Leadership and Commitment: A hand-in-hand Journey towards Success

“Leaders are not born, they are made”. You may have probably heard of this catchy line a couple of times in your entire existence, mostly from speeches. And yes, it is so predictable. But have you ever thought about the real deal behind one man’s success in leadership?

Before getting into the core and putting down incomprehensible facts and systematize ways to be a good leader, you have to fully understand the basics. Being a leader is sometimes mistakenly thought as merely being the first or the most capable. However, beyond having the loudest voice for your constituents to follow your orders is a more profound depiction that entails all varied aspects of leadership.

Part of your being a leader is giving out orders. This is the easy part. Getting your subordinates to follow your every order and efficiently deliver their fair share of work is the hardest part. It is not only enough to mandate someone to do his work. Leadership is about influencing people and motivating them to do their part of the work with minimal or no supervision as possible.

Every man is different. Every man works differently and every man pulls motivation from different things. Before one can manifest great leadership, he has to have greater passion and from passion comes a lifetime commitment. Leadership and commitment is like bread and butter or perhaps spoon and fork, wherein one cannot efficiently function without the other.

Commitment is the single most important aspect of success, more so in leadership. After all, you wouldn’t be where you are right now without your undying commitment for the company. If you show commitment and have been a living proof that commitment is what got your where you are, you will not only influence your people to live out your principles, but you are also unconsciously giving them career paths for their future’s sake.

Along with demonstrating commitment to your company is commitment to yourself as a leader. In fact, it is the second-most crucial aspect of success. An effective leader has astounding self-confidence, integrity, and a feasible sense of personal candor. If you have grown in a perfect setting with the perfect parents who taught you perfect values, then possessing the above-mentioned standards is just as easy as 1, 2, 3. However, this is not always the case. There are no perfect parents because there is also no perfect child. In simpler words, if you are not naturally given these values, your commitment to leadership will serve as your drive to learn them.

And lastly but equally important is your commitment to your people. The basis of the team’s commitment to their work is chiefly influenced by the leader’s commitment to each of them. Building a lasting relationship between you and your immediate staff is surrounded by principles like courtesy, giving constructive feedback, and respect.

Leadership is not just about having the necessary skills to direct and guide a group into the right way. The biggest fraction of good leadership is commitment. If you have demonstrated everything the right way, your subordinate’s work will be a verification of your success as a leader.

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It Starts with a Vision

Ever heard of Walt Disney? Yes, he’s the guy who created the first sound cartoon, the first all-color cartoon and the first animated feature-length motion picture. Anyone who has managed to bring all of these three together for entertainment is someone with a definite vision. But aside from these, two of Disney’s greatest masterpieces were Disneyland and Walt Disney World, theme parks that capture the imagination of every child, and even every adult.

How did Walt Disney come up with his ideas? What was his vision for his future, and what spurred him on to create his company?

Vision sparks a leader and fires him up to do the things that inspire him the most. It draws him forward and makes everyone want to follow him, a strong leader. When a person doesn’t have a vision in life, one that propels him towards achieving his dreams, then he practically has no direction at all.

So what makes a good leader with vision? Here are a couple of pointers for you to follow.

Vision starts from within. You can’t go around telling people what their vision is nor can they ask you for suggestions on what their vision should be. Vision comes from within, so take a long, hard look at yourself. If you are having a hard time figuring out your vision, think of what interests you and you can start from there. If you’re still not sure what your vision is, look for a partner that shares the same interests and plans as you. Even Walt Disney had one – his brother, Roy.

Vision draws on your history. Look back at your past and figure out the lessons you have learned from your life experiences. Visions don’t materialize overnight. Leaders who have visions in life draw out their sources from what they have learned in the past and the mistakes that they have made.

One great vision is one that aims to meets other people’s needs. It’s not all about you alone—it’s all about drawing other people into your dream and changing their lives. If your vision is restricted solely to helping you fulfill your purpose and not benefiting other people, then it’s too shallow and selfish. Your vision should be something that resonates within other people and enables them to work for that goal as well.

Having a clear vision can help you prepare and gather your resources. One of the best things about working towards your vision is that it helps you attract others. It’s like a magnet. The more powerful the vision is, the more likely people will want to achieve it.

