You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader

I am in Part 2 of Mark Sanborn’s book, You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader.  The book continues to challenge me in not only leadership but in life as well.  Part 2 deals with the Six Principles of Leadership.

Thoughts from Principle #1–The Power of Self-Mastery:

• The fact is, all leadership begins with self-mastery.  You can’t lead others until you can first lead yourself.
• To truly lead, and make a difference in the world, you must always start with yourself.
• Leaders don’t interact with the world around them because they have to.  They do so because they want to.
• . . . those who lead effectively tend to view such circumstances as opportunities.
• The challenge for anyone is to make a life while making a living.
• Thinking helps separate the mundane things in your life from the significant.

My favorite section under this principle is under the subtitle, Motivation.  Mark Sanborn lists 8 ways to keep ourselves motivated:

1. Make time to reflect.
2. Remember to dream.
3. Mirror those who are successful around you.
4. Retreat to advance.–take time for retreats to review your life and objectives.
5. Mentor someone else.
6. Enjoy the journey.–take a moment to be grateful for what you have.
7. Live like a victor, not a victim.–we can learn from difficult situations or languish in them.  The decision is ours.
8. Search for the pony.–look for the pony responsible for all the manure.

This continues to stretch me in many areas of my life.  I highly recommend a copy of your own!!!