Filed under: Action, Vulnerability | Tags: Leadership, self empowerment, self growth, stephen mcghee
We have gotten lazy in the name of introspection. Yes, I feel that introspection and “knowing” thyself is of incredible value in terms of life and leadership. Yet, I find that many of us are using “process” as a way to rationalize our non-action. Why? Because it’s easier for me to sit on my duff in the name of process rather than to take an action that actually accomplishes something.
Being in One’s process is overrated. After awhile it’s like a stinky shoe. The smell won’t go away, unless I do something to make it smell better. As a professional leadership coach I have the amazing gift in my life to create results with people and businesses. I love it, because I have the opportunity every day to see what works and what doesn’t work for people. Mostly the difference between a non-result and a result lies in traversing the gap between process and purpose. Consider that in every moment you are living in a vacuum of space and time. Inside of that vortex is a choice between thinking about doing something and actually doing something.
For example I can sit at my computer and be in a process about what to write or I can just begin writing. The cursor on my computer screen could care less. I don’t initiate my purpose until I actually begin typing something.
I ask you to consider this week the value in being on purpose. What would your experience be today if you were fully on purpose? Most people say they feel more enlivened and their life reveals a quality of depth and meaning. Some of us question what it means to be “on purpose”. Can you see that the very question pulls you into process rather than execution? It’s a slippery egoistic way to keep you on the couch as opposed to serving the world.
Leadership is tricky because the moment you move to purpose there will likely be someone standing there to question your process. Can you see the conundrum? This is where you will find resolve from one moment to the next. I find that the commitment lies in the very depth of my intention. That defines my purpose.
Also, you might find solace in the idea that process never ends. It never ends because it is similar to a “loop” in a computer software program. It keeps seeking to find something. The problem is that there is often no answer to the question that I am processing. Can you hear that?
I have two questions for you today. One, what is your purpose today? Two, what will you do to convert your purpose to action?
Have an purpose oriented day filled with action.
The mastery of precision inspires me. It’s a rarity in a world of get quick fixes. If you want to be reminded of the excellence in leadership, I recommend an evening out to your local symphony orchestra. The focus required to bring together a band of wind, percussion, horns etc….is a pristine example of sharpness. The results are magical and far reaching. People are touched by that kind of commitment. Why? Because for me sitting there, it seems effortless and as the Orchestra leader waves his wand with such alacrity, the entire team of musicians responds with ease.
We all know that to achieve a level of mastery requires thousands of hours of practice. Leadership is no different. And yet, even though the moments of graceful motion that come together in our lives and business may at times seem illusive, they do occur. And they occur through our commitment to being excellent at what we do. The sage leaders of our past will often talk of finding excellence in simple things. Choosing excellence is sometimes inconvenient. It’s not easy because so much of our world is wired against it. Most Companies speak of excellence in product satisfaction and yet when push comes to pull, the Customer Service agent will look at me with trepidation when I ask for the quality that was boasted about.
My message today invites us all to bridge the gap from complacency to excellence. Impeccable performance is a way of BEING. Sure it involves a skill to conduct a great symphony. And the perfection that I witnessed the other night was intentional, as well as technical. It was beautiful. Sometimes I well up with emotion when I experience this level of impeccability. It’s emotional to watch an athlete win a Gold medal because we all know what went into that performance. Or to watch an actor win an Oscar for an excellent performance can be equally inspiring. Leadership inspires the BEST in the people around him/her.
This week, I encourage you to hold yourself and the people around you to a higher standard. Today, stop for a moment. Consider an area that you could move from a 7 to a 10. What would the result be for you? How would you feel? It would require you slowing down in most cases. I suspect in the long run, you will save yourself a boatload of time by being excellent. It’s a conundrum in a world that works against excellence. Let’s get the product out the door. It’s a “test” version. It’s too darn easy to rationalize our discontent through performance. In this moment, I encourage a new sound. The sound of excellence is pervasive and it cannot be denied you as a powerful leader.
