new and fresh ways and it cycles around again and again. There is still much to learn from these ideas that have been around for a long time, so I'm going to share my top 4 quotes/ideas that I keep coming back to over and over again.

I think I've learned a lot about conflict from one of my favorite authors, Patrick Lencioni. He said things like:

"On a team, trust is all about vulnerability."

"Trust is knowing that when a team member does push you, they're doing it because they care about the team."

"When there is trust, conflict becomes nothing but the pursuit of truth."

And it was Max Lucado who said:

"Conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional."

I have been on a journey learning about my personal tolerance for conflict and my leadership style around conflict, and it has been in transition all of the years I've had the privilege to lead.

Early on, I was a "conflict avoider" and I hated conflict.

I then learned over time that conflict is not always a negative thing, but it can also be a constructive and defining thing

Where are you on the conflict continuum? Do you "avoid conflict"? Do you engage in "destructive conflict" or are you someplace in the middle?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"You'll do great things if you don't care who gets the credit". *Russ Cline

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

Well, I had a birthday milestone this month and turned 60 years old. I don't think it's that traumatic, however being whisked away to a beach in Mexico by my wife for a few days helped a lot!

60 Years.

This month, I want to share some things that I've learned over the years by sharing some interpretations of some great quotes. I realize that nothing is really new, we just share ideas in new and fresh ways and it cycles around again and again. There is still much to learn from these ideas that have been around for a long time, so I'm going to share my top 4 quotes/ideas that I keep coming back to over and over again.

The first time I heard this quote, it was attributed to Ted Engstrom, then the President of World Vision. I then learned that many great people have said the same thing...Harry S. Truman, Ronald Reagan, Mark Twain and the list goes on. Maybe that's the point: It doesn't matter who said it, but we should focus on the power of these words.

I also saw this idea being lived out around me:

• Jim Burns, a lifelong mentor of mine, was incredibly generous with his time and his training materials. I heard him say over and over again how his goal was for the materials he had developed to be used, and he generously gave away printing and royalty rights, and encouraged people to copy and get these resources out to the people who needed them. This is counter-cultural, but it left an imprint.

• Ron Cline, my dad, led an initiative to partner with some "competing organizations" to accomplish something greater together. I'm not sure I understood the magnitude at the time. I probably assumed this is what everyone was doing, later to find out that this was not normal.

• Phyl Burger, a friend and consultant that I used years ago with our growing organization modeled how to come alongside a group of people for the "importance of the work", not for the benefit you could get out of it. She gave of her time and energy generously when it probably didn't make any sense to her, but the impact on my life personally and on the organization then is unmeasurable.

So instead of trying to figure out who SAID IT, let's celebrate those who DO THIS!

I want to be one of those people that doesn't care as much about the credit as I do the value of the work and the potential impact. What about you?

Who in your life has modeled the concept of this quote: selfless generosity?