How to Make Your Mark

There’s an old African saying that “To till the land is to love oneself”. When I was a kid I heard this saying a lot. I come from a community that tilled the land using very rudimentary tools. It wasn’t easy but it was rewarding. I remember being in the village and tilling the land for upto six or seven hours a day. Work works wonders. In today’s blog, I would like to share a few thoughts on work.

1. Work should be driven by purpose

Work is supposed to be meaningful. The key to this is for the work to be driven by a vision that is guided by purpose. This means that you have to know what your purpose is first. Work that is done outside of purpose is activity without productivity. This leads to sweat and waste. You want your work to be sweet. This begins by having a solid vision that is founded in your purpose. In an organization, leadership has to clarify to employees what the purpose is. Once they clearly understand what the main objective is, then they will have joy as they work.

2. Work should add value

The beauty of giving time to work is that you have an opportunity to add value. Value is the prime motivator for the expenditure of energy. People enjoy putting in the hours when they know that they are adding value. True reward does not come for the time put in at work but for the value added during that time. Adding value means being able to see a measurable change. When I tilled the land back home in Kenya, I would always look at what I had done with immense satisfaction and joy. Nothing brings more fulfillment than work that adds value.

3. Work should be fun and exciting

When I was in High School I used to enjoy playing soccer and rugby. It was always fun to score in any of these games. It was even more exciting just to be part of a winning team. Most people enjoy sports because of these two reasons: scoring and winning. Work should be fun and exciting too. The key to this is to create an environment when scoring and winning is possible at work. People need to be able to celebrate these moments too. That’s what brings spirit to work. It’s unfortunate that too many people think of work as burdensome and boring when it can be exciting.

Work does work wonders! May this be an enjoyable day of work for you!

There’s good leadership, then there’s great leadership. Good leadership takes people from point A to point B. Great leadership empowers people so that they can go from point A to point B. What do great leaders do? 

First, they articulate a clear and compelling vision. They are visionary. They communicate a common vision that gives people a purpose and meaning. It outlines the priorities of the group and the direction that is is going in. 

Second they act confidently and optimistically. The leader’s confidence, conviction and optimism is contagious. It rubs off on the followers. Lack of this weakens leadership of its potential.

Third, they express confidence in their followers. Great leaders have high confidence in people and make them feel good about themselves. They foster their confidence and optimism.

Lastly, they ead by example. One leadership proverb says, “Example is the main thing in influencing others.” Their example leverages the whole organization and enables people to come into their full potential.

We live in a day when many people are being inspired to reach for the greatness that is within them. A lot of credit goes to the self-improvement industry which has done a lot to expose people to their true potential. People are dreaming more and dreaming often. But still there are many who have not come to the point of making their dreams come true. How can dreams be pursued and realized?

In my book, The Road to Arrival, I have defined a dream as a strongly desired goal. Dreams can easily be realized when they are broken down into specific achievable goals. In The Road to Arrival, I discussed ten empowering principles for actualizing dreams: faith, associations, detachment, perseverance, faithfulness, character and integrity, diligence, the tongue, puruit and connection. In addition to this, I outlined nine key principles that identified the steps, levels, conditions, essentials, keys, phases, rules, laws and stages of actualization.

What’s your dream? Are you pursuing it? We are all waiting for your arrival in the land of your dreams. Capture your dreams and let your vision soar!

The key to success is the quality of one’s thinking. One of the main obstacles to success therefore is the state of one’s mind. In order to achieve the full potential of one’s capabilities the mind must be guarded and consistently refreshed with insight that allows it to flourish. We’ve all heard of the saying, “Garbage in, garbage out”. That’s true. We need to feed our minds with the good, the powerful and the great. I encourage you to commit to feeding your mind with good stuff on a daily basis. Find books that inspire and read them. Stock your car with motivational tapes that you can listen to while driving. Manage your mind. It is the key to your accomplishments.

I am currently reading a book that was written over 25 years ago: In Search of Excellence, by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman Jr. Tom and Robert share some findings from a psychological study that really made me think. In the study, a random sample of male adults were asked to rank themselves on “the ability to get along with others”. All the subjects put themselves in the top half of the population. Sixty per cent rated themselves in the top 10 percent of the population, and a full 25 percent ever so humbly thought they were in the top 1 percent of the population.

In a parallel finding, 70 percent rated themselves in the top quartile in leadership; only 2 percent felt they were below average as leaders. At least 60 percent said they were in the top quartile of athletic ability; only 6 percent said they were below average.

The truth is that we all think we are tops. Thinking of ourselves as winners is awesome. It shapes our perspective. However, it is also important to have an honest view of ourselves. That is the key to credibility. Being humble should not mean that we see ourselves as less of who we really are. Be humble and people will see you as very credible.