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Empowering Yourself to Become Successful

Success is defined as the complete attainment of the goals that a person has long planned, like a journey where a person starts taking one single step at a time before he finally achieves his tasks. With hard work, discipline, and careful planning, being successful can easily be attained.

Accomplishment starts from within; that is, how you perceive things and how you drive yourself to get to where you want. Below are some simple yet very practical everyday habits to help you empower yourself to be successful.

• Have enough rest- Even if you are bent on pushing hard to become successful, always find time to rest; either you spend it with your family or do other non-work related activities.

• Read Daily- Even for just thirty minutes to an hour, reading daily is one way to increase knowledge and self-confidence – two things that are very important to carry with you on your way to success.

• Expose Yourself to Motivational Content- Becoming successful needs a lot of motivation and encouragement. To help you sustain your drive, get exposed to motivational and empowering content, like can-do videos, inspirational books, and seminars.

• Get out of bed early- This is one way to show great discipline over your self. Getting up early means you are aware of the importance of time and would like to make full use of it.

• Visualize- Before you go to sleep, visualize your dreams happening thru meditation. Try to squeeze in some more affirmations and visualizations during the day.

• Blog- Did you know that blogging is not only a form of writing but a helpful way to keep you focused? When you blog, your content might help you discover what it is that you need to improve on to be successful. Also, reading blogs by other people opens your mind to similar experiences and learnings.

• Seek advice- People whom you are closely attached to will be more than willing to give you the right advice so you can become successful. Do not be afraid to ask for insights from family and friends.

• Always have strong determination- Most people fail not because of circumstance but because of choice. Determination is important in empowering yourself to become successful. Your willingness to find your own niche is something that you must have. Remember your ability is not only the thing that matters, but also your passion.

• Take Consequences as Challenges- Along the way, you may encounter consequences that will somehow put your determination on hold. Instead of seeing them as hindrances towards achieving your goals, take them as challenges and seek ways to overcome them.

Becoming successful starts by empowering yourself. Learn from these simple yet efficient tips and take them to heart, so you can someday become a successful ‘somebody’.

Follow the above it will really help you….

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Simplest Tips to Boost Your Positive Energy

Everyone likes to have a flowing energy throughout the day. How would you like to accomplish everything you want and feel great? The daily stress and struggles bog many of us down. We all wish for more energy. Here are 12 simplest tips to boost your energy every day.

Anyone could be more positive with these while overcoming life’s challenges. Shall we start?

• Do the tasks that you love - Passion and enthusiasm increases your energy. It is best to choose a profession or a job that you love to do. Your work should be one that utilizes your natural talents and interests so that you are happy to do it and you get a satisfaction after completing your job.

• Get regular exercise - Exercise boosts positive energy. Exercise makes you feel good. Regular exercise keeps your energy levels high.

• Energize yourself through a proper diet - A diet rich in carbohydrates, proteins, low fat and lots of fiber is sure to sustain your energy level. You need to stay from sugar to avoid the roller coaster effects.

• Work towards the big picture in mind - You may experience stress and energy draining situations while working on a task. If you keep the big picture in mind, which is the end result, these would change to motivating forces to achieve your goal. You feel energized to reach your goal at any cost.

• Put on a smile - Smile is contagious. It improves your mood. When you walk around with a smile on your face, people respond with friendliness. This could easily turn your day around.

• Boost your positive energy through body language - Your body language helps to boost your positive energy. Project positive non-verbal clues such as an upright posture, uncrossed arms, firm handshake, good eye contact, calm behavior, etc.

• Dress well - Dressing appropriately to suit the occasions raises your confidence and positive energy.

• Avoid energy drainers - Do not waste time with people who engage in idle chat and waste your precious time. You get a sort of an uneasy feeling with certain types of people. If you sense bad vibes, you better stay away from them if you do not want them to drain your energy.

• Associate with like-minded people - Find a group of like-minded people who share your likes and dislikes so that you could get support and enhance your growth along with them. When you are in this group there is a collective energy working for the good of all in the group.

• Practice positive introspection - Set aside sometime every often to take an inventory of all the wonderful qualities you possess and use in your daily activities. These generally include your skills, attitudes, approach, generosity, ability to love, etc. Once you realize that you make valuable contribution to the society and your family with these qualities you tend to continue with these and feel positive energy surging in your activities.

You could effectively deal with your problems with positive energy and enthusiasm with these simple tips.

