EVERYONE IS CALLED TO LEADERSHIP: Everyone is called upon to lead in some capacity sooner or later in life. Some of the issues are big, some are small. Sometimes the responsibilities requiring leadership last a lifetime, and others only for a moment. Leadership, then, is something each of us should strive to understand better and utilize more fully. Improving our leadership abilities is key to unleashing the potential hidden within.
It looks like the International Association of Businesses has discovered what many of us have known and what we were reminded of this past weekend in St. Louis at the Team Winter Leadership Convention- that Orrin Woodward is a leader of leaders.
The International Association of Businesses is a non profit corporation to help and assist small businesses start, grow and effectively create jobs in the US. Their website link and a recent post listing the the 2010 Top 10 Leadership Website Awards is below.
International Association of Businesses highlights the following website nominations in contention for the 2010 TOP 10 LEADERSHIP WEBSITE AWARDS!
The Top 10 represent the “Cream of the Crop” and apply their own leadership principals to achieve both qualitative and quantitave results in their own organization. They also develop and influence leaders and leadership throughout American businesses.
As you send back your nominations to iabusa@yahoo.com, please consider the following:
- Originality of ideas
- Practicality of ideas
- Presentation style
- International outlook
- Impact of ideas
- Quality of web content, publications and writings
- Ranking of website in US and International
Again, for additional entries and submissions, please send name, website
and why you think this person should be considered part of the
Top 10 Leadership Websites to: iabusa@yahoo.com.
Hear Orrin Woodward interviewed by Tom Chenault on the Home Business Radio Show. Listen to Orrin discuss leadership, personal responsibility, character, integrity, free enterprise and the opportunities before us today.
Here are just a few of the nuggets shared in the short radio interview:
No matter how good you are at anything, you’re only as good as you are worth following. People buy into who you are before they buy into anything else.
Hear Orrin discuss why the Team organization is such a strong organization. It is because Team members are more focused and more driven than most other organizations. It’s a result of the culture created on the Team. Great things happen when people buy into a grand vision and begin moving in the same direction toward that vision. The team culture aligns people’s visions and activity for maximum results. They create that flow and that momentum that creates the results that each person is after. That culture creates the focus and action to produce consistent results and the leader sets the tone of the group- the leader creates the culture. The compounded effect is big-time results.
The speed of the group is the speed of the leader.
Orrin’s blog is top-notch on so many things- politics, freedom, leadership, making a difference beginning with ourself.
America was founded on personal accountability. There was no government to get a hand out from back then. It was created with the dreams and efforts of the American people. Our dreams & ideas are the new frontiers.
Network marketing is the greatest model of free enterprise because no one gets paid based on title. Everyone starts at zero with the unlimited potential to build a business to whatever level they are willing to lead themselves and to lead others.
Real leadership has nothing to do with titles. It has everything to do with service to others.
Launching a Leadership Revolution is perhaps the best foundational beginning and strategy to implement the development of your own personal leadership and that of your organization.
Hunger is the driving force behind any significant success. The real foundation of all leadership is being a hungry student. It’s more than just showing up. In your own business, your pay raise becomes effective when you do.
Every one of us had the ability to transcend yourself to become the person worthy of following. The effort to succeed closes the gap between success and a lack of it.
Tom Chenault commented that the vision and impact of Team will effect the whole world. That the whole idea of culture is so powerful.
In today’s internet world, information about pretty much everything comes at us a-mile-a-minute and in such impossible volumes to manage. Somehow, we have to wade through all the advice, good & bad, and all the “you can do it” encouragement and actually begin to do something. With the incredible bombardment of our senses, it’s sometimes hard to even know what the first step should be. “Where do I start?” “What do I do now, like, right now?” “How do I begin and where do I begin it?” Amidst the confusion, it’s so easy to put off doing anything.
Once we do figure out where to start, it's important to get off to a good one. In reality, we are all starting daily. Every day is new day and in each day we simply start again.
Starting successfully begins with accepting responsibility for not only where I’m at right now, but, more so, where I’m going to be.
“Before anything else, getting ready is the secret of success.” Henry Ford
We have to become self-starters. John Maxwell calls it the Great Separator. There are Doer’s and Do-Nots. It is essential to be a self-starter. It’s important to always remember a simple basic principal: To Win – We Must Begin.
“To Succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.” Ben Franklin
Starting Successfully
START with yourself.
The first question we must answer is not where do I start – it’s who do you start. As Ghandi plainly put it, we must “Be the change you want to see in the world.” We must be the change we envision and it begins with 'me'.
