A Leader Is a Role Model for Generations to Follow

A leader is not the one who goes by the title, position or the authority. A true leader is a person of real values who leaves a rich legacy behind. He might not be doing greater things, but he may lead others to do the greatest.

The inner potential and the power from within does not have any boundaries. If you achieve the inner capability by practicing hardships and facing tough circumstances, you will certainly turn into an individual with high morality.

A leader is not born, he is created. The process of the self improvement for several years make a person perfect in one discipline. A leader is created among the millions. A true leader is a role model for others.

Several qualities must be practiced to become a leader. The leaders are not the people who do the things depending upon the liking and disliking of the masses. They follow a fixed path which is toughest. Without facing hardships and challenges, nobody can achieve the state of excellence.

A leader is a life-hunter. He is a kind of philosopher who understands the purpose of the individual life. He has the ability to influence others by his acts. A dictator is not a good leader. He does not ask the people to follow him. The followers get impressed by his personality and strength.

Leadership is not a display of power, rather it is sincere efforts of an individual to lead others in a positive direction. A self learning process must lead to the path of happiness for the others.

Some of the qualities which a leader must posses are:

1) Self Improvement

A leader is a learner. He is a person who follows others and inculcate their good habits quickly. He does not criticize others. Instead, he creates a path which others follow. For setting this tough path, he is in a self learning mode always.

Humans are the mixture of positive and negative habits. Both the traits go hand in hand and ruling over one' s personality. The success is a result of hard work, good fortune and self discipline. But once it is achieved, negative tendencies like, proud, arrogance and power start ruling on us. This is the time to move into the path of destruction otherwise every single human being has his own achievements.

The commitment to oneself and thirst of learning brings our focus back on our growth. A healthy comparison sometimes helps you to move away from the negative tendencies. At the same time, self respect and self confidence, have equal importance. A leader does not fear for anything. A fearless person under all circumstances can only deserves to be called a leader.

When one conquers his weaknesses and learns from every fall and dares to get up again, he is a true leader. Hardships are the reality. By avoiding them, you will become cowards.

2) Sharp perception and sound knowledge

Give hundred thoughts to bring any perception into action and be not a foolish to react immediately without thinking. It is very important to update yourself with the latest trends and gain knowledge on various topics. It will be foolish to comment on any topic without thoughts. The words can work like the sword which will break the relationship.

It is important to use nice words while having a conversation. A sharp perception of the situation must be taken before taking any action. A leader must inculcate this habit and polish himself everyday in terms of increasing knowledge and learning the traits of the speech.

3) A success story

A leader must have a success story behind to impress. Even the topmost leaders of the world were not known till they achieved big in their lives. The mastery of life lies in building good remarkable records with the noble character.

For living a life of purpose, you need to make many sacrifices in your life. The short term targets must be achieved. Self Improvement and self assessment will be a ladder to accomplish your success story.

When you start leading a life with the mission, then you take the complete responsibility of your circumstances and the immediate environment. In a due course of time, the leadership quality is bound to become the integral part of your personality. But this leadership does not carry any negative influence. Staying unaffected by the power of money and people is the foremost quality of a good leader.

4) Mission of the Life

A common man becomes a leader when he has a mission in his life. To live life for a meaningful purpose by remembering each and every small favor which others have done for him. This is going to expand his life as a human being.

All of us are struggling to overcome our sufferings as humans. These are the big opportunities to change our attitude towards life. This is a never ending lesson for which we have to give exam daily. The end of a human life determines the grades of the individual. To live a purposeful life, one has to have a strong mission in his life.

The question arises, how to recognize that mission? I, am not wise enough to decide my mission. The individual fortune which we have accumulated from our past comes into the picture here. It is our good fortune from the remote past, which helps us to encounter a mentor in our life.

A mentor is a person who has demonstrated the path to lead a life in a victorious way. He does not hide the obstacles and misfortunes of his life. Rather, he portrays the ideal behavior to overcome the hardships of the life. He is a true leader. He fights along with you and guides you to achieve your mission.

The self improvement in one's personality and to build the leadership qualities by accepting defeats and fighting with your negative tendencies is not at all easy. One has to undergo the process of human revolution, only the mentor who has himself gone through this process can help you.

5) Compassion and Conviction for others to lead a happy life

One most essential quality of a leader is to have the compassion for the others. This compassion must be unlimited and not subject to the human conditions and circumstances. If you have a million dollar and you are to donate one dollar as charity, anyone will do that. But if you have just two dollars then, will the spirit of donation be the same?