All the above can be done, just focus on it and watch things change for you.

Remember Live Your Life By Choice, Not By Chance

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Life Mapping: A Vision of Success

Success is more than economic gains, titles, and degrees. Planning for success is about mapping out all the aspects of your life. Similar to a map, you need to define the following details: origin, destination, vehicle, backpack, landmarks, and route.

Origin: Who you are

A map has a starting point. Your origin is who you are right now. Most people when asked to introduce themselves would say, “Hi, I’m Jean and I am a 17-year old, senior highschool student.” It does not tell you about who Jean is; it only tells you her present preoccupation. To gain insights about yourself, you need to look closely at your beliefs, values, and principles aside from your economic, professional, cultural, and civil status. Moreover, you can also reflect on your experiences to give you insights on your good and not-so-good traits, skills, knowledge, strengths, and weaknesses. Upon introspection, Jean realized that she was highly motivated, generous, service-oriented, but impatient. Her inclination was in the biological-medical field. Furthermore, she believed that life must serve a purpose, and that wars were destructive to human dignity.

Destination: A vision of who you want to be

“Who do want to be?” this is your vision. Now it is important that you know yourself so that you would have a clearer idea of who you want to be; and the things you want to change whether they are attitudes, habits, or points of view. If you hardly know yourself, then your vision and targets for the future would also be unclear. Your destination should cover all the aspects of your being: the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. Continuing Jean’s story, after she defined her beliefs, values, and principles in life, she decided that she wanted to have a life dedicated in serving her fellowmen.

Vehicle: Your Mission

A vehicle is the means by which you can reach your destination. It can be analogized to your mission or vocation in life. To a great extent, your mission would depend on what you know about yourself. Bases on Jean’s self-assessment, she decided that she was suited to become a doctor, and that she wanted to become one. Her chosen vocation was a medical doctor. Describing her vision-mission fully: it was to live a life dedicated to serving her fellowmen as a doctor in conflict-areas.

Travel Bag: Your knowledge, skills, and attitude

Food, drinks, medicines, and other travelling necessities are contained in a bag. Applying this concept to your life map, you also bring with you certain knowledge, skills, and attitudes. These determine your competence and help you in attaining your vision. Given such, there is a need for you to assess what knowledge, skills, and attitudes you have at present and what you need to gain along the way. This two-fold assessment will give you insights on your landmarks or measures of success. Jean realized that she needed to gain professional knowledge and skills on medicine so that she could become a doctor. She knew that she was a bit impatient with people so she realized that this was something she wanted to change.

Landmarks and Route: S.M.A.R.T. objectives

Landmarks confirm if you are on the right track while the route determines the travel time. Thus, in planning out your life, you also need to have landmarks and a route. These landmarks are your measures of success. These measures must be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound. Thus you cannot set two major landmarks such as earning a master’s degree and a doctorate degree within a period of three years, since the minimum number of years to complete a master’s degree is two years. Going back to Jean as an example, she identified the following landmarks in her life map: completing a bachelor’s degree in biology by the age of 21; completing medicine by the age of 27; earning her specialization in infectious diseases by the age of 30; getting deployed in local public hospitals of their town by the age of 32; and serving as doctor in war-torn areas by the age of 35.

Anticipate Turns, Detours, and Potholes

The purpose of your life map is to minimize hasty and spur-of-the-moment decisions that can make you lose your way. But oftentimes our plans are modified along the way due to some inconveniences, delays, and other situations beyond our control. Like in any path, there are turns, detours, and potholes thus; we must anticipate them and adjust accordingly.

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The Best Cure for Procrastination - Your Vision

Have you discovered your purpose in life? Do you have long-term goals? Finding and focusing on your long-term goals is a powerful cure for procrastination. A vision is simply a statement of what you want to achieve in life, and how you plan to achieve it. Without a vision, it’s easy to fall into a lifestyle of procrastination. And without a clear statement of your vision, you’re more likely to give up on projects in the face of difficulties.

If you haven’t written your vision, you need to make this your No. 1 priority. Your goals and your attention will shift from one project to the next, year after year, if you don’t have a vision to guide you.

? Make a written list of your lifetime goals. Wishing won’t make it happen-writing down a goal is the first action you can take to conquer procrastination. One research study discovered that people who write down their goals earn ten times more than people who don’t. You may think you have a goal, but if you haven’t written it down, research suggests your chances of accomplishing it are small.