So in short, have an excellent week.
Filed under: Commitment, Leadership | Tags: aconcagua, Leadership, stephen mcghee
If I don’t love what I am doing, I ought not to do it at all. Why? Because if I am doing something because I think I “have” to, my performance is weak. I know this to be true for me, as there have been times in my life where I rationalized my half enthusiastic participation in the name of appeasement. Today, and in my life; I refuse to allow that way of being to exist.
Yes, I realize that many of us reading this message feel we have no choice in what we are doing. It would be ridiculous of me to argue your point, because I too have been the master of effectively arguing for my own limitations. I don’t see it as wrong or bad. I see it as life affirming and interesting. It’s more intriguing for me when I can love the journey of leadership no matter what I am doing. If I am doing it, then on some level, I have chosen it. Right? I mean nobody is twisting my arm to do my work, or write my blog or to get my butt to the gym. I do it because I choose it. If I don’t choose it, I am not going to do it. Can you hear that?
It shows up for me all the time. I did a training climb on Monday night that I did not want to do on that very afternoon. When I showed up for the actual climb, I chose doing it. http://www.theaconcaguaproject.com This is the Journey of Leading ourselves and others to more consistent results. I find it easier than fighting my way through something I have already said YES to doing. There have been many times in my life and business that have had me on my edge!!! Once I make the decision, I am going to “Lead Into” the steps required to get the job done. I am going to love each step. I can even love the steps I hate. Make sense? If I don’t want to do what I choose to do it’s psychotic on some level.
This week I inspire you to choose the Journey of Leadership by loving something you think you don’t want to do. I am not asking you to jump up and down like a ninny although you might try that to. I am encouraging you to see how quickly you can shift the outer choice to an inner appreciation of what you are doing. I mean it. Try it. If you are going to sit in the meeting, then love it. I mean enjoy that pain in your legs after your Cross Fit training.
The world and life is full of yuck. The journey of leadership encourages YOU and me to love the YUCK too.
Have an amazing journey.
Filed under: Commitment | Tags: deuce lutui, Leadership, stephen mcghee, Steve Hardison, TBOLITNFL
Deuce Lutui is the best offensive lineman in the NFL. It’s irrefutable to anyone that talks with him. Why? His Personal Internal Commitment to himself is to be the BEST. You can’t be the best at anything unless you can get your head around it first. So, what does Deuce Lutui have to do with you and me? Everything! His demonstration of leadership is inspiring people all over the globe. One day Mr. Lutui had a revelation. His epiphany starts in the psychology of who he is to himself. Never mind that the Ultimate Coach Steve Hardison (http://www.theultimatecoach.net ) lifted Deuce’s 360 lb frame into the heavens by challenging his very existence into a reality. Let’s forget for a moment that the cellular make up a Tongan stud like Lutui is to be humbled and to be a good servant. What Mr. Hardison helped Deuce to realize is that his beliefs around being humbled were in direct conflict with his abilities to be great! There is a tendency in some of our DNA to play it safe. I know full well how to rationalize my less than stellar performance in the name of humility. It’s total BS. Belief Systems are slippery…so why not pick a belief that radically supports the ultimate goal? That is to be the BEST.
I invite you to consider how you feel when you see a great skater receive a gold medal after 15 years of practice, or perhaps an Oscar winning actor that gets a great message to the people. Personally, I loved when Roberto Benigni went crazy at the Oscars; because he knew what he had done was amazing. The point is that each of us has greatness and as a leader you can choose the propensity to bring it forward in yourself and in those around you. We watch movies of the hero’s journey because ultimately we want to see people win. If we want to see others win, why not choose winning for ourselves.
