Inspiring Ourselves by Inspiring Others

11 Friday Aug 2017

Posted by in Actions, Attitude, Heart, Inspiration, Leader, Leadership, Passion, Purpose, Servant, Trust, Understanding

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“Clarity of purpose is inspirational.  When your job description is clear and there is no confusion or when you are crystal clear of what is required of you to do your job or task, that is inspirational.  It allows you to go full stream ahead without thinking…” – Tony Alford, Running Back Coach, The Ohio State University   (I think this quote can be used for life as well)

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If you had to pick four or five ideas that would inspire the greatness inside of you, what would you choose?  I’m pretty sure we would get many different answers and there would be a few that would overlap.  Finding ways to inspire others should be relatively easy.  Finding ways to inspire ourselves is much harder. 

Why do you think there is a gap between inspiring others and ourselves?  Self-inspiring will always be an ongoing battle.  Not only for our minds but also with our hearts.  But here is what I believe… One sure way to inspire greatness in ourselves is to inspire greatness in others.

So… How can we inspire ourselves?  Let’s begin with…

Inspiring others with your passion.  When this happens, passion becomes contagious.  Helping others find meaning and purpose can ignite their passion.  A “shared-passion” creates an exciting atmosphere to be a part of.

Inspiring others by letting them know you are authentic.  Quit being fake.  The world is full of fake, phony leaders.  People want a real you.  Our leadership must show the ability to relate, understand, and when needed have empathy.  You also need to have their back.  Fake leaders only talk about it while authentic leaders show and prove it.

Inspiring others by having a servant leadership heart.  If you are not willing to serve, get out of leadership now (see above statement).  Eventually, people will know where your heart is and your true leadership will show.  Leadership is often measured in time and time always will tell the truth.  What does this mean?  Never ask someone to do a task that you are not willing to do yourself.  No one really wants to be around a finger-pointer.

Inspiring others by investing in their lives.  The more you know about others enables you to understand them on a different level.  When we truly care about the lives of others, there is a deeper understanding of what makes them tick, what makes them “stop and go,” what makes them… them.  All of this will show you truly care and see them as someone and not something.  Using people for your benefit is not cool.

By understanding the value of others, maybe we can begin to understand the value of ourselves.  If we are not inspired by what we do, how can we ever expect others to be inspired by what we want them to do?

A good quote to end on… “You really never had a good day, until you can do something for someone that they can never repay you for.” – A lot of different people are given credit for saying this. Now that’s inspiring…

Some good stuff to think about.

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP

©2017  J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/thebookchamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page.

Freedom & Sacrifice Leadership

03 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by in Freedom, Heroes, Leadership, Sacrifice, Servant

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“Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. It flies with the last breath of each Airman, Marine, Soldier, Sailor, and Coast Guardsman who died protecting it.” – Unkown

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I’ve been pondering the idea of sacrifice lately and how it relates to all that we do.  For the most part, I do not believe we sacrifice as much as we think.  With modern conviences and the pursuit of instant gratification, we have, for the most part, put aside the concept of sacrifice.

We all know someone now or in the past when it comes to sacrifice.  To what degree was their sacrifice?  We will really never know.

First, let me say thank you to everyone who is wearing or has ever worn a uniform for our freedom.  Typed words on a page of paper can never actually show the value of what each of you have done.  Your sacrifice goes beyond any words…

As we celebrate the Fourth of July, a look at history can tell us a lot about freedom and sacrifice leadership.

Sacrifice is about giving, not taking.  Often times our sacrifice is determined not by how much we give, but by how much we hold on to.  It is very hard to give anything with a closed hand and heart.

As you think about our American history, everyone who fought for freedom gave all they had.  They did not hold on to anything.  Freedom fighters have always put everything they had on the line.  They sacrificed it all, many with their lives.

Freedom and sacrifice leadership is not an empty ideal.  It is about the good of others. 

