Mark S. Brown – Page 54

Failure or Regret? Which Hurts More?

We all experience failure and regret in our lives, because no on is blessed with success all the time. No one enjoys talking about their failures or their regrets because these experiences hurt.

In this article, I am going to share three ways to view failure and regret that will help you generate more success and limit your pain.

1. Turning thought to action: Failure can cause people to freeze, and withdraw. The longer you wait to react to your thoughts of regret or failure, the harder it becomes to take action. Remember that you only fail when you give up. So take that negative thought, and turn it into action. What is the next thing you need to do to find pursue success? Define it, and then do it.

2. Turning failure to learning: Great discoveries usually come from examining failures. Learning why something did not work can often lead to an idea for another way. Hiding from failure will keep you from finding that other path. We all have failures, but the value is in looking for a discovery in our failures.

3. Using reflection: Reflection is a great tool for evaluating our activities and results. I think that most people are not good at reflection because they lack the discipline to do it every day. If we reflect only when we have a bad day, then our reflection process is less developed, less practiced, less sensitive to all of our experiences. If we reflect on our experiences every day, then we become skilled in learning from those experiences. And we will be better equipped to understand the bad days.

Failure and regret is unavoidable, but how you experience and react to those situations can greatly affect your level of success. You have failed only if you give up. Your feelings of regret are birthed only when you stop trying. You are in control, if you take control of these situations. They both hurt, but you can lessen the pain.

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A Lesson from Abe Lincoln

I was part of a group of John Maxwell Team members that had the opportunity to watch and study leadership lessons from the movie, Lincoln, starring Daniel Day Lewis. John played the movie, but stopped after nearly every scene to teach leadership lessons that were brilliantly displayed.

In this article I am going to demonstrate three of many lessons we can learn from Lincoln.

Lincoln surrounded himself with great leaders. His cabinet was filled with strong powerful characters. A weak, insecure leader will surround themselves with weak people. Lincoln was an even greater leader because he was secure in surrounding himself with with these strong people. A great leader is willing to have the best people around them even if sometimes those people are hard to lead. Lincoln was challenged by his cabinet every step along the way. It made him better.

Lincoln used the influence of others to lead. He needed help from Preston Blair, the opposition, to succeed. Strong leaders are humble and ask for help. They don’t ask for agreement. A great leader will always need to use the influence of others. You will never get to a point that you don’t need it. A strong leader learns how to build consensus without compromising their goal or values.

Lincoln heard over and over that passing the 13th amendment was impossible. A great leader is optimistic despite adversity. Leaders must be dealers in hope. Hope that is backed by strategy and a will to win. When you become a leader you cannot be controlled by other people’s emotions. You do not give up compassion, but you must be committed to your vision.

There are countless lessons in the life of Lincoln, and they are captured beautifully in this movie. It is a movie that should be watched more than once. After you enjoy the picture, you can watch it a second time to focus your attention on the leadership principles. All of the main characters were great leaders, but Lincoln was the greatest among them. I hope you get chance to enjoy this movie several times.

If you want to learn more about leadership, join our free lunch and learn session. You can register at this site: http://newroadsleadership.com/lunchandlearn.

When Was the Last Time You Added Value to Yourself?

We add value to others when we make ourselves more valuable to others. This is one point from John Maxwell’s Law of Addition from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.

We can’t give what we don’t possess. So the idea of adding value to others requires that we continue to add value to ourselves.

On August 12, 2013, Angelica and I were in the John Maxwell Team event in Orlando, Florida. This particular day was named, “A Day of Leadership and Inspiration”. We had the great fortune to listen to three of the most sought after speakers in the world, John Maxwell, Nick Vujicic, and Les Brown.

In this post, I will capture their key messages that provided value to us. Every minute was filled with stories and lessons that expanded our knowledge and skills.

John Maxwell

John shared his thoughts on Practices for living a better life.

Do for others what they cannot do for themselves.
Practice the 30 second rule. In the first 30 seconds, say something kind to whoever you see.
Help people win. Make it your goal in life to make people around you better.

Nick Vujicic

Nick shared his thoughts on Living life without limits.

I don’t know what I can achieve until I try.
When you fail, try again.
Failure = education.
Obstacles = opportunity.
Dream big.
Never give up.
Be thankful for today!

Les Brown

Les shared his thoughts on adding value to others. There is a place you can take people within themselves that they could not go without you.

Invest in yourself (you get in life what you are).
Don’t stop investing.
Stay the course.
Live full; die empty.

Added Value

These three lessons were only part of one day of a four day conference. Each of these lessons have added value to me, and will help me add value to you. Knowing the Laws of Leadership are not enough. We must also live the Laws of Leadership.

Add Value to Yourself

Have you set aside time for adding value to yourself? Only you limit yourself, and only you can invest in yourself. You can invest less than sixty minutes and join us for an upcoming Lunch and Learn to add value to yourself, so you can add value to others. There are sessions available in Carmel, IN, and also by teleconference (English and Espanol). Register here: http://newroadsleadership.com/lunchandlearn.php

Living the 15 Laws of Growth

In August, Angelica and I had the opportunity to spend four days in Orlando with the John Maxwell team. This is an event that is held twice a year for John’s coaches. During the event new coaches are certified, and existing coaches are able to continue their training and growth. We were fortunate in having John with us for all four days. He was teaching and pouring into us his knowledge and experience. These four days are a clear example of John’s book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth. Here are a few examples:

The Law of Intentionality: Growth Doesn’t Just Happen – You have to be intentional about growth. Find opportunities to stretch yourself and learn from others. By attending the event, Angelica and I created intent for us to grow as coaches.

The Law of Consistency: Motivation Gets You Going – Discipline Keeps You Growing – Many training and certification programs are over once you complete a certain requirement. John’s team continues to meet consistently after certification. John’s coaches continue to grow by consistently working to grow.

The Law of Environment: Growth Thrives in Conducive Surroundings – The JMT events are filled with positive, encouraging, challenging energy. We are challenged and supported every step of the way. It is a growth environment.

The Law of the Rubber Band: Growth Stops When You Lose the Tension Between Where You Are and Where You Could Be – The John Maxwell Team is a team of coaches, but every member builds their future differently. Some are coaches, some are pastors, some are public speakers, some are trainers, some are certified only for their own personal growth. During this event we get to learn how different people are using John’s training to help others. It creates the tension we need to continue to grow.

The Law of Modeling: It’s Hard to Improve When You Have No One but Yourself to Follow – Sitting in your house reading one of John’s books will help you improve. But it does not have the same impact as when you learn from others. With these events, we get to follow John, and his teaching team directly. They are great role models for growth.

The Law of Contribution: Growing Yourself Enables You to Grow Others – Angelica and I continue to grow so we can be more successful in helping others. We will never be good enough to stop growing. John continues to be a river, pouring more training into us. He expects the same of us. We will continue to coach, train, and help others.