What legacy do you aspire to create through your leadership in 2024?
Happy Friday, Brew Nation!
Grab your favorite coffee cup, sit back, relax, and get ready to sip on some enriching and thought-provoking content that will equip you to thrive in all areas of your life:
- Uncommon Leader Insights – I’ve enjoyed this new segment in the Champions Brew newsletter that brings you key takeaways from the remarkable guests featured on the Uncommon Leader Podcast! I believe I will continue it into 2024.
In Episode 92 of The Uncommon Leader Podcast, I interviewed Cory Carlson, Leadership Coach, Keynote Speaker, and author of Rise and Go – How to Get Back Up with Courage and Move Forward with Confidence. Here are a few of my takeaways from that great conversation:
- There is no one definition of success: Carlson’s take is that you can win at home and at work and he encourages us to Win at Home First (the title of the podcast that he hosts and another book that be authored). I agree wholeheartedly with this belief, and I might take it a step further to define success as the eternal impact we have with those closest to us in our home and professional lives.
- We can’t control what happens to us, but we can control how we respond: Life often brings unforeseen challenges, a fact Carlson knows well. Facing setbacks like a significant income drop during the pandemic, he turned to journaling and seeking inspiration, channeling these hardships into the motivational mantra “Rise and Go”. His account reminds us that while we cannot control the valleys of our journey, we can determine our trajectory. By choosing to view obstacles or ‘failures’ as opportunities for learning and growth, we can set the stage for overcoming and persevering.
- Intentionality is Imperative: Cory’s narrative is one of transformation through authenticity. He emphasizes the importance of being intentional in both professional settings and personal spheres such as marriage. When I work with clients who may be struggling in different areas of life including relationships, fun and fitness, I will ask them to review their calendar. Where are they currently investing the time they need in those areas? If we want to be Uncommon, we must be intentional in creating the life that we want. That starts with scheduling the important things in life and then following through on that schedule.
Incorporating these lessons into your leadership practices is bound to cultivate a more profound sense of purpose and balance.
Stay tuned for more episodes that dive deep into leadership wisdom and offers tangible tactics for both personal development and professional excellence.
- Build Faith & Stay Strong– As we step into the new year, I found myself revisiting my devotional books, including “Leadership Promises for Every Day” by John Maxwell. This time, I felt compelled to read the introduction—a choice that proved impactful once again. Allow me to share its powerful words:
“Anyone can follow a path, but only a leader can blaze one.” Being a leader is not easy, as countless people depend on you:
- Family and friends need leaders who embody purpose-driven lives.
- Children need leaders who guide them towards their full potential.
- Churches need leaders who chart the course and empower the congregation.
- Businesses need leaders who create thriving work environments while ensuring profitability.
- Communities need leaders who shape a better place to live.
But as others rely on you, who can you depend on? The answer lies in God, the Ultimate Leader! Leadership requires courage, but it’s reassuring to know that you’re not alone.”
Leaders, you are essential. Our families, children, churches, businesses, and communities need your extraordinary contributions. With the Champions Brew, my primary goal is to inspire, encourage, and equip leaders to rise above average and embrace the Uncommon. It is my hope that this message from John Maxwell, along with the Champions Brew, will ignite a fire for you on your leadership journey.
| Are you aware that The Champions Brew explores various topics that I frequently coach and consult on with other leaders and organizations? If you or someone you know is seeking to elevate their business or personal life from underperforming to uncommon, I would love to connect with you and discuss 1:1 or group coaching, as well as performance consulting. In fact, click the following link to schedule a FREE CALL to explore how coaching could benefit you and your team. Let’s work together to unleash your full potential and achieve your goals! |
- Read More – We are working our way through The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, another John Maxwell classic sure to equip you and inspire you to uncommon leadership! I look forward to walking through it with you, Brew Nation! This week, I will dive into Chapter 6. I hope you have gotten a copy and are reading along with me.
Quality #8 – Focus
The Sharper It Is, The Sharper You Are
Let’s explore how focus, when combined with priorities, paves the way for remarkable achievements.
A leader who understands their priorities but lacks concentration often knows what needs to be done but struggles to accomplish it. On the other hand, if a leader possesses concentration but lacks clear priorities, they may excel in various areas without making substantial progress. However, when a leader successfully harnesses both priorities and concentration, they unlock the potential to achieve greatness.
So, how can we enhance our focus and productivity? Here are three key strategies to consider:
- Prioritize Your Time: It takes a conscious effort to identify the disciplines that truly impact your goals. Evaluate your daily activities and determine if they contribute to moving the needle. If not, ask yourself why you’re investing time in them and make decisions accordingly.
- Time Your Priorities: Avoid letting others dictate your schedule. Once you’ve identified your priorities, allocate dedicated time for them. Consider implementing “The 47 most important minutes in a leader’s day” technique—set aside an hour on your calendar, eliminate distractions, and focus solely on the priority task for 47 minutes. Reserve the remaining 13 minutes to address the distractions you temporarily set aside.
- Prune Your Priorities: Remember, you can do anything you want, but you can’t do everything you want. Employ the 5 D’s process to refine your priorities. Deselect activities that don’t directly impact your goals. Delegate tasks to capable team members or outsource them. Defer tasks that aren’t immediate priorities. Deconstruct activities to find ways to streamline or automate them. Finally, when all options are exhausted, it’s time to Do it—schedule and complete the task.
Remember, diluted focus leads to diluted results. By mastering your focus, you’ll witness a surge in productivity like never before.
Next week: Generosity
Quote of the week: “We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already.” – J.K. Rowling
What You Need to Do:
Call to Action: Your uncommon leadership awaits. Seize the opportunity to make 2024 your year of remarkable achievements. Let’s rise together! I ask you again… What legacy do you aspire to create through your leadership in 2024? Share your thoughts in the comments
It’s an honor to be your trusted “Friday Coffee Guy”. Each week, I’m excited to provide yet another round of curated content that I’ve been reading, listening to, watching, or thinking over. The purpose of the Champions Brew is to inspire, equip and encourage you to become the uncommon leader you were designed to be. I am so grateful for your decision to invest a few moments with me! I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of Champions Brew. If you did, I would appreciate it if you would share it with someone who might enjoy it as well and ask them to subscribe! I will make sure they automatically get this email every week.
Until next time, Go and Grow Champions!
P.S. – Are you a podcast fan? Maybe the Uncommon Leader podcast is for you. Are you interested in being a guest on the Uncommon Leader Podcast? Do you have a story to tell? Email me [email protected] and let’s have a chat and set something up!!
One Response
John, as you summarized your latest Podcast guest, I was reminded of really tough life problems that I had to help others solve. As you pointed out, what is going on at home is or should be primary. When we had major problems at work, I mean really serious, those were around an individual and what they brought into work with them… from home. It was really difficult dealing with those problems alongside a colleague or team member. I’m not sure how you really prepare for those kinds of issues, but what that says to me is that home life is definitely Primary. A team member with a good or great home life is not without problems. That said, those folks are ready and able to deal with work and their professional career with commitment and energy. Seems they have good reasons to work for something other than the organization.