We hear people making a firm statement based on facts – what they saw, what has happened. And they claim the statement is the truth, because it’s based on facts.
However, fact is not equal truth.
As a leader, you can’t make a decision just based on fact. You need to know the truth.
Finding the truth takes effort, needs empathy, needs to create a safe zone to earn other’s trust.
Finding truth calls for wisdom, leadership and courage.
If you can learn to be better at something, it’s a skill. And if it’s a skill, it’s yours if you want to have it.
Do you want to have a better altitude?
It is your decision and option to have a better altitude or not.
You can learn and own a skill.
Altitude is a skill.
You can decide to own a better altitude.
Trust is an important binding factor for any relationship.
We make a judgement to trust someone or not basing on several factors. A couple of the most factors are: the consistency of the person’s action and the motives & intentions of the person.
Therefore, trust is a decision we make.
To trust someone takes time. It’s not easy to make such a decision.
Once a trust is violated. It is difficult to rebuild it.
However, distrust is not a bad things for many occasions.
You don’t need to trust all your board members, you need to challenge them for the best of the company.
When you have conservation of trust towards to some clients, you get to do due-diligent checks on them to reduce risks.
Distrust is also a decision.
We make decisions daily from our best judgement. Trust or distrust are among them.
We have dreams.
We all are born with dreams, big or small dreams.
Dreams make our life colorful, rich and complicated with multiple dimensions.
We need to reflect our goals and inspirations from time to time, so that we can keep our dreams alive. Because the dreams are the source of energy, our engine to live a fulfilled life.
The fulfilled life may be filled with sweats, sore legs, but with more satisfaction of newly developed muscles and experience. They make us stronger, happier and inspired.
Don’t save your dreams, don’t leave your dreams on your computer desktop, start to live in your dreams.
Start with baby steps.
Three baby steps can be:
Don’t just dream about your life, live it now.
According to Wikipedia, the definition of Synchronization is the coordination of events to operate a system in unison.
A synchronized event can be a concert or choir.
A synchronized event can be a team swimming.
A synchronized event can be parade.
A synchronized event can be a negotiation.
What is the one event above different from the rest?
Yes, you may see it already – it is the negotiation event.
During a negotiation, there are unpredictabilities, no matter how well you’ve prepared before hand.
To get synchronized towards the goal during a negation, the team members in a team need have aligned views, know each other’s spoken and unspoken languages, cover and support each other during the process, stay on the pre-decided course and read the teammates minds… The teammates have trust with other, experience to handle unpredictables, are observant to each other’s hints (body languages and meaning between the lines).
A synchronized negation is a beautiful team dynamic in action, an ideal team work.
A synchronized team can go forward strong for a long long long way.
We say a lot, sometimes we are moved by our own speeches. We make a lot of plans. We make New Year’s resolutions.
How many of the sayings are transferred into action?
There is a gap between saying and doing.
When we say too much, but without equal doing, we are hiding. We hide from fear – fearing failure.
However, you know that failure is the closet step to your success. Each failure points the other potential right way for you. You get to find this out only through your action.
When you realize there is a gap between your saying and doing. It is the good time to do things, little by little, step by step, drip, drip, and drip, you are getting closer to your success.
Start to do something new is a scary thing, especially when you feel you are not ready yet.
You may feel that you are not ready, because you haven’t done all your research, or you haven’t practice enough, or you haven’t gotten all the advice, or… therefore, you postpone and wait for your readiness.
Waiting until you’re ready is an excuse.
You are hiding.
You choose to stay in your comfort zone to avoid daring into the unknown. And because the unknown could bring failure, mistakes, you are afraid.
However, when you start your initiative whether you are ready or not, you may find a new world, grow new muscles, make new friends.
Our society progresses by millions of millions of people venturing into unknown to bring innovation, create new roads.
Whether you are ready or not, take a leap forward. If you fall, you still fall forward.
There are many battles you have to face every day.
You need to fight your own shortcomings, laziness, illness, ego, vanity, mistakes etc. and also external battles.
Some of the battles you will never win.
“You will never reach your destination, if you stop and throw your stones at every dog barks on the way.” Winston Churchill
You can’t control many external factors. However, you can control yourself if you want and are determined to do so.
Therefore, control your ego, don’t let insignificant unrest takes control over you. Clarify your priorities and focus points and throw your energy to fight these “battles”. Then, you will have a better chance to win.
Pick up your battle.
Former CEO of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi is a life-long learner. She even went back to school for courses when she was CEO leading certain projects. She always takes any opportunity to learn and to read.
Schools and universities provide us knowledge and skills. The most important thing is that they provide us platforms to develop our thinking and ability for creation and innovation.
To keep abreast the fast world development, we need use our abilities to contribute and at the same time we will need to learn and therefore we grow.
If you stope learning, you actually will be lagging behind.
Just like, since the time you were born you start your life, like you start biking, you have to keep paddling to prevent falling from your bike.
Therefore, you get to be a life-long learner.
How much time do you make room for your learning monthly and yearly? How much you invest on your learning and read?
You can make a plan for your learning.
For example, you can make a plan to use 10% rule: 3% of your annual income + 7% of your time to invest on learning, networking, getting outside of your comfort zone.
Simple math:
Not everyone is suitable for this 10% rule, you can make your own rule that works for your pace and situation.
Life-long learning will provide your new skills, confidence, ability to discover your potential and grow stronger. Life-long learning is a sure way for your success and fulfilled self.
What is the difference to do right things and do things right?
Do right things needs you to exercise your abilities to judge, to make decision, to be brave and fearlessly execute, to be a leader.
Do right things also calls for your character, your integrity, your ethics.
When you do right things, you will prepare to accept what follows after. Good and bad, Beautiful and ugly, love and hate, etc.
Do things right calls for accurate execution. It does not require your decision, but your capability.
You need to do right things, and sometimes to do things right.
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