by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Leadership, Mindset, Miniseries, Resources
TODAY’S IDEA: 12 Books of Greatness – Day 4
The 12 days of Christmas refers to the period of celebration (secular and religious) from December 25 through January 5. And because it coincides with the period of time that I’m going to be out on vacation visiting my family, I thought I’d make a miniseries for you during this time with posts from 12 Books of Greatness.
I strongly believe that greatness starts within us, so all of the posts that I chose for these 12 days come from books that are tremendously insightful. My hope is that reading these posts will give you plenty of ideas and “a-ha!” moments to end 2018 strong and start 2019 on a high note!
12 Books of Greatness – Day 4
The Success Principles™: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be
By Jack Canfield
Links to other posts in this miniseries: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3.
Know someone who would like this book or this miniseries on 12 Books of Greatness? Please share it with them via email, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Growth, Leadership, Mindset, Miniseries, Resources, Time
TODAY’S IDEA: 12 Books of Greatness – Day 3
The 12 days of Christmas refers to the period of celebration (secular and religious) from December 25 through January 5. And because it coincides with the period of time that I’m going to be out on vacation visiting my family, I thought I’d make a miniseries for you during this time with posts from 12 Books of Greatness.
I strongly believe that greatness starts within us, so all of the posts that I chose for these 12 days come from books that are tremendously insightful. My hope is that reading these posts will give you plenty of ideas and “a-ha!” moments to end 2018 strong and start 2019 on a high note!
12 Books of Greatness – Day 3
The Art of People: 11 Simple People Skills That Will Get You Everything You Want
By Dave Kerpen
Links to other posts in this miniseries: Day 1, Day 2.
Know someone who would like this book or this miniseries on 12 Books of Greatness? Please share it with them via email, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Growth, Leadership, Mindset, Planning, Productivity, Resources
TODAY’S IDEA: 12 Books of Greatness – Day 2
The 12 days of Christmas refers to the period of celebration (secular and religious) from December 25 through January 5. And because it coincides with the period of time that I’m going to be out on vacation visiting my family, I thought I’d make a miniseries for you during this time with posts from 12 Books of Greatness.
I strongly believe that greatness starts within us, so all of the posts that I chose for these 12 days come from books that are tremendously insightful. My hope is that reading these posts will give you plenty of ideas and “a-ha!” moments to end 2018 strong and start 2019 on a high note!
12 Books of Greatness – Day 2
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
By Greg McKeown
Links to other posts in this miniseries: Day 1.
Know someone who would like this book or this miniseries on 12 Books of Greatness? Please share it with them via email, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Growth, Leadership, Mindset, Miniseries, Resources
TODAY’S IDEA: 12 Books of Greatness – Day 1
I’m sure you’re familiar with the song Twelve Days of Christmas—here’s a lovely rendition interpreted by The Muppets. (Note: the image is not great, but it’s still very cute and funny!)
The 12 days of Christmas refers to the period of celebration (secular and religious) from December 25 through January 5. And because it coincides with the period of time that I’m going to be out on vacation visiting my family, I thought I’d make a miniseries for you during this time with posts from 12 Books of Greatness.
I strongly believe that greatness starts within us, so all of the posts that I chose for these 12 days come from books that are tremendously insightful. My hope is that reading these posts will give you plenty of ideas and “a-ha!” moments to end 2018 strong and start 2019 on a high note!
Happy holidays and happy reading!! 🙂
Helena
Your Chief Bookworm Officer
12 Books of Greatness – Day 1
The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life
By Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander.
Know someone who would like this book or this miniseries on 12 Books of Greatness? Please share it with them via email, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Planning, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 35 seconds
TODAY’S IDEA: Commitment: Failure vs. Fallure
— From The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington; and “Leadership Lessons of a Rock Climber,” post on Fast Company by Jim Collins on December 1, 2003.
One of the ways to guarantee that we will accomplish a goal—any goal—is by making a commitment. Easier said than done.
Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington, authors of The 12 Week Year say, “The first key to effective commitment is a strong desire.” So true. However, life happens, and sometimes the initial desire may wear off when faced with the actual hard work of making the goal happen.
“Because commitments will require you to sacrifice, in addition to learning to say no, you will need to train yourself to think about and connect with the longer-term benefits versus the short-term inconvenience and discomfort.”