The Value of Starting With Myself:
First, starting with myself gives me experience, gives me confidence, gives me integrity and gives me influence. And remember, Leadership is nothing more than influence. Second, I am with myself more than anyone else. Some of you didn’t know that. Others are thinking, boy that Matt, he’s about as sharp as a bowling ball. You have to be the one to push your own start button. In a way, since you’re with yourself so much, you have to become your own mentor; to hold yourself accountable; to develop self-discipline and self-mastery. Third, I must start with myself in order to give to others. I must realize that I’m the only person I have any control over. But the magic is in understanding the paradox of power that control of myself leads to the influence of others… to follow your lead. Starting with myself permits me to give to others. It can be difficult trying to help others if you don’t help yourself first.
The #1 Leadership Principle At West Point is ”Lead by Example”. It’s really the only way to lead. People do what they see. Be the example you want others to follow. Be someone you would want on your team.
START early.
Start early in every aspect: daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. The value of starting early is this… it allows you to tap intoThe Slight Edge: Secret to a Successful Life- the power of compounding: The earlier you start, the more power you have. I don’t necessarily mean get up at 6am and start working. What I mean is, don’t put off till tomorrow what you can complete today! It’s the smallest seemingly insignificant things we do daily that accumulate into the biggest results.
The Value of Starting Early:
1. You increase your odds of success.
2. You compound your success.
3. You have more options later in life.
Though you cannot go back And make a brand new start, my friend, Anybody can start from now, And make a brand new end!
START small.
This one is important because we can get intimidated in beginning what may seem like a monumental journey with no end in sight. Don’t expect to understand everything it takes to get to the top right away. Just take the next step. It’s the daily things you do that get you closer. Don’t think you have to have all the answers or that you to have everything figured out before you start. Just begin.
A solid philosophy to begin is: Think Big & Start Small. The first 2 steps to start effectively are to first, Define your dream, your vision of your success and, second, commit to seeing it through. You can decide to do both right where you are… right now!
The Advantages of Starting Small:
1. It encourages you to get started. Hard work is an accumulation of easy things you didn’t do when you should have. Starting small allows you to experience progress quickly reinforcing your activity. When you accomplish a small step, you provide yourself encouragement that you can accomplish the next step. Set small goals that build confidence. Each day maybe it’s simply listening to an audio, reading one chapter of a good book, or making one contact.
2. It allows you to prioritize and concentrate. Focusing on the next best thing you need to do creates progress and clarity of purpose. “If you can’t feed 1,000 people, then feed one.” Mother Theresa
3. It provides the necessary step to take the next step. You put one foot in front of the other, and soon you’ll be walking out the door. (Santa Claus is Comin' to Town). The next step is the necessary step to take the next step!
One bright morning a boy rushed to get up and get out to the beach. There had been a terrible storm the night before and he could just imagine all the treasures that had washed ashore during the night. When the boy got to the beach he was amazed to see the beach covered with thousands of starfish. They had been washed way up onto the sand and were starting to dry out. The boy, knowing that they would die, began to pick them up and throw them back into the water. A man who was strolling on the beach watched the boy frantically rushing to throw the starfish back into the ocean. The man approached the boy and said, "You know you can never throw all of these starfish back into the ocean. There are too many and they are already dying. Your throwing them back won't make any difference." The little boy carrying another starfish in his hands, stopped and looked into the man's eye thoughtfully… then tossing the starfish into the waves he replied, "It makes a difference to that one!" and he rushed off to saving more of the dying starfish.
What you are going to be tomorrow you are becoming today… step by step.
START with the end in mind.
As you begin . . . look way out there.
“I will get ready and perhaps my chance will come.” Abraham Lincoln
“It’s too late to prepare when opportunity comes.” John Wooden
We don’t get into a car and just start driving. We get in the car, put the key in the ignition, shift, brake, hit the gas, hit the turn signal, all because we’re going somewhere! People spend more time planning their grocery shopping than designing their future. The basic difference between people who live their dreams and those who only dream about how they would live is the accuracy of their plans and their ability to take action. You now have the knowledge to capture your dreams.
To start with the end in view, you need energy and direction. Let your passion, dream, and vision pull you forward to that end. Let your planning give you direction.
3 Reasons To Start With The End In View:
1) It gets you started right. All’s well that begins well.
How do you get started right?
A. Define your vision: What is your passion?
B. Learn: What those who have been successful have learned; the principles of their success.
C. Do: What those who have been successful have done/are doing. Listen to them; watch their life; follow their example; learn from their mistakes and their victories.
Maintain a positive healthy attitude visualizing where you’re going and do the work necessary to get there.
