Every successful person that has ever lived has possessed the ability to lead themselves well. They are able to decide what they want and move with passion towards that objective.
Most successful people find the motivation, power and discipline from within themselves.
I have spoken to many people that want more. They want more money, responsibility, lose weight, play a sport or take up an instrument. Personally I have been that person on many occasions!
The difference between the person who wants much and the person that achieves success is their ability to lead themselves well. Lets call this self-leadership.
Self-leadership is knowing who you are, what you want and having the discipline to do what you know is right.
Self-leadership gets you up in the morning, makes you turn off the TV and pick up that book. Self-leadership make you write that proposal, make that phone or set up that meeting.
At the end of the day, self leadership is your ability to know who you want to be and lead yourself towards success.
Jesus, Lincoln, Churchill, Winfrey, Jobs, Gates, and everyone other successful person that ever lived had the skill of self-leadership. You can develop self leadership, start with these:
Know Thy Self
Who are you? What do you like? How to you work with others? What is your personality like?
What are you good at? What are some of your weaknesses?
Take some time to get to know yourself, understanding who you are, what you believe in and what you want out of life.
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Take Responsibility
No one is going to live your life for you. Every decision you make is going to lead you somewhere. You are either taking a step towards fulfilling your potential or not.
Taking responsibility for the direction of your life requires that you know who you are and actively engage in the decision making process.
Most importantly if it about not making excuses or shifting the blame to someone else.
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Set Goals
I wrote a more detailed post of goal setting that more fully explains how to set goals and in what areas to set them.
The key is to actively move forward in your personal growth and development.
Write them down and keep them close!
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Take Action
You know who you are, willing to take the steps necessary, have written your goals down and now it’s time to take the first step.
This is where taking responsibility for your life and goal setting collide!
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Learn Everyday
Leaders never stop learning. Personal growth and development are key to staying on top of your game.
To stop learning for a leader is the same as if an athlete stopped working out. Eventually your performance is going to tank.
Stay sharp and learn every day. Do this by reading books, listen to podcasts, meet with wise people and attend conferences.
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Time Management
If there is one area I see young leaders get tripped up over it is this area. Time management is a budget for your time.
Time management is getting what you have to get done, in the time you need to get it done in.
The easiest way to do this is to keep a calendar. Set one up on Google or use whatever program you want. Just have one place where you keep all of you time commitments handy.
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This is what I know:
No one wants what you want more than you do.
No one is going to do it for you.
If you want it, go after it!
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At the end of the day, the gap between what you have and what you want is your ability to lead yourself well. (TWEET)
This is a huge topic and I would love to hear what you think. What does self-leadership mean to you?
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