Freedom and sacrifice leadership is the very essence of servant leadership.  Servant leaders give of themselves and are worth following.  They are defined by both their values and their behaviors.

As we celebrate our freedom, let’s remember the sacrifice many gave and continue to give for us to practice our leadership today.  It is very humbling.

Remember…  THINK LEADERSHIP

©2017  J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/thebookchamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page.

 

 

 

 

 

Designated Survivor Leadership

21 Wednesday Jun 2017

Posted by in Actions, Attitude, Humility, Integrity, Leader, Leadership, Purpose, Servant

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“When you have to make a hard decision; flip a coin. Why? Because when the coin is in the air, you suddenly know what you are hoping for.” – Unknown

First of all, let me say that I am a big fan of ABC’s show Designated Survivor starring Kiefer Sutherland. Designated Survivor is what you should be watching if you are looking for a show that embodies almost every different style of leadership.  It offers the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of leadership.

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While watching one evening, a segment really caught my attention. In episode 4, of season 1, the Press Secretary, Seth Wright, played by Kal Penn, made this statement in a speech:

“We live in a time in which we are called to serve in ways we did not anticipate.  None of us are perfect but we do our best because this house is worthy of our best.  We trust our instincts as we fight our daily fights.  Some we will win, some we will not, and some we will know only in time.  But we leave each night, hopeful that our daily sacrifices have been worth it and our instincts have not lead us astray and that our best has been good enough.”

As I listened and then hit the rewind button, I thought to myself… WOW! That’s exactly what we should do as leaders.

In the speech, the “house” refers the White House, but what if we change the wording to where we are? What is our “house”? We could change “house” to our own house, our family, our teams, our schools or anything else that is worth fighting for.

As we continue to lead, let’s fight for what is right and be true to our values. I cannot think of two better leadership concepts that will help you throughout the rest of your life.

So… What type of leader are you of your “house”?  Who is better to decide, you the leader or the people who follow you?  Would you say there would be different viewpoint from each?

Most of the time we have a much higher, biased opinion of ourselves then what is really true. Our followers do not always determine our leadership quality but it can be a pretty good sign of reality.

Be the leader people want to follow for the right reasons.  When it becomes more about you then them, we really are not leading anymore.  As you watch the role of Kiefer Sutherland as President Tom Kirkman, I believe you will find servant leadership at it’s best.

Be a Designated Survivor Leader.  Sometimes you will be the only one left who is holding on to what is right and true. Most of all, lead and fight for what is right. 

Remember…  THINK LEADERSHIP

©2017  J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/thebookchamber
Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page.

Don’t Linger, Move Forward

15 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by in Attitude, Heart, Perseverance

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“Be the example…not the shadow” – Deborah Thomas

Ok… I know you will roll your eyes as you read this question:  How many of us are faced with daily challenges?  And… How do you handle them?

And you know what?

“Challenges could care less if we are ready to face them or not but face them we will. ” 

Everyone I know or have read about faces challenges. It is one of the constants in life. Each challenge is a story to tell within itself.  A life lesson or a nugget to go on one might say.  The outcomes of our challenges may even be a template for future decisions. We all have had our share of good and bad outcomes.

How we handle challenges will show a lot about our leadership character.  And… Believe it or not, others are watching. We all have a choice of how we will move forward. But…

“When we decide how we are going to handle challenges, we cannot make spur of the moment decisions.”

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One of the best things is to have people on your side who will help you.  This is key to overcoming our challenges.  ‘You have to have people who have your heart and care without any strings attached.” I hope you have people like this in your life.  It is comforting and priceless.

“To have a friend who knows your heart is the best friend you can have.”

As you think about the challenges we face, take a moment and breathe a breath of fresh air.

We can either linger in the challenge moment and let it consume us or we can move forward.

In reference to the quote above by Deborah Thomas, if we linger, we stay in the shadow.  If we move forward, we are the example.

Remember…  THINK LEADERSHIP

© 2017  J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/thebookchamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page.