Everywhere You Go... There You Are

“Everywhere you go, there you are.”

I say this to clients a lot, because they often want to believe that every problem originates from some source outside of themselves.  It’s human nature to deflect responsibility… basic self-preservation instincts from before the dawn of time. But, that instinct to blame and make excuses doesn’t serve people in leadership positions.

In discovering your true self, the very core energy you project to other people shifts.

Like it or not, there is really no fate for us except the one we create. Churchill very wisely said that ‘you create your own universe as you go along’. Do good things happen to bad people, and bad things happen to good people? Of course. But 99% of the things that come to us in life we manifest based on our behaviors.

The beauty of this simple truth is that we can all change our thoughts and behaviors to reflect our true self. And that alignment of external image to internal reality is incredibly powerful. When you get very comfortable in your own skin and become very clear about your beliefs, character and destiny, people are drawn to you and good things begin to happen naturally.

So where do you begin in getting to know your true self?

Values come first. Values dictate how you relate to other people and the world around you.  They guide your behaviors and decisions.  Every great leader understands how to balance the fine line between adaptability and rock-solid certainty about what really matters.  While you have to be ready to shift and change with the demands of your environment, you also have to know what you believe in so that you never compromise your core values.  If honesty is a principle you live by - you can't lie to get a lucrative business deal finalized.  It destroys your credibility.  If good communication is a something you believe in strongly - you shouldn't withhold bad news from your team to avoid hard questions or dissent.  Know and live your values everyday.

Character.  Horace Mann said that 'reputation is what men and women think of us. Character is what God and angels know of us.'  Character differs from values in that it relates more to our most basic understanding of ourselves than our external relationships and interactions.  Character defines your personality and soul at a very deep level and drives the values, strengths and priorities that exhibit in your day-to-day behaviors. Be sure that you never get caught in the trap of linking your character to public opinion or evolving priorities.  If you are a kind and gentle person at your core, your character doesn't change simply because you've been wrongly convicted of a violent crime.  Although your reputation and even your day-to-day values may change based upon your circumstances, your character always remains constant.

The good, the bad and the ugly.  Taking a long, hard look at your strengths and weaknesses is crucial to good leadership.  No one is excellent at everything, so wise leaders know how to leverage the things they are good at and fill in the gaps of their weaknesses with the talents of people around them.  You can't begin to engage in this process unless you've first conducted a realistic assessment of yourself and built a strong base of self-awareness.  Strengths are obviously the fun part!  Our ego loves to focus on the things we're good at.  But often far more critical to success is our understanding of where we fall short, and our ability to admit our weaknesses to others and elicit their help in making things happen.

Vision. Your life, your work and your goals should all converge around a common vision: a big picture view of the purpose for your life and the primary thing you want to accomplish in your time on this planet. Your vision is your enduring purpose. The fundamental reason for existence beyond just making money or survival. It is a perpetual guiding star on the horizon and does not change over time. In essence, your vision is a mental picture of the future you wish to create through endless pursuit of an ideal. It is love, and passion, and the impetus to pursue that which you truly want most out of life.

I hope that by beginning to view your success or failure ratio as a direct result of your own internal make-up and actions, you will move beyond blaming situations or luck for your present day reality and step into a powerful new recognition of your own key role in determining your outcomes and impact.

Clarity of Vision

Einstein once said “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. Think about that statement for a moment and ask yourself, ‘Does this quote apply to the way I run my company?’

Most businesses that continually beat their head against a wall suffer from a profound lack of vision. Everyone engages in frenzied efforts to succeed (always working longer and trying harder), but because people don’t see the big picture or understand the true value they bring to customers, their quarterly profit and loss statements don’t reflect the intensity of their effort.

Here’s the reality… trying harder isn’t usually the solution to achieving more. In fact, it might be a big part of the problem. Let’s examine together the path to clarity of vision.

First and foremost, what is this Holy Grail we call vision? It’s pretty simple really, and boils down to a few primary considerations: Why are you in business? What is so great about what you do or make? What impact do you want your business to leave on the world?

Now you might be able to pop out some pat answers to those questions without really thinking about them, but vision is a critical component of your professional success and deserves more attention. In order to create truly visionary responses to those basic questions, you have to get outside of your comfort zone and slow down. Before you even begin to draft a vision statement, I suggest that you back off of your to-do list, quit trying harder, and pull some wise people around you to help bring an outside perspective into the conversation. Think beyond goals and money and tasks.

It’s very important when stepping into the role of the visionary to suspend disbelief and allow yourself to brainstorm outside the bounds of common sense. Vision isn’t mission! Let me repeat… Your vision isn’t an expanded version of your mission statement. Your mission statement should rightly be grounded in the present and directly related to the values and standards that will help you take action in the upcoming months and years, but your vision must be so much more.

Your vision is your enduring purpose; the fundamental reason for an organization’s existence beyond just making money. It is a perpetual guiding star on the horizon and does not change over time. For example, NASA’s vision is “advancing man’s capability to explore the heavens.” In essence, our vision is a mental picture of the future we wish to create through endless pursuit of an ideal. It is love, and passion, and the impetus to pursue that which we truly want most out of life through work.

On the other hand, a mission is a specific destination that is concrete and achievable. A good mission engages people – it reaches out and grabs them and makes them want to do something in the present moment. It should be tangible, energizing, highly focused and support the vision. To stick with our NASA example, a mission statement might establish a goal of “putting a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s”.
So, once you have stepped back from the insanity, and examined the beliefs and dreams behind your corporate vision, how does the simple vision statement you write help your business grow? Clarity = Power. If you don’t have a vision and a sense of destiny about your company, you won’t grow. Timing, recognizing unique opportunities, and the power to execute – these lie within you, not in the situation.

Your vision represents your desires, your passions, your dreams that burn hot in your mind… and thus your vision gives you all the intuitive information you need to find direction and make breakthroughs in performance. Your vision is your own internal ‘magnetic north’ that will enable you to make quantum leaps in your results.

Don’t wait! Define and live your vision today and you’ll begin to see power of purpose in action.

Life is Short, Live it Well

Tuesday night we had the traumatic experience of losing my daughter's horse to a sudden onset of severe colic. It's been a while since we've had a death in the family (and Timmy definitely was family), so the event really made me think. Our life on this planet is so beautiful and so fleeting, and it is up to each of us to try and live everyday to the fullest.

In business, it is easy to get caught up in a whirlwind of paperwork, minute details, phone calls, emails and meetings. Until we are slapped in the face by mortality, we have a tendency to just plow forward without thinking about our priorities, dreams or destiny. But your business and your work only exist to support your REAL life - they shouldn't become your life.

I would charge each of you today with the task of examining your professional life and determining how it relates to the things that matter the most. Does your business support your family life or destroy it? Does your company take precedence over travel, sports and fun? Do your professional obligations enable you to live your dream life - or do they make your life a nightmare? Are you in the right career? Do you use your free time wisely or plop down in front of the TV every night? What are you truly contributing to the world? Tough ones, aren't they?

You are not your job. You are a vibrant being whose life should be driven by love, laughter, beauty, art, music, fitness, friends and family. Do a quick 'gut check' today to see if your work persona and the real you are living in balance with each other. If they aren't - take action to bring yourself back to the things that feed your soul.

If you died tonight, would you be happy with the day you lived today? Think about that one...