An Equip and Empower Moment -- Facing Our Fears

"One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his greatest surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't." ~ Henry Ford

“It is my belief that the only power which can resist the power of fear is the power of love.” ~ Alan Paton

When it comes to dealing with fears, we have one of three options: we can ignore or avoid it; we can deny it and hope it goes away, or we can embrace and deal with it. Good leaders choose the third option and face their fears. This is not an easy thing to do, but it is the best. Fears will always be a part of our stories; they are not going away.

A university study stated that 60% of our fears are unwarranted, they never come to pass. Twenty percent of our fears are totally out of our control. The study stated that only 4% of our fears are justifiable.

So how do we learn to embrace our fears? One method is to feel the fear and do the thing anyway – do it afraid. The fear is not going away, and you cannot continue to avoid or ignore certain situations, so you have to learn to do things while still feeling the fear. Once you do the thing you fear, then the fear has no more power over you. If you continue to allow the fear to take charge of your life, then you won't have a life worth living.

So, go ahead...do it anyway, do it afraid.

To lead is to serve,

Coach Carolyn

An Equip and Empower Moment - Being Before Doing

"Live right, and you will eat from the life-giving tree. And if you act wisely, others will follow." ~ Proverbs 11:30

I believe people tend to think of leadership only in terms of action. But leadership is so much more than just that. Leadership is not just something you do; it's something you are. And that's one of the reasons good leaders have such strong magnetism. People are attracted to who they are.

All leaders desire results, but being must precede doing. To achieve higher goals, you must be a more effective leader. To attract better people, you must be a better person yourself. To achieve greater results, you must be a person of great character. A common problem occurs when a leader's real identity and the desired results don't match up. But when leaders display consistency of character, competence, and purpose, it makes a powerful statement to the people around them - and it draws those people to them.

If you desire to do great things with your life, then seek to become a better person and a better leader.

Nothing great can be achieved alone. Any task worth doing requires the help of others. And if you want to attract good people, you've got to become a better person yourself. If you're willing to do that, then you can leave the results to God.

From The 21 Most Powerful Minutes in a Leader's Day by Dr. John C. Maxwell

It is in giving, that we receive...

Travelling around the blogosphere, I have the opportunity to meet some pretty cool people. One such person is Michelle Kunz. She has been a reader of this blog and connected with me on Facebook. You just never know where you will meet the coolest folks! So we love linked and she is an awesome leadership coach herself, with some pretty powerful posts. I invite you to drop by Michelle's Power Energy Leadership Blog and plan on spending some time there.

Saint Francis of Assisi was credited with living and giving the Peace Prayer. My favorite line of that prayer is, "It is in giving, that we receive...." This has certainly been true in my life. I look for ways to give, then I am gifted with so much more. I give abundantly of my time, which I believe is our greatest and most precious commodity. From that giving, I am spiritually, emotionally, and physically fed in so many ways. What a blessing!

Michelle's latest post is also speaking of giving as a way to excellence. She begins with a couple of powerful quotes, including:

"I have come to believe that giving and receiving are really the same. Giving and receiving - not giving and taking." -- Joyce Grenfell

Then her post finishes with:

When we begin to give freely and actively seek the advantage for the other person, a marvelous thing happens. Powerful leadership begins to take root.... Some of what might come back includes:

Trust -- people trust those who have their interests truly at the center of all they do
Admiration -- people admire those who commit their energies to advancing the common good
Respect -- people respect those who dedicate their time to helping others win
Wisdom -- when we listen deeply to what others need we learn more about ourselves and the world around us
Humility -- giving to others shines a mirror back on all that we have and helps us feel grateful
Authenticity -- giving deeply of ourselves removes the filters we keep in place when we withhold, requiring our true selves to come into focus
Integrity -- aligning our values with principles which do not change greatly simplifies the challenge of walking our talk

These are some of the qualities of a powerful leader.... Great leaders know how to let go and allow their best selves to brilliantly shine.

These are also the qualities of a servant leader. It is in giving that we truly receive. I have received a great gift... connecting with Michelle and her wisdom. She is also an opera singer. Way cool!

Drop by and give a shout out to Michelle. Tell her an old friend sent you!

To lead is to serve,

Coach Carolyn