Who are you working for?

Important question. When you start a job it easy to think that you are working for a boss to keep someone happy. When you begin working to just make your boss happy it prevents you from being who you are on on the job and causes you to quickly lose focus on why you are doing what you are doing. If you are a religious person you should work for God and focus on bringing glory to God. Since I am, I try to keep that perspective. As a teacher, I also try to work for my students and remember that I am there because I want to make an impact in their lives. No matter what you do, don't lose perspective of who you are working for.

Do something brave... then run really fast

It's an old picture, but we should all make brave maneuvers... and we should be smart about how we make them as well.

So maybe this isn't bright... but you get the idea...

Confession

I know some irony is coming because this blog is all about standing up to lead, where others won't lead or act, this blog is to encourage you to do so. But I will admit, it gets discouraging to do all of this when you guys rarely comment on what we post!! :(

The Pawns

Although I never get to play very much anymore, I used to love playing chess. My brother was the best player at his high school.

I've taught a few people how to play. It is complicated at first, to learn the ways each piece moves, and then to figure out how each one strategically plays into the game. From the beginning, you have to feel out your opponent, and figure out ways to set up your pieces, using the unique ways each one moves, to set up a defense and hopefully mount a good offense.

It is important to not forget the least of the pieces, the pawns. I have said before, and will say it again. The pawns are what win the game. If you try to get too aggressive with your queen, bishops, knights, and rooks, you are going to loose. The piece that many people don't pay enough attention to are the ones that can win and loose the game if they are placed in the right spot. Given, they can only move straight, one spot on all moves except the first, and can only attack diagonally. However, when positioned correctly, these pieces can slip through a defense and put your opponents in check.

So my point in this is that as leaders, is that life is like a game of chess. It is important when leading a group to understand the talents that are available and use it in an appropriate manner. But at the same time, just because a pawn is so severely limited in it's moving abilities, never underestimate it because of it. They are what win and lose the game. Maybe you or someone you know has a small talent that many would regard as useless in life. However, when employed properly, it can open up the door to success.

A Great Leader is a Thankful Person

When people think of important leadership characteristics, thankfulness is probably not usually at the top of the list, but maybe it should.

Being thankful is a sign of contentment and also a sign that you are paying attention to what is going on in your organization or team. A thankful person notices people and appreciates what they are doing. A leader must be "other-focused". Self-consumed people are rarely thankful because they only pay attention to their own actions and other's reactions to them.

As you sit around a table this Thursday think about this concept. Would others describe you as thankful? Do you constantly show appreciation to others for how they make your life and organization better?

Be a thankful person. Be a leader.

The Bystander Effect

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIvGIwLcIuw


In Psychology this week, my class studied the bystandar effect. In definition, this is the effect that when people are in a group, they are more likely to follow the patterns of that group than they are to take a stand and help someone else, even someone in distress.

This video is disturbing. In summary, an experiment is conducted to see how people will respond to a staged kidnapping on the streets of New York City. For 2 hours, people do nothing but just watch as the girl screams, "This is not my dad, this is not my dad!" as she is being dragged away. It is two hours of doing this experiment before two men finally decide to step in and stop him.

What we need in society is more leaders like the ones we see in this video. As we go through life, we see many things going on and expect someone else to do something about it rather than ourselves. Why not be that person who steps up?

Quote for the Day

“I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.” -Frederick Douglass

How often do we find ourselves doing nothing and expecting something to happen? If we want to do anything in life, we have to step up ourselves and do it, not wait for someone else. No one is going to get you into college for you. No one will apply for scholarships for you. No one can decide your major or your career goals for you. Find a goal, make a plan, and follow through with the plan.

Leadership Quotes

These quotes are taken from Famous Quotes & Quotations website. I thought I'd post them up here for all of you to see, think about, and reflect upon..

'Top 10' List of Leadership Quotes:

Favorite Leadership Quotes #1

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.

Peter F. Drucker

Favorite Leadership Quotes #2

Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.

George S. Patton

Favorite Leadership Quotes #3

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.

Dwight Eisenhower

Favorite Leadership Quotes #4

A leader is a dealer in hope.

Napoleon Bonaparte

Favorite Leadership Quotes #5

I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?

Benjamin Disraeli

Favorite Leadership Quotes #6

The leadership instinct you are born with is the backbone. You develop the funny bone and the wishbone that go with it.

Elaine Agather

Favorite Leadership Quotes #7

Delegating work works, provided the one delegating works, too.

Robert Half

Favorite Leadership Quotes #8

Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men -- the other 999 follow women.

Groucho Marx

Favorite Leadership Quotes #9

The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet.

Theodore M. Hesburgh

Favorite Leadership Quotes #10

The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.

Theodore Roosevelt

Who will lead?

I was reminded to day of this question. There are a lot of problems in society, there are a lot of problems in schools and classrooms, in our sports teams and organizations. The world is in need of men and women who will step up in lead. If you don't fill the gap, who will?

Are you willing to put yourself out there? I have been asking myself the same question the last few days. We need leaders. Will you be one?

Proverbs

There is an ancient Japanese proverb that goes something like this,

"The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now."

