I’m glad to be here with you once again.

I received awesome feedback on the last article I shared with you on The 4 Pillars of Leadership. Many shared that it served them very well and gave them a true and simple understanding of what leadership is. Let me recap those 4 pillars for you. As it pertains to Leadership, it’s important to remember:

1. Everything Rises and Falls on Leadership

2. Leadership is Influence, Nothing More, Nothing Less

3. The highest FORM of Leadership is SELF Leadership

4. The highest PURPOSE of Leadership is to ADD VALUE to, and SERVE OTHERS

I’d like to talk with you today about the third pillar, and the role of Self Leadership. You see, it’s not your external circumstances that determine who you will be, and how you will succeed in life. Instead, it’s the ACTIONS you take that will ultimately lead you to where you want to be.

The Law of Process says, “growth happens daily, not in a day”. Let’s face it…we are a microwave society today. Isn’t it true that we want what we want, and usually we want it now. Well, when it comes to growing into who and what we want to become, we really can’t, or at least shouldn’t take shortcuts.

Here are 4 simple questions you can ask yourself that will put you on the path to where you want to go in life.

1. The Passion Question: Have you taken the time to think about what you are really passionate about? As adults, often people just go through the motions based on the job or career that they happen to find themselves in. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of folks out there that really don’t like what they’re doing, they are just doing it to make a living. That’s no way to live a happy and fulfilling life. So, my encouragement to you is to take some time and really THINK about what makes you happy. What kind of stuff is it that really jazzes you?
2. The Teachability Question: Growth and learning is a life long process. Often times in my life, I’ve had to ask myself, “Am I teachable?” I had to answer YES to that if I wanted to achieve anything worthwhile. So, ask yourself, what can you do to learn more about how to put that passion to work for you. Maybe it’s specific courses you could take. Maybe it’s a book you could study on the specific subject. Or maybe it’s stepping out of your comfort zone and reaching out to someone you view as successful in what you like, and gaining an understanding from them. Shadowing others, and being mentored by those has a couple benefits. One, it gives YOU the ability to gain some real world experience. Second, it gives your Mentor the ability to serve you with their knowledge and experience. There are plenty out there that would love to help you grow!
3. The Commitment Question: How committed are you to fulfilling your dreams? If you are committed to something, you will no doubt dedicate time and energy to it. Since starting my business as a Business Coach and Trainer, I’ve dedicated thousands of hours, and literally thousands of dollars to get better at what I do. I am committed to being a success in the field, and I’m willing to do what ever it takes to do so. Instead of sitting in front of the TV or pursuing useless and directionless stuff on the internet, I study, read, watch videos from like minded individuals from my field that will help me grow.
4. The Action Question: Am I willing to take the ACTION necessary to get me closer to my dreams. It’s often said that the greatest gap in life is the gap between KNOWING and DOING. See, I can know all I want about what to do and how to do, but until I DO IT, I’m going nowhere. Think of it this way. Think of a sport you might like to watch, or even play. Now imagine sitting in a class, or reading a book about the sport. Sure, that can teach you the mechanics of the sport, but what is it going to do to help you gain an understanding of whether you’re good at it, or if you really like it. You only gain that knowledge by actually doing it. And that doesn’t mean you have to be great at it when you first start. Our ability to get good at something develops with practice! And practice is an active thing. Like Nike used to say in their ad’s…Just Do It!

I truly hope this serves you well. I’ll talk with you soon!

About the Author: Jamie PERSSE is the Founder and Principal Consultant at JC Persse Consulting based in Hastings, New York. As a life-long student and practitioner of leadership and personal and professional growth, in early 2015 Jamie pursued his passion of being a coach and mentor to help people develop. Since then, he has become business partners with, and a certified member of, the world’s largest and fastest growing team of speakers, trainers, and coaches in the world, The John Maxwell Team. You can visit his website at www.jcpersseconsulting.com.

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