A human has to undergo through a process to bring out a state of unconditional compassion. With compassion, the conviction comes. The conviction defines the solidarity of your thoughts.

These two qualities can lead a human being to reach to a state of unsurpassed happiness. This state of happiness will lead you to become a great leader.

http://ezinearticles.com/?A-Leader-Is-a-Role-Model-for-Generations-to-Follow&id=9306246

Rohn: The Key to Getting All You Want? Discipline

Without the discipline of paying constant, daily attention, we take things for granted. Be serious. Life is not a practice session.

For every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards. That's one of life's great arrangements. If you sow well, you will reap well. Life is full of laws that both govern and explain behaviors, but the law of sowing and reaping may well be the major law we need to understand: For every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards.

What a concept! If you render unique service, your reward will be multiplied. If you're fair and honest and patient with others, your reward will be multiplied. If you give more than you expect to receive, your reward is more than you expect. But remember: The key word here—as you might well imagine—is discipline.

Everything of value requires care, attention and discipline. Our thoughts require discipline. We must consistently determine our inner boundaries and our codes of conduct, or our thoughts will be confused. And if our thoughts are confused, we will become hopelessly lost in the maze of life. Confused thoughts produce confused results.

Remember the law: For every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards. Learn the discipline of writing a card or a letter to a friend. Learn the discipline of paying your bills on time, or arriving to appointments on time, or using your time more effectively. Learn the discipline of paying attention, or paying your taxes, or paying yourself. Learn the discipline of having regular meetings with your associates, or your spouse, or your child, or your parent. Learn the discipline of learning all you can learn, of teaching all you can teach, of reading all you can read.

For each discipline, multiple rewards; for each book, new knowledge; for each success, new ambition; for each challenge, new understanding; for each failure, new determination. Life is like that. Even the bad experiences of life provide their own special contribution. But a word of caution here for those who neglect the need for care and attention to life's disciplines: everything has its price. Everything affects everything else. Neglect discipline, and there will be a price to pay. All things of value can be taken for granted with the passing of time.

That's what we call the Law of Familiarity. Without the discipline of paying constant, daily attention, we take things for granted. Be serious. Life is not a practice session.

Think about your life at this moment. What areas need attention right now? Perhaps you've had a disagreement with someone you love or someone who loves you, and your anger won't allow you to speak to that person. Wouldn't this be an ideal time to examine your need for a new discipline? Perhaps you're on the brink of giving up, or starting over, or starting out. And the only missing ingredient to your incredible success story in the future is a new and self-imposed discipline that will make you try harder and work more intensely than you ever thought you could.

The most valuable form of discipline is the one that you impose upon yourself. Don't wait for things to deteriorate so drastically that someone else must impose discipline in your life. Wouldn't that be tragic? How could you possibly explain the fact that someone else thought more of you than you thought of yourself? That they forced you to get up early and get out into the marketplace when you would have been content to let success go to someone else who cared more about themselves.

Your life, my life, the life of each one of us is going to serve as either a warning or an example. A warning of the consequences of neglect, self-pity, lack of direction and ambition... or an example of talent put to use, of discipline self-imposed, and of objectives clearly perceived and intensely pursued.

http://www.success.com/article/rohn-the-key-to-getting-all-you-want-discipline

Nobody Leads a Charmed Life. Get Over It.

One of the biggest problems up-and-comers face these days is that it’s all too easy to get caught in the trap of “Why isn’t my [career, business, life … fill in the blank] going as well as that guy’s?” After all, thinking you’re getting the short end of the stick can be a real bummer.

The great irony is, I seriously doubt if anyone else really is doing better or having an easier time of it than you, unless of course they have outstanding talent, really worked for it, and deserve their success. In that case, it’s not exactly a valid comparison, now is it?

Truth is, nobody leads a charmed life, least of all those who say they do, look like they do, or come across like they do. Let me improve your perspective by exposing an incredibly sticky and persistent myth, the myth of the success story.

The Myth of Privilege  

If you look at the Forbes list of richest Americans, you’ll see a bunch of Walton’s and Mars’s of Wal-Mart and Mars candy fame. So yes, we know that some people are born with privilege and inherited a boatload of dough. That’s not myth, but what is a myth is the assumption that they actually have a better life as a result.

How many times have you said, “I wish I had his money?” Well, research by the National Endowment for Financial Education estimates that 70 percent of those who come into large sums of money go broke within seven years. And a 2010 university study concluded that, the more money you win playing the lottery, the more likely you are to end up bankrupt.

