 Values
Magazine
Discover the Leader in You
By Andy Andrews
Published: September / October 2008
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.
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.
Website:
www.AndyAndrews.com
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