Every single person reading this post has brilliance inside. If my personal internal commitment is to “get by” then guess what? I teach my mind, heart and body to respond to my lackluster performances. If however, I make the inner commitment to being outstanding at something, all things seen and not seen move forward to accomplish that mindset. I am not saying it will occur without serious sweat and maybe even tears. It will require the best of YOU. Great leaders expect high standards in their people. They inspire us to be our greatest selves and they will do just about anything to encourage that to happen. The point is that each of us has greatness interwoven into our Soul. Perhaps the Soul itself is so great that our current endeavor is to get in touch with it. As a leader you can choose the propensity to bring it forward in yourself and in those around you.
Today, I invite you to read the whole story on Deuce Lutui. Go to http://TBOLITNFL.com and read up on The Best Offensive Lineman In The NFL. It’s a story full of life and living as a leader. It’s a story about Personal Internal Commitment. It’s a love story of the greatest proportions. And I ask you, my friends, to discover your own PIC as you navigate your way to the very tip top of your personal and professional objectives.
Have a GREAT week.
Stephen
Your future can only be bright if you can see it as illumined. As you look into the negative influences of the past, the future becomes cynical as well. This may sound obvious and yet many of us still get stuck. How do I know? I am a “listener” of language. There are generally two kinds of communication. One is a communication of what went wrong that carries a sense of being victimized from the things that didn’t work. The other is a conversation of possibility. I am not here to judge or make either position wrong. In a way, it’s as if I am a scientist of communication. Having listened to many hundreds of leaders create their future, it’s become obvious to me, which one will actually create a magnificent future and those that won’t.
As you accept that living in the past is debilitating your ability to create more powerful results, an internal freedom emerges. This freedom is steeped in discipline and an inner desire to create a more compelling future. In fact, I encourage us to consider having a future that is so big that you have no idea how to actually fulfill on it. I recommend you declare a future that makes you into a bigger more loving leader than you could ever imagine yourself to be. That future will actually “want” YOU. It will pull you into the future.
Now to do that, you must spend less time telling yourself about how “right” you are about what “wronged” you. It has no value really. It helps us survive at best and most leaders I know are not interested in surviving. Most leaders I know are interested in making a difference. Once you have indentified a future worthy of your attention, then I encourage you to share it with people. I don’t mean talk about it. I mean share it until is sinks into the flesh of your heart. I want you to tell people about your compelling future until your voice hurts from talking about it. Why? Because you then won’t be talking about the crap you don’t like about the past. It propels you into the future.
Consider the great leaders of our past. They all had a big vision and most of them were pretty good about telling others about it. When JFK suggested putting a “man on the moon before the end of the decade” he (and NASA) had no idea “how” to do that. The how will come to you as you lean into your future. Walt Disney was another one that was amazing at seeing something and moving his life in that direction. Disneyland was a bare lot at one point and that is not what Walt was seeing. He saw the whole thing before his very eyes and then he shared it with anyone that would listen.
So, today; create a future for YOU and begin living into it. What will it be? It will be whatever you say it is. Make it big and bold and speak it into existence. As you do that, begin to notice what happens in your body, mind and Soul. Some of us may feel nervous. That’s ok too as it’s a newer focus. Many of us will feel the energy pulse through the veins of creation as you share the Future of Leadership with those around you.
As always, I love hearing from YOU on what you are making happen.
There is a place deep inside of me that knows the truth. If I am moving too fast, I wonder what I am distracting myself from. That’s my cue to slow down and tune in. That’s when the inner leader emerges with clarity and resolve. I know what I need to do. It takes courage to slow down. It requires patience to find it. What am I trying to find? I must find my balance. Otherwise, I move past the lessons, the solutions and or the client opportunities. Actually, I miss my whole life.
How many of you can relate? Almost everything our society points us toward is about going faster. BEING balanced requires a certain counter intuitive leadership. It can feel lazy to be balanced. Why? I think it’s because so many of us are living lives where we are constantly trying to keep up with the list. Yes, the list we created or the list that was agreed to. I was in a beautiful mountain resort this last weekend. The leaves were golden with a hint of Fall in the air. I really found my balance again. It only took a few days. I found the place inside me that is balanced, rested and calm. From this place, I am a stronger coach. I can serve people better. This all important message in Leadership never fails to temper me. I am tempered by my own distractions as I find the inward balanced. I love this place. I must admit, I had lost it for awhile. Maybe even for a long time? I am not sure how it snuck in.