Break down your long-term goals into measurable tasks. This is the only way you can stay focused enough to keep moving toward your long-term goals. Without a series of clearly-defined milestones to measure your progress, you can delude yourself into thinking that you’re moving toward a goal when in fact you haven’t taken the first step yet. Do you constantly miss deadlines? Do you make up reasons to justify why you didn’t finish an important task, rather than tackling it and getting it done? Are you sincere enough to recognize the real reason why you missed your deadline? Do you have a written plan of attack for finishing the job without further delay?

Perfectionism is one of the main causes of procrastination. Recognize the difference between striving for excellence and getting stuck in a vicious circle of perfectionism. Ask yourself what type of work demands perfectionism. If the job you’re doing is not the type that requires perfectionism, then remember that your goal must be excellence rather than perfection.

Always keep a journal or idea book with you. Use spare time to jot down ideas about how you plan to attack your next goal. When you’re working on one project, what do you do when you get random ideas about other things? Do you write them down? Writing is a great way to use spare time and unleash your creative thinking and problem-solving skills. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar-just get your thoughts down as quickly as you can. If you need to show what you’ve written to someone else, you can revise it later.

Remind yourself that every task you face today is part of a divine plan for your life. “There is a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will,” Shakespeare wrote. You were created to accomplish more than you think you can-do some “rough hewing” on your life’s goals today.

Goal Setting For Beginners

Do you have goals? Well, most of us do. It might be a daily goal, a weekly goal, even a yearly goal, but we have goals. However, not everyone knows how to properly set goals. This article aims to educate the goal-setting novices out there on how to properly set goals.

Setting goals for yourself is like creating a road map to get to your destination. In goal-setting, your destination is succeeding in accomplishing your goals. This means you have to write down your goals on a piece of paper so you can start to get organized. This step allows you to concentrate on your goals rather than leave your ideas scattered throughout your mind.

The first question you have to ask yourself is: Is my goal something that I would really like for myself or is it just something that looks good to other people? This question is crucial because many people make the mistake of setting a goal just to please other people. A good example of this is a college student who chooses a course so that his parents will praise him. What he should actually do is to go where his heart leads him. This means that the goal should match the individual’s personal value system.

Second, a goal should correspond with the other goals you have set for yourself. Like the example we gave above, a college student must not take courses that deviate from the career path he is creating for himself. Not only is this a waste of money but it also opposes the purpose of goal setting – which is to keep his life organized. Deviating is dubbed non-integrated thinking.

Third, set goals for the 6 aspects of your life, which are: Mental and Educational, Physical and Health, Financial and Career, Social and Cultural, Spiritual and Ethical, and lastly, Family and Home. This guarantees that you will maintain a balanced life as you evaluate and amend the basics of your daily life. This step also lessens the level of non-integrated thinking.

Fourth, create goals that emphasize positive thinking rather than negative thoughts. We create a list of goals partly because we want to program our subconscious mind to follow our instructions. This part of our mind – the subconscious – was made solely to follow instructions. So if you want your subconscious to follow positive thinking, think of positive instructions to give it. (Positive thinking is also a useful tool for our development in daily life as a person.)

The next step is to define our goal in a detailed fashion. For the college student who is trying to choose a course, he could write down: “I want to study BA European Languages with a major in German and a minor in French” rather than just state “I want to pick a course in the College of Arts and Letters”. You will notice that the more detailed statement serves to provide the subconscious mind with detailed instructions to follow. Your final outcome becomes more and more definite as you provide more details in the instructions you write down. The subconscious mind works more efficiently if the final outcome is defined well.

In the sixth step, do not downgrade your goals – keep reaching high! That way, if you do not reach your goals, at least you reached a level that is higher than you imagined you could reach.

Lastly, you ought to list your goals on paper. Read your list often so you can focus on them one by one. If you concentrate on accomplishing your goals, it is probable that you will be able to get to where you want to be in life. As you review your goals, it is also possible that you may have to revise your list but that’s okay. Stay flexible if circumstances warrant it.

How to Get Rid of Procrastination in 5 Simple Ways

Procrastination can be a problem for most people. I, myself, am such a master procrastinator that I can easily get awards for being so good at it. Procrastination is analogous to laziness. You set things aside, knowing that there’ll be lots of time to do them in the next hours, days, or even weeks. Personality-wise, procrastination is not positive! It’s a negative force that results in unutilized skills and dullness.

