Having a Goal

You may have heard the saying "If you don't know where you are going, then you are probably already there." Until I started my journey I never realized how true that is. They said to me "look at the last 5 years of your life. If you don't make any changes then the next 5 years will be similar to the last 5 years." That got me thinking. I didn't hate the last 5 years of my life. But it was nothing spectacular either. Just running the rat race. And not getting ahead of anything. Just staying the same. I really think that we stop focusing on the future, and get so caught up in whats happening now. Ever since they told me that I have started picturing the future and setting small goals to get to where I want to be in 5, 10, 20 years. I have also heard it said this way "Life is like a camera, what you focus on you will develop." In any profession you start out with ambition and go through the training to become. You focus on the skills it takes, learn them and they become you. That even applies to bad things. The more you focus on hatred for someone, the more it builds up until you despise them.

I suggest you find something that you want to have, or do, or get done within the next few months. Figure a way to divide it into 2-4 steps to get there. Then write down those steps. Look at them everyday and ask to yourself, "What am I doing today to hit this next step?" Before you know it you will have made that want into a reality. Start out with something small and get some results, then the sky is the limit.

Justin

Give Happy to Be Happy

Serving. That is a huge part in being a Leader. The title "Give Happy to Be Happy" is something I hear Chris Brady say all the time. If you want to be happy then give happy. We were at an event last night called the Festival of Trees. There was this lady with a double wide stroller and was struggling to get out the door. When I saw this I walked over and held open the door for her, and with a big smile said "This should help make it easier." She got through the door, looked at me, smiled and said thank you. There was almost a sigh of relief feeling that came from her when she said thank you. Little things like that go a long way in peoples lives.

I absolutely love what I heard Dallin Larsen say
"Life is like a tennis match. He who serves best usually wins."

Justin

Mentor Wisdom

Having a mentor is important in Leadership. You may have heard the expression "Lead, Follow or get out of the way." I believe you must first Follow, then Lead. However you should never quit following. Attach yourself to someone out front that you can trust, who is Honest and has Integrity. That will make all the difference when you have challenges.

I leave you today with a quote from one of my mentors,
"You can't Teach what you don't know, and you can't Lead where you wont go."


Justin

12/3/08

I would like to add another quote that rings so true. It is about learning from failures. If you really understand that in order to be successful you must "fail forward" you will also understand that you can learn and grow from everything you do.

"Lesson continues until lesson learned."
"

Leadership Gold

I am re-reading Leadership Gold by John Maxwell. I read chapter 4 last night. I absolutely love it. It is titled "When You Get Kicked In The Rear, You Know You're Out In Front"
It talks about criticism and some ways to handle them. Because every time you are out in front leading, someone will always have some criticism toward you. I've heard it said that most people want you to get by, just not by them! I have not read to many of John Maxwell's books yet, but I did hear him speak once and he is the real deal. Charlie "Tremendous" Jones says "You are the same today as you are going to be in 5 years except for the People you meet and the Books you read."

So lets meet new people and read new books. There is a list of books on this site that I recommend or any of the books recommended on any of my links would be great ones to read.

Justin

a.k.a
Average Joe