Business Magazine | BABM | Values | Discover the Leader in You

There is a leadership crisis in America. Every four years there are pundits bemoaning the fact that the candidates presented are not the best that America has to offer. The strongest leaders in the country probably don’t want to be saddled with the scrutiny and partisanship that our political system exudes. However, part of the problem may also be that there is a real lack of leadership in our country. The lack of leadership, though, isn’t because of a lack of leaders; it’s because of a lack of people nurturing their leadership qualities. It’s a lack of people who are willing to build rapport with “the people” and then make decisions. General George S. Patton, an American General in World War I and II, said, “Be willing to make decisions. That's the most important quality in a good leader.”

You do not have to read a thousand books on leadership to become a competent leader. The secret to leadership is simple: You have within you the qualities you need to lead people. You only need to recognize them and begin using them. Our beliefs create our success or failure. Begin thinking differently about the leader you already are, and you alter your destiny.

Seven Principles of a Successful Leader

There are seven principles – what I call decisions – that if you follow, will make you a great leader:

1. Responsibility
The buck stops here. Decide to accept responsibility for your past and your future success. Do not let your past control your destiny. Decide to stop blaming other people and outside circumstances for where you are in life. Instead, chart your life’s course and become a testament to the true power of choice.

2. Teachability
Seek wisdom and be ready to move yourself. Decide to pay attention to lessons all around you through books, people, and service. Learn to evaluate the network of influential people in your life, to learn from the knowledge of others, and perhaps most importantly, to commit to a life of service.

3. Activity
Decide to be a person of action. Many people move out of the way for a person on the run; others are caught up in his wake. Be the person on the run! Taking consistent action is crucial to the realization of a successful life. We’re often amazed, even baffled, by the accomplishments of highly successful people, yet many of their accomplishments occur because of relentless action.

4. Decisiveness
Be decisive. Criticism, condemnation, and complaint are creatures of the wind. They come and go on the wasted breath of lesser beings and have no power over you. With decisiveness, you learn to break through fear and judgment to pursue your dreams with determination and focus. With a decided heart, you set your course and assure your destiny.

5. Joyfulness
Decide to be happy. Your life is fashioned by choice. First you make choices. Then your choices make you. The principle of being joyful is perhaps the most misunderstood of all because it demonstrates that happiness is a choice, and if you’re not happy right now, it’s a consequence of your own choosing, not the circumstances of life.

6. Compassion
Make the decision to greet each day with a forgiving spirit. God rarely uses a person whose main concern is what others are thinking. Compassion can heal your heart, mind, and soul. Harboring anger and resentment poisons your mind and hinders your ability to live the other principles with any measure of effectiveness. Forgiveness frees your spirit.

7. Persistence
Persist without exception. Decide to keep on no matter the obstacles. Reason can only be stretched so far, but faith has no limits. The only limit to your realization of tomorrow is the doubt to which you hold fast today. Being persistent without exception is key to achieving extraordinary levels of success in any area of life. When you’re consistently and doggedly persistent, the limit to your success is boundless.

These seven principles are a basic course in becoming a person others want to be around, and increasing your influence. They’ll make you a more influential leader than any book on leadership skills, persuasion, closing techniques, or sales scripts, and they’ll help you find a platform for applying all that you’ve learned.

About the Author
Hailed as a “modern-day Will Rogers who has quietly become one of the most influential people in America,” Andy Andrews is a best-selling novelist and in-demand speaker for some of the world’s largest organizations. The Traveler’s Gift, a featured book selection of ABC’s Good Morning America, has been translated into nearly twenty languages and was on the New York Times bestseller list for seventeen weeks. Andy has spoken at the request of four different United States presidents and toured military bases around the world at the request of the Department of Defense. Arguably, there is no single person on the planet better at weaving subtle, yet life-changing lessons into riveting tales of adventure and intrigue—both on paper and on stage.