I can tell you that when I feel this way, the most important word in the English language is NO. NO, I won’t do that. No, I am not available at that time. Keep in mind people, you are not a robot. You are an amazing human being and without balance what are we? I/we are crazed lunatics (drama for impact) finding our way through a sea of confusion. It never works in the long run. In my book, I tell a story (download at www.miracleleader.com) of a dying friend that I had the opportunity to ask a question of. I asked, as you look back on your life; what one thing would you do differently. She said, I would have said NO more to things I thought I had to say YES to. I thought that was profound. I never forgot the look in her eyes.
Now, like everything that comes in your inbox you have a choice you can make right now. You can slow down right now and consider how “balanced” you are being. Are you experiencing equanimity? If not, it’s ok; as it’s not a sin. Its can be adjusted. It can be solved as you become aware of the identity you may have that pushes you around. NO, it’s not your boss, your mother, your spouse, or tax payments. The only way any of us can become out of sorts is as we allow ourselves to get off balanced.
I encourage you today, to assess your situation. What can you do to experience more peace inside your Self? You will lead other people more effectively. I find if I catch it sooner than later, it’s easier to move back to that soft spot faster. If you open this message on Friday, you most likely have a non-work weekend ahead. Now, the really cool thing about leadership is that practice assists me in finding my balance more readily. What that means for me, is that I can actually be busy and still be balanced. And if I am not willing to practice my core leadership skills, I cannot call on them when I need them the most. I thank God for the skills I have learned.
Have a balanced week or two.
Loving
Special Note:
Stephen has created a new blog that chronicles a nine month
journey of seven amazing men standing firmly in their integrity.
Please take a moment to check it out. Go to
www.theaconcaguaproject.com
Just keep stepping. That is the council I give myself when things get tough. All I have to do is take the next step. I can even pause if I want to. I may not stop for long, because there is a momentum to taking action. It’s like dancing or hiking or driving a business project forward. I must keep moving. I heard that about Sharks once, which is; that if they stop they die. Apparently they must keep the oxygen moving through their grey like bodies. I think it’s important for us as humans to do that. It’s not easy to keep moving at times. It would be easier to take a squat and give up on the dream. And like I told someone lately; “easy is not always better.”
What is the value in movement? Movement is life. Motion is a concentric circle swirling upward toward greater evolution. Flowing through life and business is the very thing we live for. If we are not in motion to some degree we die. We may not die physically; however we can die spiritually. Our brains turn to mashed mush and we cannot do our critical thinking anymore. It’s the very reason some retired folks are not in love with life. They stop moving and start watching the grass grow. If the grass is growing, then get up and mow it. Do something and keep moving. Now most of us are so busy you may think I am in a state of disillusionment. I don’t think so, because many super busy people are just running in circles rather than taking steps forward. Can you see the difference? Being busy for the sake of being busy is not productive. This is equally true for those of us that are being lazy, as this is not productive either.
I speak to the beauty and grace of momentum. Most people love that state of flow. As a leader, you know your objective; and now you keep stepping. You step when it hurts and you step when it flows. It requires a certain vigilance and inner discipline. Most of us move pretty well in the direction of our outcomes, until we get tired. This is the shark-like characteristic I am encouraging us as leaders to own. Keep stepping even when you don’t want to. Make sure you pause long enough to consider where you are going and yet keep the energy in motion. I have at times had to reach way down in my gut to do this. It hurts at times. It can hurt physically and emotionally. This is where the maturity of leadership prevails or gets “turned out”. You will grow as you move past your limitations as a man or a woman. It’s not always supposed to be easy and yet…it can be Graceful. It’s rewarded by the deep Self satisfaction of my esteem. It’s rewarded by serving others as a leader even as some of us may not want to.
