Mark S. Brown – Page 55

Intentional Sacrifice

When I was a kid, I used to collect marbles and baseball cards. Unlike my friends I did not like trading. I always wanted to keep what I had. Looking back I think they were happier with their collections, than I was with mine. They made multiple trades with good cards and bad cards, to get the few cards they truly wanted.

The Law of Sacrifice from John Maxwell’s, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership says, “A Leader Must Give Up to Go Up.” All through life we are faced with choices. We cannot continuously progress without giving up things within our comfort zone. It includes choices as simple as baseball cards, and as complex as our current job. But not making a choice is, by default, a choice to remain the same.

Change happens in our lives. We can’t stop it, but we can become more intentional about our changes. A coach can help us see opportunities by raising our awareness. A coach helps us see the decisions we made by default.

If you find yourself avoiding decisions, or only living within your comfort zone, then I would suggest you could benefit from some reflection on your opportunities. Opportunities you may not even see. If you feel stuck, finding a professional coach can help. All of us can be more intentional when it comes to The Law of Sacrifice.

Being Competent

Competency alone can limit you. You can be competent and people may never see you as being competent. Why? Because competency becomes visible with confidence, and confidence is created by, among other things, self-image. To make your competence effective you must also build your self-image.

We all have competencies that remain largely hidden because we don’t have the confidence to allow them to lead us out of our comfort zone. An example for me is my ability to learn new things quickly and effectively. It is a competency that is not very visible to other people, but yet I know it is one of my top strengths. However, it is also linked to some of my road blocks.

With effort you can improve your competency, your confidence, and your self-image which when combined will accelerate success. Here are some ideas:

1. Practice stretching. Be intentional about using your competence to stretch yourself. Determine how your competence can be used to stretch you out of your comfort zone. For example, if you have competency in communication, how do you reach more people?

2. Learn from the best. Find the leaders in your competence and learn from them. Seek individuals or organizations that represent what you want to become.

3. Grow your confidence. If you spend time daily and weekly reflecting on your competence in an area, you can determine how to improve. You will see yourself improve and grow. Celebrate your achievements, and build your confidence and self image.

Michael J. Gelb said, “… by stretching yourself beyond your perceived level of confidence you accelerate your development of competence.” Continue to grow and stretch because your level of competence is your perceived level!

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Ser competente

Ser competente por sí solo puede limitarte. Tú puedes ser competente y la gente tal vez nunca te vea así. ¿Porque? Porque la competencia se ve cuando tienes confianza en ti mismo, y la confianza en ti mismo se crea aparte de por otras cosas, por tu auto estima.

Para hacer que tu competencia sea efectiva tienes que también desarrollar tu auto estima.

Todos somos competentes en algo que nunca nadie se da cuenta porque no tenemos la confianza de salirnos de nuestra zona de confort.

Un ejemplo para mi es mi habilidad de aprender nuevas cosas rápido. Esta es una competencia que no es muy visible para otras personas, y sin embargo yo sé que es una habilidad que tengo.

Con esfuerzo tú puedes mejorar tus competencias, tu confianza, y tu auto estima que combinadas van a acelerar tu éxito. Estas son algunas ideas para lograrlo:

1. Practica salirte de tu zona de confort. Intencionalmente utiliza tu competencia fuera de tu área de confort. Determina como puedes usar tu habilidad en otras áreas. Por ejemplo, si tienes habilidad para la comunicación, ¿Cómo puedes comunicarte con más gente?

2. Aprende de los mejores. Encuentra líderes en tu habilidad y aprende de ellos. Busca individuos u organizaciones que representen lo que tú quieres llegar a ser.

3. Desarrolla tu confianza. Si pasas tiempo diariamente y semanalmente reflexionando en tu habilidad en un área, tú puedes determinar cómo mejorarla. Tú vas a verte a ti mismo mejorar y crecer. Celebra tus logros, y construye tu confianza y autoestima.

Michael J. Gelb dijo… “Al salirnos de nuestra área de confort nosotros mismos, podemos acelerar nuestro desarrollo y habilidades”

¡Continúa creciendo y esfuérzate porque tu nivel de habilidad es lo que otros perciben que es!

Control Your Strengths

Your strength can be keeping you in your comfort zone or limiting you in some other way and preventing you from reaching your full potential. If you know your strengths, ask yourself how they are limiting you. They do, and it deserves some thought. Let’s walk through an example.

My number one strength is my learning ability. I have the ability to learn new things quickly and effectively. This strength is very useful when I am faced with new challenges, or I want to pursue a new path. You may be thinking that this strength would create few limitations, but you would be wrong. Here are some potential risks:

1. Lack of Focus: Since I like to learn new things, I learn a lot of different things. This drive to continue learning can lead to a lack of focus. There are so many subjects to learn about in this world, and I find them all fascinating. I must use discipline and systems to keep myself focused. If I don’t force myself to focus, my attention easily wanders.

2. Lack of Depth: Without focus, I may also develop a multitude of general knowledge without developing any expertise. Or as an alternative, I may find myself developing to be an expert in disparate topics.

3. Lack of Delegation: At times I find myself doing a task because I want to learn how to do it, even though I would be better served if I delegated it, or hired someone else to complete it. In some cases, I should know something about how to do tasks I delegate, but it is not always required. This can keep me from working on more important issues.

These three potential risks are real for people that are strong in learning ability. These people find the process of learning enjoyable no matter the topic, and it results in real problems.

This week, think about your greatest strength, and the risk associated with it. Try to define three real potential road blocks based on your greatest strength. If you discover questions that you need help to pursue, feel free to contact me.

What Belief Is Limiting You?

Limiting beliefs live in your head, and therefore are invisible. They are filters that shape your world, and are built over a lifetime, but they are holding you back. You create these filters as protection. They keep you in your comfort zone. They keep you from being hurt, embarrassed, or being a failure.

If you are going to tap into the unlimited potential that exists within you, you will have to kill these limiting beliefs. Here are a few methods.

1. Disprove them. Just jump beyond your comfort zone and prove that you can do whatever you thought you could not do. Want to be a better speaker? Join toastmasters. Want to be a better leader? Join a John Maxwell Team mastermind group.

2. Live outside your comfort zone. This is much harder because we all naturally want to be in our comfort zone. If you can purposefully stretch yourself beyond the edge of your comfort zone each day, you will grow beyond your dream.

3. Find a coach. Most of us don’t even know our limiting beliefs. They are part of our view of the world. A coach can help you find your barriers, and then step through them. A coach can help you articulate your dream, and hold you accountable to achieve it. The reality is that most people will not be able to conquer their limiting beliefs without a coach. The John Maxwell Team is a great place to start.

Paul R. Scheele said, “Humans, with the capacities of higher-order thinking, can overcome limiting behaviors and fears.” Animals act on instincts an feelings, humans act on the thoughts that originate from within their sub-conscious mind. We have the ability to change our thoughts, change our actions, and change our results!