Five things leaders do

Every once in a while we reflect upon why we turn up in a certain place, how we got there and why? Often, we don’t have a clear answer, we have just followed what has come before us and, or, been expected of us without really thinking about if this was what we wanted or not. It is time to take leadership over our own lives and start writing our own narrative instead of reading about it in the past tense, wishing it had been something else.

So where to start? Right where you are. Here are 5 things that my mentor, John “JJ” Jackson, taught me in my first orientation meeting with him when I started up my own business. 

Here are 5 things that you should incorporate into your daily routines in order to become your own leader. 

Visualize and meditate on your end goal,
Income producing activity,
Invest in yourself,
Mastermind with other leaders,
Learn. Do. Share

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#1 Visualize and meditate on your end goal

Take a moment to really BE in your end goal.

When you know where you want to go, the trick to get there is to start acting as if you know it will come true. Have you ever heard of the Law of Attraction? No? Let me enlighten you. When you believe in yourself and that you will achieve your goals, and repeat this belief to yourself every day, your subconscious mind will help you find the way to get there. Sounds fuzzy? Think about a child learning to walk. You and your child both know that it will happen one day. Since the child believes this, it will see all the struggles and what a grown up might analyse as failure, as just a result showing that she or he needs to try again, and try another way. Everything is a practice.

There is no such thing as something for nothing. And we can become and do whatever we believe we can do. Focusing on your end goal, you open yourself up to see opportunities that you might not have seen before when you only focused on the next step. 

#2 Income Producing Activity

Plant a seed today that can bear fruit tomorrow. Consistent productive activity is what will take you to your end goal. If you are in sales this action could be to make a sales call every day. If you are in marketing it can be releasing an ad a day. If you are a blogger it could be to write one post every day. As a consultant, do at least one action every day and do it so that you ensure a new job in the future. 

Highly recommend to read the book The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson to learn more.

#3 Invest in yourself

You are the one. It is You who will realize Your dreams. Only You have the idea and the ability to steer and choose how You want to lead Your life.

As a leader you take this to heart and make it your responsibility to honour your future instead of choosing to just do as you are told or expected to do. You are the key to your success. Knowing this, we need to invest in ourselves. Read something that helps you and makes you better equipped in order to realize your end goals and dreams. Search and acquire the knowledge you need to move closer to your goal. It may be learning life balance, learning digital skills, learning how to communicate with your customers in a better way. It also means to enjoy your journey!

Since your well being is the most important for your success, investing in yourself also means filling your life with those and that which give you the energy you need. Your family, friends, take a walk in the sun, drink a good coffee and reflect upon how nice your life is. 

Today is your life. Be grateful for what you have and what you have achieved. And enjoy the journey ahead. 

Highly recommend reading and practicing the principles in this book: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

#4 Mastermind with other leaders

We are stronger together. And we conform to the group we are in, this is human. So, knowing this, find other driven souls who are on a similar journey as you are or, even better, where you want to be. We are influenced by the people we surround ourselves with. Be sure to not waste your focus on those who take away energy from you.

Surround yourself with people who will help you grow. In communication we learn, and get new insights. Telling someone in your mastermind group about your business idea and getting constructive feedback or a new perspective can propel you forward in ways you might not have seen coming. Hearing about others in their aspiring journey will give you new ideas to your own way of approaching temporary defeat and harvesting opportunities. 

#5 Learn Do Share

Learn. 

Soak up all that can help you get closer to your goal. Study communication patterns, marketing techniques, project management, mindfulness, whatever you need to learn in order to come closer to your goal.  

Do. 

When you learn something new, the knowledge on it’s own is of no use. It becomes useful when applied. Learn by doing. When you do something with your new knowledge is when it comes alive. You will program the new knowledge into your mind and you will learn about new areas and evolve in your knowledge. 

Share. 

In a classroom, the teacher is the one who learns the most. Because when you share what you have learned to someone else, your mind needs to concretize and log the information in an explanatory way, that will help you understand and remember it better. Ever asked for help on a problem only to figure out the solution while explaining it to a teacher or colleague? When you share your learnings it makes you see the learning in a new way. Involve your spouse, dog or neighbor in your learnings, or call a friend. 

Share your learnings with your Mastermind group and grow together. Knowledge sharing is a great way to evolve, for you and your listeners. 

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When you have become your own leader, here is an article on how to lead others. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/288242