What project do you want to keep moving forward on? What is the next step to take? In what area of your personal life requires your persistence and emotional wherewithal? What is the next step for you there? This week, I encourage your participation in stepping. Keep moving and by weeks end, see if you notice the flow and momentum in your mood and moral. It’s not a race. It’s a slowed down, easy, clear motion.
Have fun and let me know how you’re stepping?
I failed today. I did not meet my objective. I guess I could wax on about all the “reasons” I did not make my goal. That is definitely an option. Or I can learn from my own transgressions. I can focus my attention towards using my “failure” as a growth tool. Most people beat themselves up when they fail. In fact, lots of people I know get caught up in the language of it. They soften the blow by not using the word failure. I have never understood that. I either made my goal or I did not. I either won or I lost. And I either succeeded or I failed.
Personally, I like feeling the heat of failure in my very Soul. I don’t want off the hook. I don’t want my friends to appease me and see me as unable to handle my weaknesses. I want to experience that feeling in the core of my belly. I want to feel through my own demise until I come out the other side laughing like a clown. I can tell you that many of us want to avoid the conversation of “not making things happen”. Lots of leaders begin with reasons WHY something did not work. Suddenly, the whole conversation becomes a highway of rationalizations and excuses. I’m going to be SUPER clear with you about this topic. People don’t generally care WHY you did not meet your objectives. And I encourage you today to make a shift in the roads you travel from this day forward. If you traffic in rationalizations, you will eventually get pulled over on the road of life and held at the court until you pay your ticket.
Here is what I recommend. Refrain from judging yourself as a failure. Get present with “the failure” and feel it. Feel it, for only one reason…so that you can learn from it. From my greatest failures, I have learned my greatest lessons. I know I have learned something when I don’t repeat the same behavior over and over. Also, I recommend not spending much/if any time telling people the long boring story about why you are late on your payment, or your meeting, or the project. It matters not. What matters is…How can I restore my integrity today? I can restore my integrity when I can own that I did not complete the goal. I can say: I did not complete my objective and I am committed to learning the following points to ensure success on the next situation. When I fail at something, I spend time looking at the whole of the situation and how I can use all of what I learned for my learning. Can you hear that?
Think about it. The key to success is found in failing. I am not suggesting you study failure and I am recommending that each of us pause into the reflection of our misgivings. I find there is a powerful tempering in this approach that sets us up for a more consistent victory in our Selves and in our businesses. What do you think? Have you learned from tough times? Are you doing it with Grace? What is your greatest learning from your latest challenge? I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Best and beyond.
Stephen
Something always begins with nothing. The action of creating a result starts with a thought that you want something. Maybe you want to write a book. Therefore you start with a blank page. Perhaps you want to increase sales in your department. That means a blank order form, or signing a new client which requires starting a new relationship where before there was none. It all starts with nothing.
If you want to build a home, it begins with an open piece of ground. If you want to begin a new company, there will be no name and zero employees until your thought becomes an action. I suggest that part of the problem, for some of us that are frustrated with lagging results, is we get stuck in the thinking that something starts with something. It does not and it never will. Each of us gets a fresh start each day. Every moment you get a new beginning. I find that my clients do better when they get a vision of what they want and build from nothing. I find there is reality in that. I find there is accountability involved in that level of awareness.
Now, here comes the tricky part. Even if you have something going well, you want to move into nothing thinking. Nothing thinking keeps it fresh and powerful. It gets you on your edge and has you performing a new show every night when the curtain opens. I talk to many people that are waiting for the armored truck filled with gold to pull up in the front of the house. It might, I guess; but what if it doesn’t? I have talked to many wealthy people that had nothing when they began.
