What is it that matters most in life? Is it personal gain? What about recognition and status? When we sit back and ponder on what we want to achieve and attain in life, hopefully we think about the impact we make on others. This is where our truest moments of self-worth and accolades should be found. These 12 lessons for life and leadership will not only help you attain more, but also leave a lasting legacy.
1. Lead with Love
Leading with love will ensure that you begin and end each day with the right mindset. It is my personal belief that when we serve others, we gain back more in return. Therefore, upon leading with love and true care for others in the world helps keep us within the right frequency to gain the same back.
It sounds cliche, but who doesn’t want more love in their lives? Putting it out to those we interact with, even love and care for everyday strangers, it going to help you get back what you put out. And that is far better than the opposite effect.
2. Allow Leadership into Your Life
Who or what is guiding you?
Set up the mental construct for what you believe in and how you want to be lead. What is your purpose? How does that purpose guide you? Upon figuring out this important aspect of life, you can begin to look for more learning, teaching, knowledge, and leadership that can help you further round you into your best self.
This learning and leadership you gain then can be put into place into your life for greater impact for those around you.
3. Listen More than You Speak
The famous phrase – “we have two ears and one mouth for a reason” rings true here.
Don’t be so apt to jump into conversations with your opinions and validations. Rather, choose to speak with intent and purpose. Listen to conversations rather than trying to speak over them.
Upon practicing this “more listening and less talking technique” it also will hep others realize when you do speak up, it is going to have a lot of insight and meaning.
Resist always being the squeaky wheel and instead work to become the calm, collected, stoic; then when you speak, others truly will listen.
4. Keep Others Remembering their Essence
When you are true to yourself, it helps others become more true to their self. The saying of “Lead by Example” is the foundational principle here.
When we as leaders or people of purpose, vivaciously live our lives through meaning, others can’t help but take notice. Even those without their true “North Star” will want to find one.
Why not better others around you through keeping them honest about their truest purpose? Helping others in this manner truly generates great lessons for life and leadership.
5. Watch for Repetitions
When we are carefully looking for the patterns in life and how it unfolds, it helps us be better prepared for our futures.
Life happens in the ever present moment only, but through becoming watchful of the pendulum swings we can better anticipate challenges or ensure we don’t get too high in the positive momentums.
In all our lives, we’re going to experience the pendulum swinging – we need to be watchful and observant of it.
6. Live with Balance
Try your best to not do anything in excess.
Proper balance in life is important for any leader, entrepreneur, or purposeful individual. It is easy to get caught up in the excessiveness of life. This can be in things that are good for us like exercising or of course in the more negative aspects such as binge drinking to forget a stressful event.
Life is meant to be lived in balance. Even the earth, moon, and seasons move within the same balance. We need to live in accordance to a similar cadence. Nothing in excess – but enough of what we need. Enough work / enough time off. There is no trophy for who works the hardest or longest.
7. Reflect Often
How can we see where we are going if we haven’t paused to look at the path we’ve traveled?
Making time to reflect on your decisions, progress, failures, and victories is important. Reflection is what purposeful individuals do. It is a lesson for life and leadership that no one should do without.
Whether it be weekly, monthly, or quarterly, plan some time into your calendar for a day to go on a retreat. Make it just for you. Could be for a walk in the park, a hit in the mountains, or a trip to a new town just to sit at the cafe.
Whatever works for you, just ensure you make time for that reflection. It helps to write those moments down in a journal so they can be reflected back on through time. It will make you a better leader and individual and certainly is one of the most important lessons for life and leadership.
8. Be Aware of Your Emotions
Too often people feel they need to be the boulder that slams into the lake falling high from the cliff.
What comes of the individuals around you after those massive waves calm into ripples on the water? Even after the water is still again the emotional scars can remain.
Purposeful individuals and great leaders are aware of their emotions. They do their best to ensure they don’t rock the waters as they pass by. The waters of life can be choppy enough, why add more waves?
9. Be a “Net-Giver”
Ever meet those people that always take from you but never want to give? It can be your time they want, your money, your toys, or anything else. They want, want, want!
Don’t be that person! Be the person that shows up for others and asks how you can be of service. I promise you’ll find yourself happier and always receiving even more in return. It is universal law.
I don’t mean “over-give” either. Be respectful of your time, money, and resources. But with the right balance, aim first to give; rather than take from others.
10. Be Authentic and Transparent
Once you begin to live with purpose, it becomes easier to be authentically transparent.
Most human beings like to avoid confrontations, but it’s a fact of life. We are going to face them. Being truly genuine with others and having their best interests at heart means telling them the truth.
Once you get a few genuinely, transparent, and authentic conversations under your belt, it becomes easier. No person of purpose is going to go far in their goals without these lessons for life and leadership.
11. Rely on Great People and Systems
There is no easy way to accomplish all you want in life completely on your own.
You must attract, development, and retain great people around you if you are in leadership. And if you are simply battling to accomplish your own cause, it helps to have a great community and support system around you.
There is always power in numbers. Never try and go it alone.
12. “Done” is Better than “Perfect”
Finally, simply remembering that it’s better to get to the finish line without achieving your perfect record setting pace versus never crossing it at all.
Too many people in this world are “afraid to finish.” We consume ourselves with new projects and always looking for excuses to procrastinate or find reasons to not begin that new project.
Put it out into the world and just start. Then get it to completion. In most cases, whatever it is you are working on you can always make it better later. But you won’t have that finished project to edit or improve if you don’t start or finish it.
Commit to the process and see it through to fruition and completion and remember there are many reasons done is better than perfect.
Live Now – Become Your Best Self
I hope this post helped jog some points of discovery and epiphanies for anyone that comes across it.
We are always a work in progress. The key is realizing that and putting in the effort for constant improvement.
What is it that you are working on in terms of becoming your best self? What lessons for life and leadership have you discovered that have been the best teachers for you? I’d love to hear from you and what it is that you are working on so we can continue to grow into the best human beings possible.
Keep working to Find your Way through your Why!