“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” Soren Kierkegaard
2) It keeps you going right. Starting with the end in sight, keeps you on track. It allows you to see it though. With clear vision, you have more energy to give which creates self- motivation. You have less energy to lose because you have direction. You see the big picture.
3) It gets you where you need to go. What gets measured gets done. Results! At this point we should have already learned that life isn’t fair and it isn’t going to be fair. Stop sniveling and whining and go out and make it happen for yourself.
Dick Butler, an Advertising Executive and International Consultant wrote: “In business I see too many people who expect the financial tooth fairy to come at night and remove that ugly dead tooth from under the pillow and substitute profitability just in the nick of time at the end of their fiscal year.”
Success does not arrive, your ship isn’t going to come in… you’re going to have to swim out and get it yourself.
START – NOW!
If you wait for the perfect time to start, it’ll never come.
“A year from now you may wish you had started today.” Karen Lamb
One of my favorite Maxwell quotes is that “We over-exaggerate yesterday. We overestimate tomorrow. We underestimate today.”
“One today is worth two tomorrows.” Ben Franklin
2. It removes the greatest barrier to your success: ☢Procrastination☢ I think that word is toxic. It's the ninja dream killer- you never see it coming until it's too late. The best way to never achieve anything… is to never start anything. We certainly won’t have to worry about any critics or adversity if we never attempt anything. Do nothing, be nothing, say nothing.
Anybody who brags about what they’re going to do tomorrow probably did the same thing yesterday! That’s called Destination Disease. It’s the ‘I’ll get to it tomorrow’ syndrome. Procrastination is the assassination of motivation. Knowledge is power only when it is applied. Do it now!
“The greatest gap is between knowing and doing.” Dick Biggs
“Today is the day you worried about yesterday.” Alice Klendworth
3. It is the open door for opportunity.
And it is right before you this very moment. It is simply a matter of reaching out your arm, putting your hand on the doorknob to success, turning the knob, opening the door and taking that first step through the doorway. It’s the job that never started that takes the longest to finish.
“Most people fail in the starting.” Maureen Falcone
“Start now, because tomorrow may not be yours to start.” Sherrie Perry
And one of my all-time favorites comes from Mr. Mikey Kasem:
“You can’t leave footprints in the sands of time if you’re sitting on your butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?”
The problem is that we want the rewards of success without paying the price.
Author Seth Godin wrote: “You don’t win an Olympic gold medal with a few weeks of intensive training.” “There’s no such thing as an overnight opera sensation. Great law firms or design companies don’t spring up overnight . . . Every great company, every great brand, and every great career has been built in exactly the same way; bit by bit, step by step, little by little.” There is no magic solution to success.
The formula for success is simple: WHAT DO YOU WANT – DETERMINE THE PRICE – START PAYING IT.
“How wonderful it is that we need not wait a single minute before starting to improve ourselves and our world”. -Anne Frank
As we ponder the arduous journey toward success, take ownership of your vision and of your progress toward it. Manage your attitude, your activity, your priorities… and discipline is the by-product.
Knowledge is not power unless it is used. Love is not divine unless it is expressed. Life is not the purest joy imaginable unless we act with every fiber of our being in its realization. Tom James, Personal Development Coach
You can only master those things in your life through use, action, and implementation. Do something to move yourself closer to your dream every day starting TODAY! And you’ll make a bigger difference than you ever thought you could.
I remember hearing Orrin Woodward once say that “the greatest sin is to be given the gift of life and return it unopened.” Let that not be said of you & I.
Start with yourself.
Start small.
Keep your dream big enough to keep it pulling you forward.
And lead yourself and your team to victory.
Make 2010 your best ever!
It’s within your control.
And it starts NOW!
Someone just sent me an email presenting a list of thought provoking quotes from Ronald Reagan with a subject heading that simply said... "Miss me yet?" What I think we miss is good quality leadership with a vision for preserving America's freedoms. Here are President Reagan's thoughts:
"Socialism only works in two places: Heaven where they don't need it and hell where they already have it."
'Here's my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose.'
"The most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"
'The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.'
'Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong.'
'I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.'
'The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.'
'Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.'
'The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program.'
'It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.'
'Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.'
'Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed, there are many rewards; if you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book.'
'No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is as formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.'
'If we ever forget that we're one nation under GOD, then we will be a nation gone under.'
'Entrepreneurs and their small enterprises are responsible for almost all the economic growth in the United States.'
'Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.'
'How do you tell a communist? Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.'
‘The ultimate determinant in the struggle now going on for the world will not be bombs and rockets but a test of wills and ideas-a trial of spiritual resolve: the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish and the ideals to which we are dedicated.’
‘To sit back hoping that someday, someway, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last–but eat you he will.'
‘You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children’s children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.’
