One of the greatest gifts you can give someone is hope.
Hope that tomorrow can be better than today.
Hope that things can change and be different in the end.
Hope that the best is yet to come.
Hope that turns the impossible into the probable.
Hope that brings forth the good out of the bad.
Hope that tells us that the sun has not set, the curtain has not closed and that time isn’t up.
Hope that gives perspective, brings reflection and reminds us it is the very essence of all life.
We have enough pessimists in the parade and we’re all too familiar with the taste of the fruit of current reality.
What we need is not more facts, graphs or stock-takes pushing our nose into the soil & mess of today. We need leaders, endued with boldness & courage to pull us into the possibilities of tomorrow. What should be and could be.
This is after all the very substance of leadership, and the very core of what it means to be human.
We think, brainstorm, dream, theorize, strategize, goal-set and then think some more.
Yet, sometimes, If you’re anything like me you know what it is you should do before you even sit down to think about what it is that needs to happen.
Quite often the challenge we face isn’t figuring out what we need to do but rather actually doing the work itself. Getting it done.
It’s appealing to simply imagine big ideas or to gain incredible insight. When we conceive of a grand thought of incredible impact or simply think on something we know we need to do we, somehow, give ourselves a sense of accomplishment without having to lift a finger.
But that’s not where the magic is. If we hope to make a difference, a profit or an impact we must act on what we already know. We must get things done. And it seems to me that there’s no better time than now.
“You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action.” – Tony Robbins
The halls of history are filled with great men & women leaders, who won great wars, fought for great causes, built great companies, grew great families and confronted complacency in search of a greater envisioned reality.
They challenged, brought change and they, most importantly, led others.
Some of them were given the right to lead. Others earned it.
But all of them, at some point, had to decide how they were going to respond to the position & privilege of leadership that was now before them.
The question for many of us isn’t whether or not we will lead, but rather whether we will lead well.
In this short video, the great leadership coach Bill Hybels challenges leaders to do 2 simple things to develop themselves and their leadership:
- Read leadership books regularly as a discipline not just as a recreational activity
- Spend time with other leaders
A while ago I started to intentionally invest into these areas and, although it hasn’t been an overnight transformation (nothing significant usually is), I have felt them hugely impact the way I lead myself & others.
So What leadership books are you reading? Who are you meeting with this month to stretch your mind and heart?