From an anecdotal standpoint, I’ve known a large number of successful people, most of whom earned it the hard way but some of whom were raised by wealthy families, and those who went further in their careers and were happiest with their lives were the former, not the latter. That’s because we value what we work for, not what’s handed to us. And that affects our self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-respect.

Take Sting, for example. He grew up in a working-class family in Newcastle, had a pretty rough time of it, and got out as soon as he could. Although the world-renowned musician has amassed a $300 million fortune, he’s taught his six children the importance of work ethic and succeeding on their own merits, and he’s stated publicly that he won’t leave them a penny because he thinks financial security ruins people. He’s right. It does.

Now take another look at the Forbes list – particularly the top five – and tell me what you see. That’s right, you see Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Larry Ellison, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg. Granted, Gates and Zuckerberg had well-off parents, but they all were successful because they were remarkably talented and worked their tails off at what they did best. With the possible exception of Ellison, they were actually all nerds who were passionate about their work. 

The Myth of the Perfect Persona

There’s little doubt that our own obsession with social media, blogging, personal branding, and user-generated content has done more to propagate the insidious myth that others have it better than you than anything else.

These days, everyone’s a CEO, a serial entrepreneur, an investor, or some sort of leader. Everyone claims to be a best-selling author, award-winning keynote speaker, successful former athlete, growth hacker, or social-media guru. But when you dig a little deeper you find that most of that self-promotion is completely fabricated or at least highly exaggerated and questionable.

There’s a reason why numerous studies have shown that Facebook and other social media sites make us miserable or at least dissatisfied with our own lives relative to those of others. It’s simple, really. Our online personas are more reflective of our narcissistic culture and grandiose egos than of who we are in real life. 

Our online profiles are more likely to be conjured up out of popular sound bites than what we truly spend our days doing for a living. And our family lives are always Pleasant Valley Sunday wonderful. We all have the most beautiful wives, wonderful husbands, talented kids, and extraordinary lives.

If you really want to know the truth about what we post online, it’s that 99 percent of it is 1 percent real, and I bet the reverse is also true. I would bet that 99 percent of what happens in our daily lives never sees the light of a Facebook page, tweet, LinkedIn update, blog post, Instagram picture, YouTube video, or text message.

If you think others have it better than you, think again. You’re comparing yourself to 99 percent BS. Nobody leads a charmed life. Life is never easy and always what you make of it. And that’s the truth.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/249051

7 Mindsets That Will Radically Improve Your Life Right Now

Your mindset is as important as your best idea. Develop a good one, and you make everything in your life better immediately.

Possibly more than any other single factor, your mindset determines your success.

What you think is what you become.

Internal dialogue--the ongoing conversation we all have with our mindset--is the driving force behind every success story, and also behind every failure.

The difference between who you are and who you want to be stems from your mindset. Once you start to change your mindset, you will immediately start to change your behavior.

Here are seven mindsets that will radically improve your business and your life.

1. Self-trust mindset.

To do anything great, you have to be able to trust yourself and believe in your capabilities. Success is not something that just happens but something you create. You have to have the confidence to banish any negative voices in your head. Don't give up on the things you believe in--and most important, don't give up on yourself.

2. Goal-setting mindset.

Knowing what you want and willing yourself to reach it are two different things. When you know your goals, they motivate you. Remember, if it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you. Set high goals and don't stop until you reach them.

3. Patient mindset.

There's a fine line between moving forward and standing still. The most successful people do all they can to move forward, but they also have the patience to wait and watch. Those who are impatient tend to lose out on great opportunities. Sometimes you have to wait for the right thing.

4. Courageous mindset.

Doing anything great requires courage, but fear always has a way of showing up. Courage does not mean being unafraid; having courage and showing courage means facing your fears, saying "I am scared and I am moving forward anyway." Courage is like a muscle you can strengthen with use.

5. Focused mindset.

One of the worst setbacks that can happen is losing focus and allowing procrastination to step in. Important as it is, it's difficult to be focused and disciplined. The best way is to stay in the here and now and to concentrate on everything going on in this particular moment. Distraction wastes time, and procrastination keeps you from moving forward. Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment, and a mindset of focus builds that bridge.

6. Positive mindset.

Choosing to be positive and having a good attitude will determine a lot about your life. If you set your mind to positivity it can go a long way. Be positive, not passive. Instead of giving yourself reasons why you can't or shouldn't, give yourself reasons why you can and permission to go for it. Happiness doesn't come from circumstances but always from within.

7. Learning mindset.

Just because you are struggling, that doesn't mean you're not learning. Every failure has something to teach you, and everything you learn helps you grow. If you are unwilling to learn, no one can help you; if you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.