Further, I sense the “get rich quick” mentality seeps into getting something for nothing. That does not seem to work either. Some of us keep looking for the easy way, until looking for the easy way becomes really hard. Can you see the conundrum? I feel this is why many of us are struggling in the “tough” economy. We want things to be the way they used to be. We want to do things the way we used to do things. Well, things are different now. We are not going back to the way things were. I work with people and companies so they can get aligned with nothing. I do this because where there is nothing, something can be developed. If I hold on to my “there is already something” way of behaving; I may be waiting a very long time for something to occur. Waiting is death to a progressive company or person.
I don’t recommend idle waiting. I recommend sitting down with a fresh mind with nothing in it. From there, many new ideas can emerge. You can invent a new product from a clear mind. I invite you this week to create a result in a new way. I encourage you to slide your brush over a fresh canvass. Ask some radical questions, like; what if I approach my life and my business from an entirely new perspective? It would be like your birthday and you will likely receive a great gift.
This week, I invite you to look at where you’re holding on to something. Let it go and start with nothing. From nothing, get focused on the something you want. Don’t let past experiences intimidate you. Let past experiences fortify your movement forward. It’s important to keep moving and to see that any great thing that has ever occurred began from NO-THING. Where there is NO-THING there can one day be SOME-THING.
Have fun as you lead.
I had some big challenges in my life this week. I could not see clearly. I felt as if I was caught on a mountain in the middle of a foggy storm. It was uncomfortable because I could not see clearly how to navigate the situation. I was stuck and upset and frozen. Have you ever felt that way? I know most of us do from time to time. I think it is a natural part of living life. To me, the question is not whether I will ever feel lost sometimes. The question is more: What will I do to regain my perspective?
For me, I find the greatest way to find a greater clarity is to gain some altitude. What does that mean? To me, it means to get higher than the problem. You see, for years; I have been doing Culture Change Initiatives for companies. They work. Those initiatives are effective because the first thing I will assist a team in seeing is a clear context on what is really going on. For most leaders, staying out of the emotion can be very powerful. I am not saying that you become a robot in motion. I am saying that many people get “hung” up in the problem. It’s as if, we become the very problem that we desire to solve. It’s hard to be a solution to an issue that you cannot see clearly. I know I have some radical ideas at times; and this may be one of them. I recommend that you get away from the issue long enough to see it from its proper perspective. Seek a higher consciousness. By stepping away from the issue, long enough to let the dust settle, you will see the trouble from a bridge of success over the roaring rapids. From up high, you will see the flow of things and then you can settle back in and be more objective about the situation.
A more practical example is an e-mail thread where people are “digging in” on an issue. I watched one of those today. The further I pulled out of the email conversation, the more humorous it became to me. I could see where individuals were “being right” and spending hours on it. What a waste of precious time! I am not saying I have not done it. I can remember the feeling in my gut when I would hit the send button. I would feel like “I really nailed them this time” or something like that. Then, I would wait for the response, to see what “they” would say back. It would usually escalate to a misunderstanding, being upset, etc. What am I recommending? Let the problem sit. Let it sit for long enough (without crossing over into avoidance) to get some objectivity. Then, pick up the phone and call. My experience has been that within 5 to 10 minutes there will likely be a quick solution to the issue that normally would suck the life out of many resources (mostly people).
What makes sense about this approach? Recently, with my problem; I went to nature for a few days. I went with my brothers and my great friend Steve. We packed 30 miles into Rocky Mountain National Park. (this is where the video came from). My time in the outdoors reconnected me with my Spirit and God. Things were fresh and new and WOW…could I see things better! It won’t mean that anyone else involved in the problem will and who cares? As long as you can see better, you will find a solution is only a perspective away. I recommend that you take a moment and consider what you need a higher perspective on this week? How could you give yourself the gift of clarity on it? Let me know what you do to keep a better perspective for yourself on your problems. Share them…as I know we could all learn from your wisdom.
Best
The Get Real Blog 