I was struggling to engage the audience. Okay, forget struggling — I was dying onstage. Maybe I was having an off day. Maybe they were having an off day.
Or maybe it was the fact every one of the 100 people in attendance was a CEO, an executive, or the owner of a medium to large business, which meant they were way more accustomed to being listened to than they were to listening.
So I took a shot. “In one sentence, what is the key to leading people?” I asked.

Throwaway question? Sure. I knew no one would answer. That was the point. They would sit and stare and I would offer an intentionally against-the-grain answer intended to spark some heat and conversation. (Yeah, I know. But remember, I was dying.)
So I asked the question and paused to read the room. Some people looked down. Some looked away. Just when I was about to speak a voice broke the silence.
“I think I know,” a man said. A few heads turned in his direction.

My head turned too. I was a little surprised and a lot concerned. Shoot, I thought, now I’ve stepped in it. He’s going to whip out some leadership cliché and I’ll have to scramble to recover from the dead end I just created.

So I was only half-listening as he said, fairly quietly, “No one cares how much you know until they first know how much you care about them.”
Wait — what?
“Could you please repeat that?” I said.
By now a number of heads had turned in his direction. “We think we have all the answers, and maybe we do, but that doesn’t matter. No one cares how much you know until they first know how much you care about them,” he repeated.
He took the ongoing silence in the auditorium as disagreement.
“No, really,” he said, sounding more confident. “Yeah, we’re in charge, we talk about targets and goals and visions… but our employees don’t care about that stuff for long. We can try to communicate and engage and connect all we want but no one really listens. They just smile and nod and go back to doing their jobs the way they always do.
“Our employees don’t really care about what we want them to do until they know how much we care about them. When employees know — truly know — that you care about them, then they will care about you. And when they know you care, then they will listen to you… and then they will do anything for you.”
Best answer ever.

by Jeff Haden

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Let’s LIVE BOLDLY on this Journey of ours.  LOVE DEEPLY ~  Remind yourself how amazing you are and how endless the possibilities for you to SERVE GREATLY.

This requires being stretched, moving out of your comfort zone and facing your fears!  As we LIVE BOLDLY, we TAKE ACTION to move forward in our business and in our relationships.

Sometimes we allow feelings of failure and limiting beliefs to paralyze us.  We listen to that inner conflict of “I have to, but I can’t!”  The longer we stall the longer we resist resulting in missed opportunities. This can lead to painful regrets.

Your biggest regrets are for opportunities missed. Today is an opportunity, so make sure you don’t miss it.

The way to avoid regret is to take action. Go beyond merely  hoping, planning, or wishing, and do it.

Yes, your actions may sometimes bring disappointing results. Even so, you will be much better off knowing you made the attempt.

Instead of always wondering whether or not you could have,  find out for sure that you can. Act, learn, adjust and act  again, and eventually you will get the results you desire.

Regret for opportunities missed is a pain that is almost  impossible to escape. So make the choice today not to create  that pain in the first place.

Make full use of the opportunity that is right in front of  you right now. And make yourself a life free of painful  regrets.

Ralph Marston

Today, I wish for you the courage to act!

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Each morning I look in the mirror – smile (and I smile back – totally infectious) and affirm that “I know myself to be generous and competent – and that I can count on myself to do good work – no matter what presents itself.” This has worked for me as my leadership journey continues.

I challenged the audience to ask the hard question of themselves – over and over again “What is my purpose? – Why do I do what I do? – How have I made the world a better place today?” – Ultimately I believe that our legacy will appear from asking the hard question and that only in seeing a greater ’cause’ can we become true leaders. I claimed that leadership is not charisma – and that we are not born to leadership – we choose it. Or more aptly our purpose chooses us – and forever we are committed to it.

Excerpt from Naomi Simpson, author Sydney Australia “The Red Balloon”

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What is a mentor? A mentor is simply an experienced, trusted counselor or guide. What do you look for in a mentor? You look for experience. You look for perspective, and you look for somebody you can trust.

A mentor is like a personal coach. Everybody NEEDS a personal coach and needs to BE a personal coach. Personal coaches bring out the best in you. They see in you things that you don’t see in yourself. A mentor helps you with three areas: role, goal, and soul. What do you do in life? What are you accomplishing in life? And, what are you becoming in life? Mentors help you become what you can become.

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Jim Rohn, a highly respected Personal Development coach was known to say, “for things to change, you’ve got to change.” If you are not satisfied with the way things are in ANY AREA of your life … from your health, your income, your relationships, or your business … a daily Personal Development practice can help you move in the direction you desire.

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Just What Advice Could Be Given To Spark Creativity?

Well now creative is as creative does, so be proactive regarding your creativity every step of the way. If you are chained to a desktop or laptop or even a table get unchained and disconnected for a while. It’s hard to strike a chord with your own inspiration when pre-programmed software is doing all the work.

Collaborate

Let go of your fear of making a mistake, but don’t try to force it so make sure you take lots of breaks! Collaborate with others bounce your ideas of real ears to hear yourself say them and hear what others might react and have to say. Make lists lots of lots of lists, bubble up the place with multiple flow charts, and allow clutter to be ok if you are a neat freak and straighten up if your life is filled with clutter.

Take Notes

Even though you probable have a smart phone or tablet to keep track of your ideas, it just might do the trick to carry a small note book with you where ever you go. Write down your ideas with your own hand, it can often be just what is needed to set the mind free. Whatever you do quit beating yourself up.

Inspire Yourself 

Listen to music and drink coffee and if you don’t like coffee drink tea and if tea is not your bag, well you get the picture. Go way out of your way to surround yourself with other creative characters, genius can be hidden in all kinds of places. Sing in the shower and follow that up with a free flowing creative writing session.

Ask for Feedback

Be open and ask for plenty of feedback, great ideas my slip away if you are too hard on yourself and don’t get them out. Make sure you get lots of rest, good sleep and eating habits can make or break the creative process. Once in a while you may have to through caution to the wind and go somewhere new.

Take Breaks

Take a Break and open a dictionary or thesaurus and read a page. Never forget to count your blessing. Above all else never give up and practice can make perfect, but too much practice can become a rut. Take risks and risk something well worth risking.

At the end of the day you may just have to realize that no one can be someone else’s perfect and let the whole idea go. Create a framework for your ideas and then jump right in feet first. Keep Knee deep in whatever earthy crunchy granola is going on around you, but be careful not to get weighed down in a green quagmire. Make sure that with all these creative juices flowing, make sure you finish what you start and above all else have Fun!

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Take control of your online presence to create a memorable personal brand.

http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/create-your-personal-brand-8-steps.html

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