In other words, delayed gratification is the mindset to adopt.
Further, the authors advise, “With commitments, and anything you are serious about for that matter, don’t give yourself a psychological out.” And they point to a great article that Jim Collins (renowned author of books such as Good to Great and Built to Last) wrote for Fast Company called “Leadership Lessons of a Rock Climber,” where he talks about failure vs. “fallure” a new term he coined.
Here’s an excerpt of the article as it appears in the book:
Failure and fallure. The difference is subtle, but it is all the difference in the world. In fallure, you still do not get up the route, but you never let go. In fallure you fall; in failure you let go. Going to fallure means full commitment to go up–even if the odds of success are less than 20%, 10%, or even 5%. You leave nothing in reserve, no mental or physical resource untapped. In fallure, you never give yourself a psychological out: “Well, I didn’t really give it everything. … I might have made it with my best effort.” In fallure, you always give your full best–despite the fear, pain, lactic acid, and uncertainty. To the outside observer, failure and fallure look similar (you fly through the air in both cases), but the inner experience of fallure is totally different from that of failure.
You’ll only find your true limit when you go to fallure, not failure.
Moran and Lennington then conclude, “Commitments by definition demand you ‘go to fallure, not failure.’ Set it in your mind right now that the process is more important than the result. You don’t control the result; what you control are your actions.”
In thinking about the New Year, what are you committing to? Let me know in the comments here.
ACTION
TODAY: Take some time to think about the commitments that you will undertake next year. Are you willing to go to fallure and then start “climbing” again if need be?
FUTURE: As you are working towards your goals, remember failure vs. fallure. Sometimes that may be the push you need to get through that one uncomfortable action that you need to take.
Know someone who would like to read this? Please share this post via email, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Collaboration, Growth, Leadership, Mindset, Planning
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 37 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Your Leadership Potential is Tied to Others
— From Equipping 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know by John C. Maxwell
I’m sure you’re familiar with Jim Rohn’s quote, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Thus, your leadership potential is tied to other leaders that surround you: not outside or industry leaders and peers, but internal ones—in your business or organization—with whom you spend the most time with.
In Equipping 101, leadership guru John C. Maxwell says, “The greatest leadership principle that I have learned in over thirty years of leadership is that those closest to the leader will determine the success level of that leader.” And he points out that the negative reading of this assertion is true as well: “Those closest to the leader will determine the level of failure for that leader.” In other words, the people with whom you surround yourself make or break you.
“Most leaders have followers around them. They believe the key to leadership is gaining more followers. Few leaders surround themselves with other leaders, but the ones who do bring great value to their organizations. And not only is their burden lightened, but their vision is carried on and enlarged.”
Maxwell goes on to say, “Often, leaders wrongly believe that they must compete with the people closest to them instead of working with them [… but if] you really want to be a successful leader, you must develop and equip other leaders around you.”
Peter Drucker, management guru, famously said, “No executive has ever suffered because his people were strong and effective.” And Maxwell points out that surrounding yourself with other leaders and growing and equipping them to lead helps lift the load in two important ways:
First, other leaders become a sounding board. “Followers tell you what you want to hear. Leaders tell you what you need to hear… An opinion before a decision has potential value. An opinion after the decision has been made is worthless.”
Second, other leaders possess a leadership mind-set. “Fellow leaders do more than work with the leader, they think like the leader… This becomes invaluable in areas such as decision-making, brainstorming, and providing security and direction to others… They can carry on effectively [while the leader is away].”
Finally, to illustrate the points above, Maxwell shares a conversation with his father: he served as the president of a college for 16 years, and told the author that the most expensive workers on campus were not the highest paid but the people who were nonproductive. While leaders indeed were paid more, they were true assets because they were more productive, attracted a higher quality of persons, and added value. Maxwell’s father finished the conversation by saying, “Most people produce only when they feel like it. Leaders produce even when they don’t feel like it.”
ACTION
TODAY: Take a moment to think: Who are the closest people to you in your organization? Are you making the most out of your leadership potential and theirs?
FUTURE: Make sure that you are attracting the right people to your team and equipping them with the ability to lead.
Know someone who would like this post? Please share it via email, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, thank you!
