The Excluded Alternative

There is a principle that says if you leave room for something, something else has to give way. You can do anything you choose to do but not everything, at least not at the same time. Whenever you begin a task of any kind, you are consciously or unconsciously deciding not to do any other task that you could do at that moment. Your ability to choose wisely in terms of what you do first, what you do second, and what you do not do at all determines your entire life.

Allow Constructive Conflict

As a leader one of your jobs is to constantly mine for conflicts in your team hidden under the surface. Encourage the members of your team to bring up and discuss the issues and not be afraid to express their opinions. Constructive conflicts deal with facts and ideological subjects, not personal attack. Some of the best performing groups I have been part of have had great tolerance for healthy debate.

Until We Learn

The way we view setbacks says a lot about us. When we view setbacks as learning opportunities they take on a whole new meaning for us. Then there are no failures, only things, attitudes and values to learn, develop and refine. Life is like an obstacle course we have to do over and over until we learn what we are supposed to learn in order to grow in our personal development efforts.

Show Up And Follow Through

Actor Woody Allen used to say that 80% of success is just showing up. Others would retort; "Nonsense! Life is 90% about following through!" How can this be? Can both sentiments be true at the same time? Attempting to integrate these two thoughts, I would say most of success in life is about showing up and following through! Don't you agree?

Intensity Of Purpose

It has been said that success is when goals meet natural talent and ability. Intensity of purpose determines the level of success. When you know exactly what you want and what price you are willing to pay to get there, nothing can stop you as long as you maintain your focus fixed on that purpose and pay the price necessary.

True Values Show In Action

Thoughts and words are cheap. We may think to ourselves we live our lives by a select set of positive, wholesome values. We can aspire to great and lofty ideals. We can claim adherence to high and worthy goals. However, it is not what you say, only what you do determines your true values to both yourself and others. Your true values are those that show up in your actions.

Don't Abuse Your Energy Level

Schedule your more difficult tasks to times during the day when your performance is at its peak. Don't push yourself too hard at times outside of your peak periods. This way you get more things done and feel more relaxed during the day. It will heighten your morale and self confidence as you get used to successful completion of difficult tasks on a regular basis.