“Busy leaders don’t change the world. Focused leaders do.” – Craig Groeschel
Happy Friday, Brew Nation!
Grab your favorite coffee cup and get ready to embark on a transformative journey. The Champions Brew Newsletter is here to invigorate your mornings and ignite your drive for personal growth and impact! Fuel your mornings with motivation and purpose. As you savor your first cup of the day, let the Champions Brew infuse you with the insights and strategies you need to make each day a stepping stone towards your aspirations. Let’s Go!
- Uncommon Leader Insights – In a recent interview I did on The Uncommon Leader Podcast, author Ella Parlor shared profound insights on overcoming business challenges and achieving fulfillment in our daily lives. Below, I’ve summarized my three key takeaways from our discussion that offer valuable lessons for entrepreneurs and leaders alike.
- You Can’t Do Everything: One of the pivotal points Ella emphasized is understanding your personal limitations in business. Many leaders, striving for perfection, often fall into the trap of micromanagement. Ella’s advice? Hire individuals who can operate at 75% of your capacity. This approach not only alleviates your workload but also allows you to focus on growth and ideation, driving the scalability of your business. Acknowledging that you cannot—and should not—do everything yourself is the first step in sustainable expansion.
- Prioritize Health: Ella’s personal story of landing in the hospital due to neglecting her emotional well-being is a stark reminder of the importance of self-care. She advocates for a holistic approach to health, captured in her “SEFPh” framework, which integrates spiritual, emotional, financial, and physical health. The notion that balance does not equate to equal time but recognizing and prioritizing different life aspects serves as a critical reminder. Ensuring you’re not just chasing financial success at the expense of your health and personal fulfillment is paramount.
- Eternal Impact: Many business owners and leaders wrestle internally with a significant dilemma: should they continue to grow their bank accounts or should they strive for something more lasting and impactful? Ella touched on this conflict, urging leaders to revisit their foundational values and mission. By staying true to the core principles that initially drove the business and are most important to you, leaders can make more focused decisions, balancing growth with the integrity of their legacy.
Reflecting on Ella Parlor’s wisdom reinforces the importance of delegation, prioritization, and legacy thinking in leadership. By embracing these principles, we can cultivate a more sustainable and fulfilling business and personal journey.
I encourage you all to watch & listen to the fantastic episode and consider how these takeaways can influence your own approach to leadership.
Being successful as a leader requires intentional leadership habits. That’s why I developed the Ideal Week template – a tool that helps me identify areas for success and allocate the necessary time. It guides you through planning your ideal week, ensuring you dedicate time to the activities that bring you closer to your goals.
Want to give it a try? Subscribe to my YouTube channel (click here) and take a screenshot that confirms you are subscribed. Email the screenshot to [email protected] and I’ll send you a copy of the Ideal Week template complete with a sample to get you started!
- Think Positively – Football season is in full swing, and the Dodgers recently clinched their World Series victory. While sports can bring excitement and joy, they can also lead to disappointment and frustration. Similarly, life is filled with its own ups and downs.
As Tony Dungy wisely noted in a recent devotional, “Adversity can have a silver lining. Sometimes good actually flows from unlikely places.” While it’s easy to get caught up in the negativity of a loss or setback, it’s important to maintain a positive perspective.
Here are a few strategies to help you cultivate a healthier perspective:
- Practice Gratitude: Focus on the positive aspects of your life, such as your health, family, and friends. Gratitude can shift your mindset and help you appreciate the good things in your life.
- Control What You Can Control: Don’t waste energy worrying about things that are beyond your control. Instead, focus on taking action on the things you can influence.
- Develop an Eternal Perspective: Remembering that life is temporary can help you prioritize what truly matters.
I am not suggesting that we not feel disappointment or frustration when things don’t go as planned, but cultivating a positive perspective can help you navigate life’s challenges with greater resilience and grace.
- Read More & Build Faith– Over the next several weeks, I will be going through a new book I am reading, Jesus the High Road Leader, by John Maxwell and Chris Hodges. While faith plays a central role in this book, I believe that the leadership principles it explores are timeless and applicable to everyone. Let’s keep going!
Behavior #3 – Jesus Didn’t Keep Score
One of the key principles highlighted in the book is the importance of not keeping score.
Biblical example: In Matthew 26:31-45 provides a poignant example of Jesus’ modeling of not keeping score. Peter denied Jesus three times and despite Peter’s denial, Jesus did not hold a grudge. Instead, he extended grace and offered forgiveness. This powerful act demonstrates the transformative power of forgiveness and the importance of letting go of resentment.
This past week I had the chance to visit my son and daughter-in-law. We ate good food, attended a wonderful church service, and had a fun night of games including darts, cards, and ping pong. We’ve all been there. My competitive juices were flowing, and I kept score… (and lost in ping pong to my ultra-competitive daughter-in-law!). Scorekeeping is good for games – but it is not good for relationships!
In the Bible, we find countless examples of Jesus prioritizing relationships and serving others, even when it meant personal sacrifice. One such instance is when Jesus forgave Peter, even after Peter’s betrayal.
But can leaders NOT keep score in relationships? I think they can. Here are a few of my takeaways or areas I can ‘practice’ from this chapter:
- Practice Empathy: Put yourself in the shoes of others and seek to understand their perspectives.
- Practice Grace: Let go of grudges and focus on building positive relationships.
- Practice Serving: Prioritize the needs of your team and lead by example.
- Practice Long-term Thinking: Avoid short-term gains that may harm long-term relationships.
By embracing these principles, you can become a more effective and compassionate leader. Remember, true leadership isn’t about winning; it’s about making a positive impact. Now, I need to practice some ping pong before the next visit!
- Quote of the week:
“The purpose of life is not to win. The purpose of life is to grow and share. When you come to look back on all that you have done in life, you will get more satisfaction from the pleasure you have brought into other people’s lives than you will from the times that you outdid and defeated them.” – Rabbi Harold Kushner
What You Need to Do:
Call to Action: Ready to elevate your leadership game?
Let’s discuss how you can:
- Prioritize self-care and avoid burnout
- Develop a growth mindset
- Cultivate empathy and compassion
- Practice forgiveness and build strong relationships
Schedule a free coaching call today.
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!!
