Quote of Day - Einstein

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving” - Einstein

Leaving today. Excited to see what the next chapter brings. Moving and experiences new places and people is part of the great challenge and joy of life.

Quote of the Day - Tony Dungy

Quote of the Day: ""It's about the journey--mine and yours--and the lives we can touch, the legacy we can leave, and the world we can change for the better." - Tony Dungy

Quote of the Day - Peter Drucker

"The final requirement of effecitive leadership is to earn trust. Otherwise there won't be any followers - and the only definition of a leader is someone who has followers. To trust a leader, it is not necessary to like him. Nor is it necessary to agree with him. Trust is the conviction that the leader means what he says.

It is a belief in something very old fashioned, call "integrity." A leader's actions and a leader's professed beliefs must be congruent, or at least compatible. Effective leadership and again this is very old wisdom - is not based on beling clever; it is based primarily on being consistent."

L.A.S.E.R.S

I want to get your opinion on a manifesto for an album from one my favorite artist Lupe Fiasco. It has a meaning behind it obviously but it can be taken several different ways even though its straightforward. I hope that this can spark some debate. What your thoughts on the manifesto for L.A.S.E.R.S.

It says....
We Want An End To The Glamorization Of Negativity In The Media.
We Want An End To Status Symbols Dictating Our Worth As Individuals.
We Want A Meaningful And Universal Education System.
We Want Substance In The Place Of Popularity.
We Will Not Compromise Who We Are To Be Accepted By The Crowd.
We Want The Invisible Walls That Separate By Wealth, Race & Class To Be Torn Down.
We Want To Think Our Own Thoughts.
We Will Be Responsible For Our Environment.
We Want Clarity & Truth From Our Elected Officials Or They Should Move Aside.
We Want Love Not Lies.
We Want An End To All Wars. Foreign & Domestic (Violence).
We Want An End To The Processed Culture Of Exploitation, Over-Consumption & Waste.
We Want Knowledge, Understanding & Peace.
WE WILL NOT LOSE BECAUSE WE ARE NOT LOSERS, WE ARE LASERS!!!

Lasers are the opposite of losers. Lasers are shining beams of light that burn through the darkness of ignorance. Lasers shed light on injustice and inequality. Losers stand by and let things happen. Lasers act and shape their own destinies. Lasers find meaning and direction in the mysteries all around them. Lasers stand for love and compassion. Lasers stand for peace. Lasers stand for progression. Lasers are revolutionary.
Lasers Are The Future.

We’re Not Losers…We Are L.A.S.E.R.S.!!!

Love Always Shines Every-time Remember 2 Smile!

-LF

So what do you think. Makes sense? Like it? Not the music just the message. I would encourage you to give your own thoughts on the matter

Integrity

People follow those they trust. They trust people who are consistent. They follow a leader who has consistent character.

The hardest thing for a high school or college student may be consistency. It is hard to have the same attitude and more importantly be the same person in all the different areas of your life. We tend to act differently around at school than we do around our parents. We tend to act differently at church than we do at school. We sometimes act differently around different groups of friends.

If we really look at ourselves we must realize that we are being a liar to at least one of these groups. We are not being who we are at our core. They will eventually find out and someone will question it, and your cover will be blown. Your leadership will be compromised.

The second thing we must realize is that this is not healthy. Don't you want to be one person, not 4 different people juggling 4 different personalities. Your leadership will always be weak, but your life will never be fulfilled until you stop compartmentalizing and begin living a life of integrity.

Service

Sorry for a couple days off. So my sister came back from the Peace Corp yesterday. It was so good to see, it has been two years she has been serving in the Gambia in West Africa. It has reminded me so much of what sacrifice and service really are. To be away from your family for 2 years, to not have seen her knew niece, or to have celebrated holidays at home. She has given up the luxurious American lifestyle to be with her village and people, because of that, people listened to her and followed her, and others will continue through her whole life.

So it made me think about service and sacrifice and my own life. How I need that to be a more apparent part of what I do each day. What is holding me back.

Anne Frank said:

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."

Truth. Don't wait. Start now.

July 4th

Why do we celebrate July 4th?

In all honesty, the Declaration of Independence was legally a meaningless document. It would be like a child who wrote down on a sheet of paper that they were no longer part of the family. That would not actually make them separated.

So a bunch of guys gathered together in Pennsylvania sign a document, so what. The document was not recognized by the British and without action it would always be meaningless. So where does it get its meaning?

I think leadership.

Commitment: 56 men gathered together and rather than just complaining they committed to do something about the injustice they were dealing with. They committed themselves to a cause and and put themselves out there as leaders of this cause.

Risk-Taking: They were risking their lives when they signed that document. It was treasonous and if the war had failed they would all have been killed.

Vision: In this document they were laying out a vision for a new government. By claiming that the actions of the king (and Parliament - king was easier to pick on, but it was really parliament) were wrong, they were committing to never support a government that had those characteristics. Therefore, they were laying out a new vision for leadership and governance in the nation from here on out.

These are just three of the characteristics of great leaders: commitment, risk-taking, and vision. We celebrate this day because it is a celebration that we as a country had leaders who were willing to lead and sacrifice to make this a land of freedom and justice.

So shoot off some minor explosives today, grill some animal flesh, and bust out some Lee Greenwood.

Happy 4th.

Quote of the Day - Benjamin Franklin

"We must hang together, gentlemen...else, we shall most assuredly hang separately." - Benjamin Franklin

Sticking with a Fourth of July theme. I've always loved this quote because Ben Franklin said it right after he signed the Decleration of Independence on July 4, 1776. He understood that what the men were doing was treasonous.

At the same time, he understood that what the men were doing was right. He was willing to risk his life for something he believed in, but knew it would take teamwork and commitment to do it. All great causes require sacrafice, teamwork, and commitment. Nothing extraordinary has ever been achieved without it.

Quote of the Day - Abraham Lincoln

"Whatever you are, be a good one." - Abraham Lincoln

Short and sweet, unlike Abraham Lincoln.

Why we lead?

So I was just thinking about this question.

Why do we lead?

Why does anyone lead another person?

Seems like such an essential question for understanding leadership.

Here are the best answers I have come up with so far.



1. We have something we believe in, and we know it is the best for others, so we encourage others to follow us, doing what is best in their interest.
2. We feel like we have to, or no one else will do it. We are forced into it.
3. We want people to follow us because we want control.
4. We prepare ourselves to lead and fight for the opportunity and when it arises, we jump on it.
5. We have a gift and people naturally follow what we are doing.
6. We know something people don't know or can do something that others can't do, and they follow us to learn it.

So these are ones I have come up with, but which ones are noble. Which ones are worthwhile reasons for leading. Which ones can be used the wrong way? Or can all of them be good or bad depending on the circumstances? Are there any other reasons why people lead?

Are you leading? Why?

I would love to hear your responses.