Tip # 45: Finding Your Courage

Time for another sneak peek into my new book: 128 Tips to Make You a More Effective Leader. And the best part is, sixty seconds a day is all it takes to make changes that matter!

Don't believe me? Take out your timer and see for yourself!

Ready...set...go!

Tip #45: Finding Your Courage

During times of challenge and stress, we often look to great leaders to model for us how to rise above the challenges. But I recently found this quote…which reminds us that sometimes we can best meet challenges in this way:

“Courage does not always roar. Sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I’ll try again tomorrow.’”-Mary Anne Radmacher

Find your courage and try again tomorrow.

I don't know about you, but that came in just under  17 seconds on my end!

I often wonder how many people give up on their goals just before they would have achieved them.

Why do we stop?

What extinguishes that gentle little voice nudging us to try again?

Laugh if you must, but that little voice is hope.

Hope is what courage feeds on.

And as awkward as it may be for you to hear this…hope isn’t cultivated in the brain.

It is cultivated in the heart.

I know for all of us that work with balance sheets and P&L’s that calculating what it would take to reach the opposite end of the universe can sometimes feel more realistic than making the 18 inch journey from our heads to our hearts.

I’m not saying it’s easy; I’m simply here to be the bearer of bad news:

It’s the only way.

What courageous step must you take today that will create hope and inspire you to keep moving towards your goals?

Don’t look now…but a mysterious link has appeared below.

Go on…find the courage to click on it…

Shameless Book Plug

Do What You Can

“It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little – do what you can.” ―Sydney Smith

We all have dreams. We also all have lives. Lives full of interruptions, distractions, obligations, and responsibilities.

How are we expected to make time for growth when some days it’s all we can do to keep our heads above water?

When it comes to investing in professional development, it’s easy to fall into the trap of doing nothing because we don’t have time to do it all.

128 Tips to Make You a More Effective Leader is all about - practical application. So what if “a little” is all you can do? Maybe “a little” is all that you need. Sixty seconds is all it takes to make changes that matter. It’s rarely the big broad sweeping changes we make that create the most profound difference.

It’s the baby steps we take, shifting our behavior and putting sustainable habits in place that create the most profound

changes. Do what you can, a little today, a little tomorrow…and eventually you will find yourself doing things you couldn’t before.

The only way to move a mountain...is one spoonful at a time.

www.128tips.com

Tip# 66: How’s the Balance in Your Emotional Bank Account?

The best way to use 128 Tips to Make You a More Effective Leader is to treat  each page like a bite-sized break in your day.

Sixty seconds is all it takes to make changes that matter.

Today, your bite-sized break comes in the form of Tip # 66: How’s the Balance in Your Emotional Bank Account

"I’ve always enjoyed Stephen Covey’s concept of the emotional bank account. For each person you know, you make deposits in the account by sharing kindnesses and keeping your commitments. You take withdrawals by being disrespectful, discourteous or untrustworthy. How are the account balances in the accounts that matter most to you?

Take some time today to make a few deposits in the accounts you care most about.”

Our actions affect the account balances others have for us… AND our actions affect the balances we maintain in our personal accounts too.

I like to think of it like this: all of us have a joint account with Karma, or good deeds or whatever word characterizes that concept best for you.

• When our positive actions make deposits in the emotional bank accounts of those around us, Karma pays dividends. (And --it just feels good!)

• When our negative actions make withdrawals from the emotional bank accounts of those around us, Karma charges income tax. (and that usually feels bad – maybe not right away, but eventually)

Here’s the tricky part -- although we do our part to make deposits:

Making deposits for the sole purpose of soliciting your Karmic return….? Risky!

Counting on your Karmic return to be punctual? Also risky.

So why deposit? Because we all need kindnesses and we all need people we can count upon to keep their commitments. Whether you believe in Karma or not, deposits enhance our lives and the lives of those around us.

Make your deposit today.