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.
I‘ve had the opportunity to get to know a lot of great people in my 25-plus years of being connected to Express Employment Professionals, but I don’t know if I’ve met a kinder, more encouraging person than Ralph Palmen. Ralph racked up some very impressive professional accomplishments in his lifetime, but I think he’ll be remembered most for his optimistic outlook, for his kindness, for his faith, and for how he always made an effort to uplift others, which is evident this brief video he recorded earlier this year. I’d encourage you to find seven minutes in your day to watch it. You didn’t have to know Ralph to be inspired by his words. I hope it encourages you today.
It is so easy to slip into a producer mode of head down, isolated activity during the holiday season. We panic (or is it just me?) over all the items that need to get done by December 25. With all the gifts to buy, dinners to attend, and parties to host, we can get so caught up in the hustle and bustle that we lose sight of the big picture.
For our family, the big picture of Christmas is being together to celebrate its purpose: the birth of Jesus Christ. Whenever I get bogged down in the day-to-day activities associated with the holidays, I adjust my focus towards the big picture. This helps me forge ahead with a better feel for the purpose of the season.
Business is no different. (more…)
It seems like we just kicked off the year, and yet, here we are again, with only a few weeks remaining in 2015. Are you focused on simply surviving December, or are you working to finish strong?
The fact is that how we start 2016 depends a lot on how we finish strong this year. Here are three questions to ask yourself as you prepare your team to finish strong: (more…)
1. They need to know you believe in them. When was the last time an employee asked you to believe in him? Probably never. We don’t ask for our leader’s belief in us, but we need it to stretch ourselves, try new things, and achieve our best. Our belief in a teammate is especially impactful when we know they can do it, but they aren’t yet sure. When that’s the case, we allow our teammate to borrow our belief in them. They don’t have the confidence yet, so until they gain it, they can borrow ours. (more…)
I really dislike budgets. I don’t mind talking about money, but it seems budgets are all about spending, and as a tight German (like my daddy) spending sends a chill up my spine. Ha, so maybe that’s why we do budgets around Halloween each year!
Of course budgeting is a necessary evil, and there are many benefits to it. Over the years I’ve learned a lot of lessons from my own budgeting practices and from being the victim of other leaders’ budgeting tactics.
Here are a few simple suggestions as you head into your budget season. (more…)
“Later.” Procrastination’s best friend. Later I’ll…workout, eat right, read a book, work on that project, spend time with the kids, clean out my closet or study for my test.
If you want to be a good leader you have to realize that it is all about the numbers. Producing the numbers is more important than anything else in business. Most of my clients will be astonished with this point of view. Let me be clear: A leader who cannot produce the numbers will not be successful taking a company into the future. (more…)
I’d like to introduce a guest blogger today. Bryan Greenwood is an executive leader at a client of Impacting Leaders. I was so impressed with his New Year message to his team that I wanted to share it with you this week.
As the New Year quickly approaches, it is common for many to self-evaluate and reflect on our accomplishments of the goals we have set for ourselves. During this time of reflection, we inevitably focus on our “successes” and “failures” in reaching these goals. Human nature is a harsh companion as it causes us to generally reflect more on our failures than our successes. (more…)
Hopefully you’ve already started thinking about and planning for your 2014 goals, but if you haven’t, it’s not too late. Here are four practical tips to help you get going.
1. Be realistic.
When setting goals, leaders must walk a careful line. If you’re too optimistic, a few months into the year your team may quickly realize that there’s no way they’ll achieve such unrealistic goals, so they lose their excitement and motivation. On the other hand, if you set goals with a glass-half-empty attitude, never wanting to really commit to anything, your team will spend the year lost and unattached to your vision. (more…)