Why do we wait to start doing something? Whatever it is you want in life, do it now. I've waited to do things before, but I've learned that nothing happens until you do something about it. Don't wait to get involved in a club, to try to make new friends, or to do better in school. Do it now. If you had planted your tree earlier, you would have your tree now. However, if you don't go ahead and plant your tree, you may never have your tree. Today is as good as any other day to begin whatever it is that you want to do.

Worry v. Joy - The Challenge of Leadership

"Worry is the greatest thief of joy." - Warren W. Wiersbe

This quote discusses an important concept that many leaders fail to consider. The best leaders are leaders that display a joy in what they are doing. These are the people who others want to be around and others want to follow. Having joy in life and displaying this joy is essential to great leadership.

Yet it is a reality that as a leader, as a leader you are going to be faced with tough situations and decisions that will potentially cause you to worry. How will you respond?

When difficult situations come up you are faced with a few possible reactions.

1. Worry, and let is affect your joy and therefor the attitude of thos around you. Realize if you do this, it will bring down your leadership and cause others to fall into the same pit. Remember others are watching you. You can justify it by saying that you are not someone who hides their feelings. While this is noble, as a leader you are called to set a standard and to be one who demonstrates courage in the face of tough challenges. By showing you are worried, you have become a catalyst for fear rather than courage.

2. Put a fake smile on your face. Many people hide their worry about a situation to others by just smiling through it. It is coping mechanism, but it does not solve the problem. You don't want to have a fake happiness or just a facade that will only deter others in the long run.

3. Let joy reign. Although we are all face with tremondously tough decisions and hurdles, there is alwasy a reason for thankfulness and joy. There is always a reason for hope and courage. We must have faith that this situation is not the end all, be all. It is just another bump and as we look back at our life, we hopefully can see how we have survived past difficult situations and have been made stronger for it. Perserverance builds character. We must believe that the situation we are in will only make ourselves, our team, and our character stronger.

When you are able to do this, others will follow and they also will not let worry, but joy reign. They will not be robbed of joy and you will know that you served as a protector of their joy.

Take the Initiative

How often do you find yourself in a situation where no one wants to take the initiative to get something done? This happens all the time. Often times, in class, when groups are trying to organize to give a presentation or a project, we find ourselves struggling to find someone to take the initiative to present, research, etc.

The mindset always seems to be, "Well, someone else can do it and not me." But why not you? Someone has to do it, why not take the step and do it yourself? Don't wait for others to begin before you, take the step up. As the photo says, "The leader always sets the trail for others to follow." Don't wait for someone else to set the trail for you. Do it yourself, set the trail, be bold.

Quote of Day - Issac Newton

"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants" - Issac Newton

I love this quote. Love it. What a brillant statement. It reminds me so much of the the David McCullough quote I share with students on the first day of school. "There is no such thing as a self-made man or self-made woman, we are all shaped by people we have never met."

Yet, this is someone who gets it. We are shaped by great leaders, thinkers, and mentors of the past. When we head their advice and cherish it, we can see further and do more than others.

We can be visionaries and we can live a life that is extraordinary.

Confidence

One thing that I have been spending a lot of time doing recently is trying to instill confidence. In addition to being the head soccer coach at my school I also serve as an assistant to the cross country team. It is interesting to see the dynamics between two teams at the same school.

The cross country has had success. They are currently ranking in the top 7 in the state for both girls and boys. The runners on the team have an idea of the work ethic it takes to be successful and they are willing to push themselves. Yet, there is still a little doubt when it comes to going against one or two teams that have beat them in the past. Before they ever step to the line, they let that team beat them.

Some of you are in that place in life. Whether it be in sports or in life, there is something that has always beat you, and when you face it, you don't even give it the fight it deserves. You've lost before you began.

My soccer team has not seen the success that cross country has and they also have this confidence wall that I am trying to break. The problem for them is they don't know what it takes to be a champion. Yet, despite that, with a new beginning and a new coaching staff, they see more light in the dark. They have an underdog mentality, that I think can do even better things than the, good to great mentality.

There is a book called "Good to Great" by Jim Collins. In general the idea that is promoted is the difficulty of going from good to great. It is difficult when you have always had moderate success to get over that mental block of being just good and beginning to be great.

I struggle myself with this. I know I am good at somethings, but I have to take more risks and be more devoted to be great. As I read Kyle's blog post, I saw a man who was willing to take the leap from a good life to a great life. To being extraordinary.

I applaud that devotion, that is what this blog is all about.

Let's continue to spread the word to our friends to be a part. If you know someone who wants to contribute, have them email me at scottcampbell82@gmail.com.

Be extraordinary.

Quote of the Day

Here at Campbell, on our e-mail server, we have a small box with a "quote of the day" in it. Sometimes they are wise proverbs, from Socrates and the like. Aometimes a witty one liner from Demetri Martin or Jay Leno. Yesterday we had a good quote on leadership.

"Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things." - Peter Drucker

To me, it is important to know the difference in a manager and a leader. Can one be an effective manager, yet be an inadequate leader? Does a leader have to be a manager?

Seeking After Wisdom

As this year starts up for a lot of you. I want to give a challenge.