Being part of a team is the highest calling of leadership. Any leader within a team has the obligation to model mental maturity to his or her teammates. In order for the organization’s dream to be realized, there must be great teamwork amongst the members. Here are three thoughts to enhance your role within the team:

Think at a higher level - Your quality of thinking sets the tone for the rest of the team. In team meetings, it is important to think at a higher level by bringing something to the table. Be resourceful. Team dynamics improve when you contribute effectively. Share insights and ideas that will better the team. Be a team player and demonstrate mental maturity.

Admit it when you are wrong - Everyone falters every once in a while. It is a sign of great maturity when you can admit that you were wrong. Such an admission sends a great message to the team and enhances cohesiveness. This goes hand-in-hand with taking responsibility for your failures. Be a team player and demonstrate mental maturity.

Put others before your ’self’ - Teamwork is about togetherness - Together Everyone Accomplishes More. This calls upon every member to lay aside their personal desires and root for the team. Every single effort must be targeted towards making the team look great. Egos must be put aside. Being part of a team means being an uplifter. Be a team player and demonstrate mental maturity.

Yesterday I wrote on the idea of uncoscious competence. As I was reading through the post later on, I realized that there are moments too when we are fully aware of our deficiencies or lack of training in certain skill areas. Our awareness of such incompetence should never freeze us from action, it should instead motivate us to acquire the training that we need. In order to motivate us towards this, I have developed a five-step strategy that can deliver results in such situations. Here is my LEARN strategy for conscious incompetence:

Let your incompetence motivate you towards learning 

Empower yourself by reading about the skill area

Associate with people who have competence in that skill area

Redefine your understanding of your capacity in that skill

Nurture a passion for teaching others that particular skill

Be a peak performer. Never allow incompetence to stop you from accomplishing your objectives. Lack of training should not necessarily equate to lack of ability. You can learn what you need to in order to move ahead into action.

Experience has taught me that many times we have what it takes to do great things but we never really know that capacity and thus don’t really make efforts to accomplish greater things. It is only in the moments of urgency when we really give our all and realize that we had what it takes to accomplish the mission. We do not need deadlines in order for us to execute at a higher level. True rewards come when we can accomplish and execute without deadlines or urgency. Our mantra should always be, Action Now! In the month of December I unveiled an action plan that has proved very fruitful to me over the years. As a way of refreshing your motivation towards realizing your plans for 2007, I would like to reproduce it here. I do this because many people lose traction on their ‘New Year Resolutions’ by the month of February. Today being the first day of the month, I would like you to be re-inspired by this:

Pre-determine a course of action

This essentially means having a vision for your life. Visualizing that which you intend to attain is the first step towards being successful in pursuing it. You need to have a concise end for which you can measure your progress against. Develop a vision which will be your pre-determined course of action.

Layout your goals

Once you have pre-determined a course of action, the next step is to break it down into specific goals that can be realized. To empower your vision you need to write it down and define it clearly. Laying out your goals enables you to harness the power of visualization.

Adjust your priorities

You will need to make some changes in the new year if you hope to make it a different year from the past. This will mean being open to adjusting your priorities. Priorities are the pathway to success. Making adjustments is the key to reaching your goals.

Notify key people

We all have circles of support around us. In order to accomplish your goals you need to find those people who affirm your positive goals and share your goals with them. These people will encourage you, motivate you and keep you on the path towards success.

Allow time for your plans

Many times when we set goals we expect them to be realized within a certain time frame. While it is essential to set deadlines, we should never get married to the deadlines. Timelines should motivate us to work smartly towards our goals. If your goals are not attained within the timelines you set, don’t quit. Set new timelines and stay motivated.  

Head into action

Action is the first step towards achievement. A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Head into action. Inch by inch it’s a cinch. Action must start now! The greatest enemy of success is procrastination. In order to achieve your dreams you must be action-oriented.

Expect problems

Every endeavor that has ever been worth pursuing has always had it’s problems and challenges. Problems are a sign that you are on the right track. The absence of problems is very likely a sign that something is wrong. Problems should never cause you to lose sight of your ultimate goals. They should be a call towards being more creative.

Always point to your successes

It is easy to lose motivation when failure sets in. The key to staying focused is in pointing to your already realized successes. Your track record of past successes is the springboard for your future achievements. When failure threatens your progress, embrace the confidence that comes from your record of past achievements.

Daily review your planning

Planning is a dynamic process. Plans should be reviewed on a daily basis to ensure that you are on the right track. Change happens. You must be open to changing your plans daily. Flexibility is the key to success. You must be able to revisit your plans every day. Nothing ever dominates life unless it happens daily. It is the daily habit of reviewing your plans that will determine whether you realize them or not.

Be empowered by the knowledge that you are far more competent than you may ever realize. You can do it! Lay all procrastination to rest by acting now! Stay focused.