Success Thought of The Day

Use the information you have and choose the move that best serves you. Learn, iterate, adjust and do better.

If you do sit still, that should be by choice, not indecision.

Talent is God-given. Be humble.
Fame is man-given. Be grateful.
Conceit is self-given. Be careful.

– John Wooden

Believe. Belief in your passion and purpose. Who you are and whose you are!
Achieve. Achieve the impossible, through faith and action is required. Both are required.
Relieve. Relieve yourself of comparisons to others and doubters within your tribe. Give your mind and body the rest and preparation it needs daily and weekly.

Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.
– Demosthenes

Discern before you discard. Each opportunity is a potential small win in the making. Cumulative small wins add up.

Don’t isolate yourself with your fears.  Instead, share them with those you trust that can share the burden and you can do the same for them.  This is a journey, not a sprint … having partners during the journey will help you tremendously.

I find that my hands feel fully occupied when I act like an owner, yet fluid when I act like a steward, which is where I want to be. Stewardship bears the same responsibility for performing but acknowledges that the role you are in is a “pitstop” on the journey and for a broader cause.

Consider the context under which you perform.

Finding better and more efficient ways to do things is wise.  That is wisdom.  However, be wary of shortcuts that would lead you to believe that you can microwave your way to a great career.

I had the pleasure of hearing Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, tell his story a few weeks ago.  He shared some incredible footage from the climb.  One-piece of footage was him and team crossing between two mountain tops on a ladder.  It was probably thirty feet or so across.  He joked that one of the benefits of being blind was that he could not look down, as if he did, he might have stopped.  Looking down startled many of the folks making their way across those mountain tops.
 
Aim high, stay above the fray, make your way across your mountain tops and don’t look down … there is nothing down there for you.

It is easy to think about leadership as an assignment, a title or a post, but it’s not. It is about showing up, creating a vision, positively influencing, and taking action, etc. You don’t need permission to do it.