Faith, Goals, and Fear
Between you and every goal that you wish to achieve, there is a series of obstacles,
and the bigger the goal, the bigger the obstacles. -Brian Tracy
Every business and every person has obstacles along their pathway toward their goal. If you haven’t ever noticed that then chances are your goals haven’t been big or impactful enough.
Successful businesses, top performers, and great leaders don’t get there by luck.
Overcoming the obstacles in our path is what life and careers are about. It’s how wisdom is acquired, and it’s how replication happens.
Think about a time where you had to overcome obstacles to become who you are today. What was it you had to overcome? Anxiety, anger, financial loss, depression, loss of a loved one, or joblessness? These items all have one thing in common: fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of loneliness, fear of devastation, fear of health, fear of death, fear of not being a success, fear of loss, and so on.
After you think of that obstacle, look back now at how you overcame it. How did you move through it or turn it around or run from it? That is the story you get to teach.
We all live beyond seasons of obstacles. Some come out on the other side stronger and some weaker.
One thing we know. This too shall pass. How will your obstacles change you?
- Will you be stronger or weaker from it?
- Will your family be stronger or weaker from it?
- Will your company be stronger or weaker from it?
In the future, there will be more goals and more obstacles. Have faith and fight! Faith and fear cannot dwell in the same soul.
With Halloween here and the election upon us I thought fright might be a great topic to dig into today. Everybody is fearful about something. To those of you puffing out your chest right now saying nothing frightens you, you are frightening the rest of us!
Fear is an emotion that can work for us or against us depending on our outlook. It can forge us forward with great determination, and it can paralyze us from any forward movement. Yet, in a weird way, we need some form of scare or fear in our lives. Fear forces us to pay attention and to lean into God, family, friends, teammates, and even our inner self.
So what can we do if we are worried, scared or fearing something ahead of us? (more…)
Paranoia. Is there a more unbecoming leadership trait? Paranoid leaders spend their days assuming negative things are bound to happen or that others are plotting against them. The sad thing about paranoid leaders is most of them didn’t start out that way. Rather, paranoia often begins with one bad experience or one failed relationship. Instead of overcoming the challenge, we become engrossed in it and believe the same bad fortune or breakdown is bound to happen again and again. (more…)
I had a great conversation with a leader last week. He was discussing his successes as well as his challenges in business, and he shared a great insight that he’d come to realize: for quite some time, he’d been leading out of fear.
I understood what he was talking about. I’ve been there. Maybe you have too. (more…)
In the 16th century philosophical piece, The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli, asserts that it is best for a leader to be both loved and feared, but if you can’t have both, then it’s better to be feared. After all, commitments made in fear are kept out of fear. And in a lot of cases, Machiavelli was probably right. Followers who fear their leader will carefully walk the line. (more…)
Have you ever felt like you put yourself out there with someone by being open and honest and vulnerable, only to get nothing in return? (more…)
Holding people accountable. It’s a challenge that isn’t isolated to middle management or new leaders. Executives at the highest levels also fall into the lull of hoping someone’s non-performance will just go away and improve on its own.
When I see an environment where people are not held accountable I have no option but to look to the highest leader. You see, accountability isn’t just a leader trait. It’s a culture trait. Accountability is part of our environment. It lives with gusto or it hangs out on the sidelines as a weak link to performance. (more…)