When you are in a leadership role (and everybody is to one degree or another) be your true self. Don’t try to emulate someone else. If you want to you take bits and pieces from leaders you admire, absolutely feel free to do that. But if you want to just copy someone else, you will never be the best leader. Because at best, you will be a poor man’s version of whoever it is you’re trying to imitate. For example, nobody is a better Abraham Lincoln or Theodore Roosevelt than Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. They were great because they were themselves. They did things as they saw fit. If you try to do exactly as if they would’ve done, you’re going to fall short. It’s best to learn from others, but still implement your own style.
Tag: life
Focus is the key to progress, not balance
“To make progress, you must be FOCUSED, NOT BALANCED.” ⁃ Robert Kiyosaki
You can make a little progress while loving a balanced life, but to make the biggest gains, you have to focus an inordinate amount of attention on one specific goal or task. When you focus on one thing, you’ll be amazed at the strides you can make.
There is no such thing as a perfectly balanced life. Our lives are more like waves in the ocean, going back and forth. Sometimes we have a big project with a deadline to meet, so we have to put our energy in that, while other times we have the ability to focus more on our family, our health, etc.
We can try to be perfectly balanced, but will most likely frustrate you as you aim for the impossible. Instead, spend time in great focus on one aspect of life while maintaining other aspects, then ebb and flow to the next major category.
Being bored is a good thing
We need silence for creativity. We need to be ok being bored. In today’s world, it is so easy to try to avoid being bored at all costs. Whether we are listening to the radio, a podcast, an audiobook, watching TV, playing video games, reading, hanging out with others, the list goes on and on. But sometimes we just need to be by ourselves and not have anything on to distract us. It’s during the quiet times that we will often come up with the best ideas.
Think about what is causing you the most trouble or pain. Now think of ways to minimize that pain, not by avoiding it, but by eliminating it. This will not only increase your happiness, but if it’s a common problem for many people, it could actually improve others’ lives too.
Slow down when reading
“To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting.” – Edmund Burke
I used to do exactly this. In my conquest for self-improvement, I tried to consume as much information as quickly as possible. Podcasts and audiobooks on 1.5x speed, trying to read as many physical books as I could within a given time period, watching YouTube videos relevant to my field of study, etc.
But what I unintentionally missed was that, if I didn’t slow down and contemplate on what I just read, I didn’t dig deep enough to truly understand the whole idea. I understood basic concepts and surface level ideas, but couldn’t clearly articulate them. If you want to master something, you have to know it inside and out. And if you’re only going for volume/high quantity, you’re missing out on the true knowledge (quality). Dig deeper to understand more. Question what you read, don’t take it at face value. Play devil’s advocate. What would someone who supports that idea say? What would someone who disagrees with that idea say? What evidence is there to verify this idea and was that evidence cherry-picked or is it an accurate reflection of the truth?
The point here is to not rush to check another book off of your reading list. Slow down. If you’re reading to learn, then do it right the first time. Take your time, read, reflect, question, answer, discuss, and continue reading.
Practicing patience
Most things in life that are worthwhile are either difficult to obtain, take effort, or take time to develop/grow. Some of the best things in life require all three. For example, having a strong relationship (whether between your spouse, best friend, or co-worker) takes time. You don’t have a deep relationship with them the first time you meet them. It takes effort on your part to listen, to show you care for them, etc. The longer you do this, the stronger your relationship grows.
The same can be said for physical success (building/shaping your body how you want it to look), mental (learning a new subject or language), financial (accumulating wealth), or at work (you have to start somewhere, and that place usually isn’t at the top). Most great things take time. We don’t plant the seed and eat the fruit the same day, just as we don’t do one workout and get a six pack the same day. The overnight success is the outlier.
Practice patience. Be patient with others, but be patient with yourself and your goals too. Don’t give up just because you’re not seeing results as quickly as you want. Eventually, if you are consistently working towards your goals, you can achieve great things. Just make sure you’re setting S.M.A.R.T. goals towards things that are actually meaningful to you. If you really want to achieve them, you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.