It’s said that one day, Frederick the Great of Prussia was walking on the outskirts of Berlin when he encountered a very old man walking ramrod-straight in the opposite direction.
“Who are you?” Frederick asked his subject.
“I am a king,” replied the old man.
“A king!” laughed Frederick. “Over what kingdom do you reign?”
“Over myself,” was the proud old man’s reply.

The first element that it takes in order to live a great life is Leadership. Most people think of leadership as a position of authority in a business. But leadership is so much more than a position or authority. Leadership is about stepping up and taking responsibility. Leadership is more about who you are than it is what you do. The most important person anyone will ever lead is themselves. Forget leading others if you can’t get a handle on your own life. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is called to be a leader by leading themselves well! 

You are responsible to lead your life, no one can do that for you! You can’t delegate your life to someone else. Wouldn’t it be great if we could delegate our character to someone who has an awesome character? Wouldn’t it be great to delegate our compassion to someone that was full of compassion? But the reality is you can’t delegate what is your responsibility. Our greatest responsibility is ourselves. You will never get the most out of life if you don’t lead yourself better than you lead others. Leadership is not even about others until you can learn to lead yourself well. If you can’t lead your own life, how could you lead others? You can’t take people where you have never been yourself. You can’t give what you don’t have. Think about the word leadership…lead-er-ship…lead-ur-ship…lead-your-ship. You have to lead your ship if you want to sail to great places.

Over the years I have been known for having a deep passion for leadership. Most people think it is because I love business organization principles, but the reason I love leadership is because I believe the quality of our life is dependent upon our ability to lead ourself. I remember as a teenager the draw I had to learn about leadership, not because of position or authority, but because I was so drawn to learn how to lead myself and make a difference. When I began to learn about leadership and study it with all I had, I learned that leadership was more about me than it was the masses. So I began to devour books, talks, conferences, and resources that would guide my life. I even took a side job at a bookstore not because of money but because I wanted to be surrounded by books. I didn’t have the money, time, or know how (at the time) to meet people like Dr. John C. Maxwell, Zig Ziglar, Stephen Covey, Norman Vincent Peale, Rick Warren, Andy Stanley, and a host of others. But I devoured their books and teachings and it shaped my life. I remember  listening to every Zig Ziglar tape (yes I said tape as in cassette) as a young 20 year old working as a janitor of a dialyses center in Maryville, Tennessee. I would clock in around midnight, pop in my Ziglar tape and start cleaning. I would listen to the same tape night after night till I memorized it. Guess what? That dialysis center paid me to learn how to be the captain of my life. Those leadership principles I learned while cleaning the dialyses center changed the course of my life.

So as a leader are you leading yourself the best way possible?

I offer life & leadership coaching services to help people lead their lives the best way possible. If you are interested in looking more into having a personal coach that can help you discover your potential, develop a plan, and achieve success contact me.