Tag: Success

Perseverance

Perseverance is a needed quality, certainly among leaders. The ability to hold on just a little longer is not always pleasant or easy.

What steps can help leaders grow in their ability to persevere?

1) Speak to God. Going to God always makes the difference.

2) Stay positive. Remembering our ability to succeed helps maintain a positive mindset.

3) Set short- and long-term goals. Success in the short-term builds confidence for the long-term.

4) Start small and build up. Each victory encourages greater success in higher matters.

5) See beyond present circumstances. Take a moment to look beyond and consider the ultimate end.

Benefits of Failure

What or who determines failure? Why is failure seen as negative? How can leaders learn and improve their leadership?

Recognize failure is inevitable. No matter who you are failure takes place.

Acknowledge and take responsibility. Do not ignore, deny, or cast blame when failure occurs.

Remember the words of Winston Churchill, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

Do not hesitate to act. Waiting to act creates a perception of apathy.

Learn from failure and make changes to prevent the same mistakes.

Work to build a series of successful events or programs to reassure the strength of the leadership.

Love to Lead

I used to tell my children that if you don’t love what you are doing, then do something else. Life is too short to do something you don’t love.

Then, I found a quote from Al Lopez, ”Do what you love to do and give it your very best. Whether it’s business or baseball, or the theater, or any field. If you don’t love what you’re doing and you can’t give it your best, get out of it. Life is too short.”

How true! We face a crossroads between our talent and what we love to do. When we combine them, we find a beautiful combination of success.

Elevating Others

One of the greatest qualities a leader possesses is the ability to elevate or stimulate someone morally or spiritually.

Consider two key principles for leading:

1) We don’t always have a second chance to make a good first impression. Use those first few moments to focus on the other person and lift them up in conversation.

2) Perhaps the most significant need within each person is that of reaching their potential, improving, growing, and achieving success. Find a way to help them do so.

Much more could be said, but consider the importance and value of lifting others up in leading them. When we do, an amazing future awaits.

P B and J

Growing up, I knew what was on the menu when mom said, “P B and J.” A peanut butter and jelly sandwich seemed to speak of a healthy lunch, the perfect combination of protein and carbohydrates.

From a leadership perspective, P B and J carries another important thought.

Promise: Leaders hold promise for a better tomorrow.

Belonging:
Leaders make it possible for others to belong, the security of a stable environment.

Journey:
Success is not about a destination, it is the journey. Make it rich.

The next time you hear P B and J, maybe you can remember the leadership connection.

Progress or Progressive?

Progress involves an attribute associated with the development of an organization.

Progressive tends to fall into an area that describes a gradual step by step movement away from a conservative foundation to a more liberal one.

Numerous emotions are attached to the direction associated with both words. Considering the original definition of these words, however, points to a significant development in relationship to our leadership.

When leaders advance with a gradual step by step approach in an effort to move toward a destination, the opportunities for long lasting success are more secured.

Quick movements tend to only satisfy short-term needs.

Timeless Advice

We all enjoy learning timeless nuggets of advice, those pieces of information unaltered by time, generation, or culture. Often times, we can overlook them for something believed to have greater value.

Joshua was given one of these nuggets, “Be strong and very courageous.” God emphasized strength and courage three times in this context.

As we consider the timeless nature of this advice, there are powerful implications for spiritual leaders. God specifies that Joshua’s success depended on following this advice.

The success of our leadership today depends on following the same. How different would our world be if spiritual leaders had the strength and courage to do so?

Rating Our Leadership

We enjoy the idea of rating performance, looks, ability, etc. and, generally, we use a scale from 1 to 10. How would we rate our leadership?

While consistent standards are helpful, we need to realize a couple of factors.

1) People will rate our leadership (whether we like it or not).
2) Our rating is based on ability, decisions, relationships, and previous success.
3) We will give an account to God for our leadership.
4) The final measuring device will be God’s word.

Changing our rating is up to us. When we use God’s word, on a scale of 1 to 10, how will our leadership measure up?

Failing as a Leader

No one gets excited about failure. One of the areas listed as most feared by people is a fear of failure. Henry Ford said, “Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”

Our society is one that honors and thrives on success.

There are employers that rush employees into failure. They actually want people to fail because of the benefit for each person.

Through failure people learn what does not work, eliminating the need to try the same path.

Several have modified the idea that “success is not final, failure is not fatal.” As much as failure is unpleasant, if we learn from it, greater success will be part of the future.

A Successful Definition

Success is often defined by popularity or profit, and a person or thing that achieves desired aims or attains prosperity.

Perhaps our definition should not be about “what” determines success, but “who”.

Jesus said if someone gains the whole world and loses their soul, the level of success is not worth it.

When God determines success, then we are on the right path. Can we measure success by a strong Christian family, leading others to Christ, helping someone in need, giving hope to the hopeless, lending a hand to a friend, growing in our knowledge of God’s word, and developing a close relationship with Him through prayer?