You might be thinking, then, what, really, are the causes of procrastination? Here is a list of typical reasons why I go on procrastinating.

• The right mood. Funny as it may seem, I always wait for the right mood where I feel so happy or active to do certain things. I can consider my mood as a factor to motivate me in accomplishing work.

• The right time. To go with mood is the right timing. There are times when I wake up and prepare to clean the pile of laundry in my basket. But, just as I am willing to wash clothes, the rain suddenly pours. Then it’s procrastination time again.

• Underestimating the time and difficulty of accomplishing a task. I may sound arrogant, but, oftentimes, I underestimate the difficulty of a job. I keep telling myself I can do it in just a short time (and eventually end up with half-baked work).

• Unclear tasks. I always procrastinate when I don’t know what to do and what goals to accomplish.

• Perfectionism. Up to now, I can’t decide if this is a positive or negative attitude. I delay finishing a task because I see to it that every detail, no matter how minute, is well-examined.

It’s ironic that I should be the one giving you tips on how to deal and get rid of procrastination, as I also am guilty of it. But, as they say, a good teacher is someone who had actually undergone the experience. Let me tell you this: all these tips can only be effective if you have a heart to follow them regularly!

1. Be organized. Starting today, organize your things, your room,your time, and your life. Set goals and clearly devise ways to accomplish them. An organized desk can be a good area for work. Finishing a rush report your boss told you to do can be easily and efficiently done if you have set your goals and mapped out methods on how to do it.

2. Set plans! Get your planner and write down all your plans, both for short-term and long-term. Ironing the clothes and cleaning the house can easily be accomplished when you know you have a time limit. As an initial step, plan for a whole day’s work and follow it religiously. It would be better to allot time to certain activities you need to accomplish. For example, an hour to iron clothes. After some time, you will be able to do a week-long plan and so on. Just be conscious not to be too adamant with your entire schedule and always leave ample time for certain emergencies and rest.

3. Time management. Observe your personal time management strategies. Start from the time you go to work to the time you sleep at night. Be sure that you sustain a time balance between your family life, work life, and other personal activities.

4. Control yourself and stay focused! When your brain is telling you to just sleep and neglect the paperwork that need to be accomplished, try to be in control and concentrate. Focusing on what you will and should do are great motivators for you to move constantly.

5. Just do it! Know how to discipline yourself. A simple act of cleaning a mess should be done in an instant. Just think that you’re doing it not only for your own sake but for all the members of the family.

If you always observe yourself as having low productivity, this is the time to take a grip and get rid of procrastination habits. You are in charge of all you do and these delaying tactics are simply not useful. Procrastination will not develop you personally; it’s just a way of prolonging your work further and widening the risk for a half baked finish. Set yourself free from procrastination and get moving NOW.

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Big Thoughts and Big Actions Make Dreams Come True!

Yes, these two can indeed make your thoughts materialize – even big, seemingly impossible dreams. The process is very straightforward, applying the law of manifestation.

It all begins in your mind, with a single thought. If you think small, you get small results. But if you think big, what do you think your results will be? If you think, a small bungalow will be fine as my house, then most likely that is what you will get. On the other hand, if you think you would like a two-storey house with a pool and garden, then again, that is what you will most likely get.

Feeling, or passion, follows. This is where the question “How badly do I want this?” comes in. Also, “What am I willing to do in order to get this?” The answer to this determines your level of commitment. Your passion and commitment also dictate your results.

Based on your thought and passion, you set a specific goal with a specific deadline. It is best to write it down as the subconscious mind absorbs it better when you write it down.

Then take big actions that are only worthy of your big thoughts! If you are looking for your dream house, find out how much it costs and how you are going to get it. Think about and visualize your dream house everyday. This activates the law of attraction, where you attract people and events related with what you think about most. Stay alert for “coincidences” from the universe – for example, suddenly meeting an architect or anyone who can help you get that dream house.

Change your actions if needed until you reach your goal. If for example your sources of income are not enough to finance your dream house, then you may have to change them or add to them.
In time, you will reach your goal.

Just keep this formula in mind – big thoughts and big feelings lead to big goals, which in turn lead to big actions, finally leading to big results!