“The challenge of leadership is to be strong but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not a bully; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly” — Jim Rohn
Do you ever look at highly successful people and wonder how they do it? Maybe they are successful in their work or marriage. Or with their health or finances. Or in their leadership with a strong Team. How do they become so successful?
You might assume many of them were just lucky. Lucky to be born into the right family. Lucky to have been blessed with the right God-gifted talents. Lucky to have gotten that “big break”. Lucky to have met the right person or people and everything just “clicked”
I kind of grew up thinking the same thing. But as I got deeper into my leadership journey, I got to know and study from people who were highly successful. And I realized I had been very wrong in my assumptions. Successful people are not lucky, They think differently.
Sure, a few successful people might have gotten more breaks than most. You can probably think of some business owners who started with an advantage because of their parents handing down an organization. But if you get to know truly successful people, you’ll realize their success was far from something inherited. It was also not the result of a single moment where they were in the right place at the right time, or simply made one big, bold action or decision. They achieve their wins because of countless, seemingly small actions and decisions made consistently over time.
That mindset and consistency gives them the power to change. The power to become the person they wanted to become!
Story time…
Back during the great depression, in an average small town in middle america, with ordinary people, all looking to simply survive. A young boy enters a store and, in keeping with the times, asks the store owner if he can work for him that day. “I can’t afford to hire anyone, son,” the owner says.
“That’s okay,” the boy replies. “I’ll work for free.”
The owner pauses for a minute, and then puts the young lad to work. He works all day, doing odds and ends that free the owner up to focus on what few customers come through the door. At the end of the day, he thanks the young boy for his hard work, and tells him how much he wishes he could pay him.
“Well, thank you,” the boy says. “If you’re hiring in the future, would you please think of me?”
The owner promises to contact the boy if he ever has an opening, and the boy walks out the door, back to his house. The next morning, the boy wakes up, walks to a different store, and asks the owner if he can work for him that day.
“I can’t afford to hire anyone,” the owner answers.
“That’s okay,” the boy says, smiling. “I’ll work for free.”
On and on that pattern goes—each day the boy waking up, each day the boy offering to work for free in stores where no one is hiring. After a few weeks, the boy receives a call from one of the store owners. A part-time position has come available, and while it’s not much, the owner would like for the boy to take it.
The boy agrees.
Soon after, another store owner calls on the boy and offers him part-time work. The boy accepts, and he accepts again when a third store owner offers him a part-time job.
During one of America’s worst economic periods, a time when able-bodied men couldn’t find or keep jobs, one midwestern boy somehow managed to secure not one, but three jobs to help keep his family afloat.
What happened here? While so many around him were focused on the hardship of the Depression, the boy was looking at the opportunities the hardship afforded. While others all complained and moaned there was no work to be found, the boy realized there was work to be done, if you were willing to do it for free. While others felt trapped by what was going on in the world, the boy understood they were really trapped by their thinking—and he freed himself by thinking differently from everyone else!
My amigos, that’s the secret of all successful people – they think differently. They understand that as they think, so they are, and they make it a point to think successfully. And then work consistently towards the life they want.
There’s no substitute for good thinking. I’m not saying you need to go out and work for free. If you thought that, then you are reading this wrong. But ALL too often people wait for opportunity to focus on growth instead of growing themselves every day, and then seeking an opportunity where that growth can be applied! It’s one of the most overlooked essentials of all successful people. If you want to change your life, you must change your thinking and outlook on life.
In the strange times we are living in today, even the slightest advantage can be a significant one between you and somebody else. Learning to think differently just might be the most effective tool in your leadership toolbox. That was definitely the case for the boy mentioned in the opening of this blog. His creative and unique thinking—and his willingness to think outside the box of circumstance and prevailing opinion—allowed him to thrive at a time when others struggled!
SO WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT THIS TO GAIN THE LIFE AND LEADERSHIP YOU WANT?
If you’re like most people I know, you’ve got something about your life that you want to change, but are have a hard time changing. I get it. Change is HARD.
Remember this… People who are successful in their careers or marriages got there just a little bit at a time. People who are in great shape physically or strong financially got there a little at a time. People who are strong mentally and spiritually got there just a little bit at a time. People who are amazing at maintaining and installing landscapes, selling vehicles, working on vehicles and equipment, painting cars, cleaning homes, leading churches, parenting, writing codes, kicking a soccer ball, or taking a small business and turning into an empire got there just a little at a time.
Today, through small and consistent decisions, you’re getting somewhere a little at a time. That somewhere is either the life you dream and desire, or regression into a place you don’t want to be that the deeper you slide into, the harder it is to get out.
So – Where are you going? How do you know if you’re going to succeed as we move into the second half of 2023? Your success will follow your thinking and consistency in doing a little at a time to become the person you want to be. Remember – Every day, every thought, and every action matters! Choose them wisely!