Every great success requires some kind of struggle, and good things really do come to those who work hard and struggle to pursue their goals and dreams they believe in. To radically change your life, you have to change yourself. Start building your new mindset today--think the thoughts that will help you move toward your goals right now.

http://www.inc.com/lolly-daskal/7-mindsets-that-will-radically-improve-your-life-right-now.html

How To Live a Life With No Regrets

Putting one foot in the grave today can make you a better entrepreneur and a happier person.

One of my best memories of the late management icon Peter Drucker was him telling me that the greatest misconception about the entrepreneur's mind set is that they are risk takers. That may be the way they appear to most people, but in the mind of the entrepreneur what he or she is doing is anything but risky. The reason entrepreneurs take out second mortgages, max out their credit cards, and plow every ounce of energy into their company is because in their mind the idea is always a sure bet, or to say it another way, they refuse to compromise on their dreams.

"Most often waiting for the right time is just waiting for a new set of excuses to show up."

All too often, however, we fail to pursue a dream because we are compromising a long-term need with a short-term want. For example, colleagues who talk about one day owning a business or writing a book but fear the financial risk or can't seem to find the time, or friends who make compromises in their lives because they fear confronting a near-term personal challenge. The reality is that you're either committed to a dream or you're not. Most often waiting for the right time is just waiting for a new set of excuses to show up. Think about your dreams as you would a committed relationship. Your dreams are life partners--give up on them and you're partly giving up on yourself.

The one thing that is absolutely certain, when it comes to pursuing a dream, is that only you can define what you're willing to bet and what constitutes an acceptable risk. I recall starting my first business at a time when I was making a great salary with a great company. When I began presenting my plan to friends and even relatives I was shocked that not absolutely everyone was enamored by it. I even had one very close friend tell me I was flat-out crazy and a relative who told me it was the biggest mistake of my life. For me it was a no brainer, I had to do this or I just would never forgive myself for not trying.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't be prudent, rational, or logical, but never at the cost of your dreams and absolutely never by abdicating their ownership.

Clearly not every dream ends up a success story--not even the majority of them. Most will die relatively quickly. But while you may be able to justify putting off a dream due to probability, you may never be able to justify it to yourself.

In fact an HBR article by Daniel Gulati, which asked professionals what their top five career regrets were, listed "I wish I had quit earlier" and "I wish I had the confidence to start my own business" as the 2nd and 3rd most frequent regrets.

That's interesting in retrospect, but how can you figure out today what you will regret most not having done later in life?

Here's an easy exercise I've been doing with colleagues and friends for years, which answers that. I'm especially fond of using it with folks who are facing very tough life and business decisions. Try it out and see what your answers tell you about which things you can't compromise on.

Your Last Day On Earth

Pretend today is your last day on earth. There is no debate or back door out of this. When the day is over you will cease to exist. Let that sink in for just a moment. Now that you've had a minute to think about your imminent demise, take a deep last breath and list the first three things you would most regret not having done or attempted to do in your life? Don't think long about it, just jot them down quickly. Be specific, and rather than listing broad categories that are end results (i.e. having made a billion dollars), list the things on the path to getting to your result. For example, instead of "being a good parent" think of "spending more time with my kids."

"...take a deep last breath and list the first three things you would most regret not having done or attempted to do in your life? "

Likely your list is much longer than three items, and it's good to jot as many down as you can. But I'm not after your bucket list of "Gee, wouldn't it be nice to climb the world's seven tallest mountains..." but instead, the things you absolutely won't forgive yourself for not having attempted. I call this the list of "Unforgivables" because these are the things that, no matter what the risk involved, you will never forgive yourself for not doing.

Now look at those top three and ask yourself what you did today to act on them. What did you do last week? Last month? What about in the last year?

If these really are your top three unforgivables then you'd better have a long list of actions supporting each one. If not, then get ready for a very long list of regrets.

"What is most important in life, and in business, is that we live up to the promises we make to ourselves."

When I do this exercise with people I'm not judgemental about their lists. We each have priorities in life that we chose for our own reasons. They may be good reasons to us and not so good to others. What is most important in life and in business is that we live up to the promises we make to ourselves.

Oh, and by the way, as an entrepreneur you can also guess that running your own business had better be in the top three items on your list.

Is that risky? If you really want to be happy with yourself the better question is, "will you regret not taking the risk?"

http://www.inc.com/thomas-koulopoulos/how-to-live-a-life-with-no-regrets.html