Thought is the sculptor who can create the person you want to be. - Henry David Thoreau

Typical resolutions consist of activities that require some teeth-pulling. Exercise more. Eat better. Stop smoking. These are things we don’t really want to do. These are the resolutions we make and break every year, minutes after writing them down. Instead, we should make resolutions for things we want to do. Make resolutions to do things that you didn’t do enough of or didn’t get to last year. Have you been delaying a trip to Europe? Do you want to spend more time with your family and friends? Make resolutions for things that will make you happy, and you’ll be more motivated to commit to them.

There are five basic things to consider when deciding on your resolutions:

Time
Reflect on what you’re doing with your time, and ask yourself whether things need to be readjusted. Make time to do the things that you really want to do—spend time with your loved ones, make a phone call instead of sending a quick birthday wish in an email, write, read, take a bubble bath. There’ll never be enough time to do everything, but there’ll always enough time to do what’s really important (yes, a bubble bath is important!).

Money
Like time, the inability to manage money is often due to perspective. If you value saving more than spending, you will save more and spend less. Decide what you really want to use your money for. Instead of making the resolution simply to “spend less,” “save more,” or “pay credit cards down,” make a specific goal. Set a goal of x amount of dollars to go on that trip. Know exactly how much you are trying to save each month (realistically!), rather than making an arbitrary end of the year amount or vague statement of where you want your finances to be eventually. It’s easier to put off saving until tomorrow when you don’t have a specific number you are working towards.

Work
Consider the direction of your career. Since you spend most of your day working, you better be doing something you like. Is this what you really want to do? Will this particular job lead you to where you want to be? Don’t get stuck in a place that doesn’t satisfy your aspirations for yourself. Resolve to take your career into your own hands, no matter how scary it might seem.

Connections
Having supportive and fulfilling relationships will do more for your well being than any kind of “success” in your career or money in your bank account. Resolve to spend more time with the people you love and who love you, give freely, offer help, and be gracious.

Health
Your health will be what allows you to pursue any of the things mentioned above. If you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, low energy, or any other ailments, then eating better and getting more exercise has to be a priority. Don’t resolve to stop smoking because you’re “supposed” to. Do it because you value your health and understand that your well being is important to those you love.

I hope your 2009/2010 resolutions will be a list of things that make you very happy. Have fun doing them!

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Develop Your Leadership Potential

Want to have some fun? Go to the book section of Amazon.com,
enter the keyword "leadership" and see how many hits you get.
The last time I did this I got over 18,200 hits. Eighteen thousand
two hundred! Why is there so much material on this one subject?
The law of supply and demand would say it is because people are
buying it. But I suspect there are other, more subtle reasons.

One of those reasons is the underlying belief that leadership can
be taught. With enough training, anybody can be a leader. The theory
is that leaders are made, not born. Or are they?

The other day a woman told me that she sees definite leadership traits
in her son. I asked her how old he was. "Six," she replied. Too
young to have been through any leadership training. So are
leaders born or made? The answer is both.

The problem is that we often get fuzzy about what can and cannot be
taught, and at the heart of the fuzziness is the difference between
talent and skill.

Talent is what we do well naturally. It is our bent. Talents are inborn,
and can be discovered and developed. They cannot be taught. However,
skills can. Skills are simply how to do something. They are learned
and transferable. When we confuse talent and skill, we set ourselves
up for disappointing expectations from training.

What does this have to do with developing leaders? Everything. For
example, the ability to create vision and strategy is a key leadership
trait. Some people have a talent for it. They do it naturally
and continually. Others don’t. Both can learn some skills that will
help them do it better. The difference is that the one with the
corresponding talent can be excellent at it, while the other
one can be adequate at best. Talent is required for excellence.
Who wants more "adequate" leaders?

Here’s the bottom line for developing your leadership potential:
become the leader you are designed to be. Discover your natural
motivational talents, and build on them. Volunteer for assignments
and training that complement your natural giftedness. Get on the
track to excellence by aligning your development with your talents.

There are all types of leaders. Some rouse and inspire. Some organize.
Some are strategic, and some tactical. Some spot opportunities, and
some protect against disaster. All are needed in this world
of ours.

What’s the best type of leader to be? The type you were designed to be.









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Two Parts Hydrogen, One part Talent

Hydrogen and oxygen are distinctly different elements,
but sometimes they combine to form water. Something similar
is true for motivation and talent.

Motivation is what we LIKE to do naturally. Talent is what
we DO well naturally. They can exist independently, but when
they combine, they create something special. They create
motivated talents.

People often are naturally good at something (talented), but it
just doesn’t turn them on. For example, Heather is good with
numbers, but she doesn’t go out of her way to find tasks calling
for that talent. Most people have such talents. But then there
are those talents that we really enjoy using. These are the
motivated talents, and this is where the magic is.

We use motivated talents every chance we get. Most of the time
we don’t even think about it. For example, Larry has a motivated
talent for conversation, and he naturally engages both friends and
strangers in dialog. He doesn’t consciously determine to do so;
it just happens. It’s natural and unforced. He enjoys it, and
he’s good at it. That’s the hallmark of a motivated talent.

Motivated talents tend to be irrepressible. They find expression.
In fact, if you’ve ever tried to stifle a motivated talent (either
yours or someone else’s) it probably felt like you were trying
to hold two dozen ping pong balls under water at the same time.
Motivated talents pop out, even if no one else is asking for them.
And doesn’t that make sense? After all, it’s what we do well
AND enjoy.

Well then, wouldn’t the ideal job be one where you can use your
motivated talents daily and get paid for it? Absolutely! But
more on that later.

What are your natural motivations?

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