Mark S. Brown

“Looking back, my life seems to be one long obstacle course, with me as the chief obstacle.” – Jack Paar

Your road to success is filled with roadblocks, detours, and stop signs. Unfortunately, the biggest roadblock is probably you.

Most people like to think success is easy, and it will happen in the future. But if you are not working toward success every day, then it is further away than you think.

Abraham Lincoln said, “I will get ready, and then perhaps my chance will come.” Too often the chances come and go, and we are not prepared. In most cases we do not even recognize them.

Making progress every day requires some thinking, some action, and some discipline. If you cannot answer the following questions, you may want to set aside a day, and reflect on how you can get started.

1. What is my purpose?

2. What talent do I bring to the world?

3. What is my plan?

4. What are my priorities?

5. What system do I use that helps me stay focused and disciplined to follow my plan?

6. How well am I doing?

They are tough questions. You probably don’t have great answers for them all. But I am sure the answers are within you. Success awaits. Set aside time to build your plan for achievement.

When someone becomes demotivated it can affect an entire team, a project, or even an organization. Keeping people motivated is an important job for any leader. Sometimes even the best leaders make a mistake, and say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

I remember one time in my career when I was heading up a large project. My boss had called me a few other team members in for a progress review. When we arrived, he immediately began to tell us how we were not on the right track, and that we needed to start over, and began to question our leadership. It was instantaneous humiliation for the team that was dedicating their time and effort on bringing the project to a successful conclusion. This happened prior to our delivering any of our status updates.

In the end, my boss apologized, and realized his frustration was related to other issues. Issues that had nothing to do with the team or the project. So as a leader how do we avoid saying something that will affect the team’s morale, but can still say what needs to be said?

As a reminder, here are four approaches that can cause motivation problems.

1. Public criticism – Criticism can be difficult to deliver, but if you attempt to deliver criticism in public, expect to create more issues than you will solve. People do not like to be challenged in front of their peers or subordinates. Be cautious on how and when you deliver criticism, even constructive criticism.

2. Manipulation – If you try to manipulate a person or team, you will remove trust from the relationship. If you give trust, it will be returned. Manipulation takes away a person’s ability to succeed on their own.

3. Insensitivity – Put yourself in their shoes. What is their perspective? If you are not aware of their perspective or their effort, then you risk being insensitive to their message. You must meet people in their space, not in yours.

4. Limiting risk – Every leader must evaluate risk. However growth and innovation happens through failure. Taking risk, experimenting, and stretching to your potential are all attributes of highly successful people. You must be careful not to shut down creativity under the guise of eliminating risk.

Keep your teams motivation high, and celebrate their success!

 

 

You cannot create a legacy without knowing your purpose and passion in life. A legacy is created when a person lives their life with purpose, recognized by others for their commitment and dedication towards their goals.The legacy lives because other people recognize you for it.

You have already started writing your legacy. What do people remember about you? What do you dedicate your time and effort to accomplish?

These questions maybe difficult to answer if you have not discovered your purpose. On the other hand some people grab onto their purpose and work their entire life pursuing their goals. I admire these people.

John Maxwell knew at age 17 he wanted to study and learn from successful people. Throughout his life as a pastor, writer, and speaker, he dedicated time each day to learn from others, collect stories of success, and inspiring quotations. Today he is recognized as a guru on leadership, and has trained millions of people around the world through his organizations.

Julian Barbour is another individual that has dedicated his life to the pursuit of his passion, Julian has pursued radical research in physics, challenging Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity.

He received his Ph.D. degree on the foundations of Einstein’s general theory of relativity from the University of Cologne in 1968. Since then, Barbour has supported himself and his family without an academic position, working part-time as a translator. He has stepped away from the traditional to allow himself to be an independent researcher.

Today his theories are beginning to gain support and other researchers are collaborating on changing the generally accepted understanding of gravity, space, and time. His lifelong dedication to his purpose has been uncompromising.

“Why do some people get caught by an idea that takes over your life? I don’t know, but I do know that as long as it doesn’t drive you crazy, it is a blessing”, Barbour says. “When I started out on this journey 40 years ago, I said to my family that I know what I want to do and it will take me the rest of my life to do it — and that is the way it has worked out.”

I feel humbled when I compare my accomplishments with these great men. I don’t believe I will ever achieve the same level of greatness. But I know I can work to achieve the best that I can.

It is never too late to work on improving your legacy. Because whether you like it or not, it is already being written.

I recently bought a used book called, “Checklist for Life”. It has 67 chapters on different aspects on life. Each chapter contains some beliefs and things to do on each specific topic.

The first three chapters cover peace, boldness, and wisdom. Since it was a used book, there were already some notes written in the book, and of course the checklist had already been checked.

When I got to the fourth chapter, the topic was commitment. Surprisingly, this is where the previous owner gave up. No more notes, no more check marks. Ironic that this is the chapter that the previous owner needed the most.

It made me wonder about things that I started but gave up without finishing. Commitment can be difficult at times. When you need to follow through and complete your commitment you can use the following tips.

1. Measure your progress. Keep a log, make a chart, or set interim goals. Each of these will keep you focused on your progress.

2. Use a goal image. Select a photo or a quote that reflects your inspiration for your commitment. Post it near your desk, in your car, or on your bathroom mirror. Read it every day.

3. Know your sacrifice. Every achievement requires a sacrifice. What is it you are giving up to achieve your commitment. Make sure you know what it is, and that you are willing to follow through.

Les Brown once said, “If you do not develop the hunger and courage to pursue your goal, you will lose your nerve and you will give up on your dream.” Commit to your dream, and stay on your path to success!