Seek after wisdom.

It is really easy to get caught up in the process of making grades or just getting through a year, but it takes a concerted effort to really focus our attention on becoming wise.

Wisdom does not mean learning everything you can about Calculus. Wisdom is the process of listening to what is being said and watching what is going on around you, and being willing to retain information to use it later in life.

Wisdom involves the intentional seeking of that which has lasting value on you and the world around you.

Are you seeking wisdom or just good grades?

Ask yourself this and I beg you to be wisdom seekers.

Know the way, go the way, show the way.

There is a poster on the wall at my dads office where he works (see picture), with a quote under it reading "A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. This truly resonates with me because it really sums up what a leader should be.

As Yogi Berra once said, "You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there." If you don't know what you want out of life, if you don't know what you want to do, then you probably won't accomplish anything. The first thing to being a leader is knowing what you want. Maybe it's a grade in a class. Maybe it's self-improvement. Maybe it's starting a new club at school or college. Whatever it may be, you have to know what it is you want before you can accomplish it.

Second, you have to actually set a plan into motion. Knowing what you want is great, but if you don't set out to do it, then it is nothing more than a dream. No one can make something happen for you. I, personally, enjoy car restoration. Right now I am working on a 1968 Ford Torino. I know many others into cars, and I could not count for you the people I have met who have project cars laying in the backyard or in the garage and they always say, "I'm going to fix that up one day..." or, "I'm going to make a hot rod out of that.." Some of these cars have been sitting for years. The owners know exactly what they want to do with the cars, but they can't find the time and energy to go out and get it done. Having a plan and everything you need to accomplish it is nothing if you don't actually go out and do it. The same applies to leadership.

Third, you have to show the way. After you have discovered what it is you want in life, and you have gone after it, I think we then have a responsibility to help others along that same path. Back in April, I graciously accepted an invitation to go speak to the JF Webb Leadership Retreat about college, along with several of my friends. After deciding what you want in life and going after it, be sure to help others do the same thing. There was more than likely someone who inspired you or lead you to do whatever it is you do, and I think we each have a responsibility to pass along what we have learned and experienced. Leadership is a two way street. At the same retreat, I remember Mr. Scott Campbell saying that a good leader can leave, and no one know they left. The reason is that good leaders show others how to lead, and that when they leave behind a club from school because they graduated, or however they may end up leaving, others have learned from their leadership to take over and keep going from where they left off. Because a leader has to leave something behind does not mean it should fall apart in their wake. It should continue on under new leadership, and the cycle should continue. This, to me, is what it means to show the way. It's not just about leading, it's about teaching and offering whatever you can do those that you lead.

Take a chance

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -Mark Twain

Could not have said it better myself. Mark Twain is obviously an inspirational figure with his collection of stellar work but the message behind this particular excerpt I find more intriguing than many quotes I stumble upon. Twain is right. If you don't venture out and shoot for the stars. Chase your dreams. Ask that special someone out when you had the chance. You'll look back and wonder what if? But you'll never know unless you take a chance. Go out on a limb. If it doesn't work out of well you'll have the memories. And the satisfaction of knowing that you tried and took that chance. I advise everyone to go out and take a chance. Don't let fear or unassurance stop you. Follow your dreams, act on your ambitions, chase what you feel is right.

-Thomas

First Post

Hi all,

So this is my first post. Sorry it's been so late, but I haven't really had anything to talk about that pertained to, what I perceive as, the overall "theme of my posts. But now I feel as if I do have something to add. So here goes...

This August, I will be moving to Los Angles, California to become an actor. I know, it's sounds crazy, right? This goes against nearly everything that my parents tried to instill in me during the 18 years I lived with them. They would much rather I stay in school and get a degree, but I feel as though my best chance for success is sooner rather than later. So, I have taken a leave of absence (which is a fancy way of saying I dropped out) from Elon University and have decided to pack up and chase my dreams.

Now, don't suppose that I acted rashly. This was a carefully thought out, life-changing decision. One of the best pieces of advice I received about making tough decisions was from a good friend of mine, Rasool Jahan. She told me that I needed to think until I literally couldn't think any more. That when the time came for me to defend my decision, any doubts I had would be perceived as weaknesses and that I would grow to regret my choice. So that's what I did. I spent nearly a month in solitude debating the pro's and con's until I was positive that I had made the right choice and that nothing could convince me otherwise.

I won't outline my entire debate, but I can tell you that I know that this is the right choice for me. I know that thirty years from now, I want to be able to say I wasn't afraid to follow my dreams. Whether I'm successful in this or not, this is the right thing for me to do.

So, I will be spending at least two years in LA. If after two years I don't get any work, I'll face the music and head back to school without any regrets. If at the two-year mark, my career looks promising (ie. I'm working somewhat regularly) I will extend my stay to five years. After five years, unless I miraculously become the "next big thing," I will return to school and finish my studies.

My goal with this blog is to provide an insight into the life of someone chasing his dream, no sugar coating. If I'm sleeping in my car, living off of Ramen Noodles, I'll tell you about it. So viewer discretion advised?

I'll try to post at least twice a week once I move out.

Best Regards,

Kyle

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.