“Ease is a greater threat to progress than hardship.” – Denzel Washington
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 In the latest episode of The Uncommon Leader Podcast, I had the privilege of speaking Randy Gravitt to delve into the insights from his latest book, “Winning Begins at Home.” Here are my three key takeaways from our inspiring conversation:
- Dominate what you can control – Randy Gravitt highlighted the paramount importance of focusing on things within one’s control. Too often, I get consumed by external factors and lose sight of my own ability to respond. By concentrating on the areas where I can truly make a difference, whether it’s in our personal relationships or professional endeavors, I set myself up for success. AND, he took it a step further when he said to DOMINATE the controllables. It’s about showing up day in and day out, doing what we need to do even when we don’t feel like doing it.
- You CAN succeed at work AND life – One of the most powerful parts of our conversation was when we discussed the concept of leading at home. Randy emphasized that the true measure of success is when the people who know you the best, love you the most – Read that last sentence again. Can I get an AMEN?! Randy emphasized that “Words matter”, especially with our kids.
- Love is a Verb – Randy introduced a heart-touching perspective on love, viewing it as an active verb rather than a passive feeling. Demonstrating love through sacrifice and presence is crucial in both family and personal relationships. This approach challenges us to intentionally invest in the lives of those around us, ensuring that our actions consistently show our commitment and care. Remember, excellence ONLY happens on purpose and Randy’s message was clear: you demonstrate love through your actions and choices every day.
The first half of the book is written as a parable designed to teach the concepts through the lens of a baseball coach and the second half of the book provides practical exercises and disciplines to help integrate these powerful concepts into daily life. The episode serves as a reminder that leadership extends beyond professional success, deeply impacting our roles at home and in our communities.
So, take the lessons from this episode to heart and start winning at home and at work—because real success is built on the relationships we nurture along the way.
To gain further insights from Randy Gravitt’s great book, I invite you to listen to the entire episode here.
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
- Improve Daily – In our pursuit of growth and success, it’s crucial to understand that improvement is not a destination but an ongoing process. Once we think we have we are done, we have really just begun. Continuous improvement requires us to go beyond mere satisfaction with progress and nurture a healthy discontent that propels us forward. Drawing inspiration from the evolution of F1 pit stops, we witness the remarkable progress achieved through continuous improvement. In 1950, a pit stop at the Indy 500 took a staggering 67 seconds (and that was just for two tires!). However, through relentless dedication to refinement, the time gradually decreased to 8.95 seconds in 1990, 7.22 seconds in 2000, and a groundbreaking 1.78 seconds in 2023 by the Red Bull F1 team. This astonishing 97% reduction exemplifies the extraordinary results that can be achieved when we refuse to settle for good enough.
Many leaders and/or organizations make the mistake of becoming complacent after achieving a certain level of improvement. However, this mindset can lead to being left behind as competitors continue to push the boundaries. In business, entrepreneurship, and leadership development, the pursuit of perfection should be our driving force realizing that along the journey, we will achieve excellence. The relentless pursuit of excellence in everything we do becomes a catalyst for growth, enabling us to exceed expectations and achieve remarkable results along the way.
- Read More – Here we go. We are traveling together on a journey with an inspiring speaker, and author, Ed Mylett, and his book “The Power of One More – The Ultimate Guide to Success and Happiness”. As an avid listener of Mylett’s podcast, I’m thrilled to revisit this great book that holds a special place in my Top Ten influential reads. Join me as we uncover wisdom within its pages.
Chapter Eleven – “One More Impossibility Thinkers and Possibility Achievers”
When I think about this chapter, I am reminded of words from Philippians 4:8-9 that read, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—THINK about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (Emphasis added my me).
To fully realize your best life, it’s not enough to just THINK about what you want to do, although our thoughts or mindset are critical. Unless you put actions to those thoughts, you’re going to fall well short of your potential.
As Mylett asserts, dreams are the essence of impossibility thinking, but it’s when you combine that thinking with INTENTIONAL actions that you become a possibility achiever.
As English philosopher and physician John Locke once said, “I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts.”
The chapter finishes with a powerful illustration of this ‘One More’ principle taken from a Martin Luther King, Jr sermon:
One of the greatest tragedies in life is that men seldom bridge the gulf between practice and profession, between doing and saying.
One the one hand, we proudly profess certain sublime and noble principles, but on the other hand, we sadly practice the very antithesis of these principles.
This strange dichotomy, this agonizing gulf between the ought and the is, represents the tragic theme of man’s earthly pilgrimage.
It is much easier for us to act our way into a new way of thinking than it is to think our way into a new way of acting. Yes, think positively. Read inspiring words from influential leaders to gain knowledge. But, at some point we must act. We must move from impossibility thinker to possibility achiever!
Next week: One More Habit
Quote of the week: “Without commitment you’ll never start, but more importantly, without consistency, you’ll never finish.” – Denzel Washington
What You Need to Do:
Call to Action: Remember, thinking positively and gaining knowledge are vital, but true transformation occurs when thoughts are translated into actions. Commit to acting your way into a new way of thinking, becoming a possibility achiever. What is ONE thing you can do this week to move closer to elevate your leadership?
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!!
