Not one of us woke up this morning and became a consultant, or an executive, or a mentor. Humans are evolutionary creatures, molded every day by our experiences and the environments in which we choose to place ourselves. That’s why we are always looking for ways to grow.
Today a couple of us had the opportunity to attend Atlanta’s Live2Lead 2018 event, hosted by The John Maxwell Company. Dr. Maxwell opened the event by asking the question, how do you stay on top of your game? We know from our line of work that the only way to answer that is by realizing the game doesn’t stay the same. If you are going to grow, you are going to continually change.
Dr. Maxwell was joined this year by Producer, Actor and Writer Tyler Perry; Former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and 2016 US Presidential Candidate Cary Fiorina; Author and Speaker Daniel Pink; and Speaker, Athlete and Founder of Shoal Projects and Mix Diversity Developers Debra Searle.
We kept hearing a recurring theme throughout the day: People follow courage. That is essentially why the mantra for Tyler Perry Studios is “A place where even dreams believe,” and why he asserted that the moment after as a leader, you realize you have it made – you could throw in the towel and still ride out the rest of your life comfortably – is your most critical because it is when you stop being for yourself and start being for others. It takes courage to change the order of things that are well-established to make them better, as Carly Fiorina explained. Or to flip established patterns on their heads to operate best according to when mood and cognitive ability are highest, according to Daniel Pink. Courage to withstand criticism. Courage to make moral choices instead of easy ones. And courage carried Debra Searle in her unexpected solo row across the Atlantic after her partner took ill in the initial days of the race.
What are your bold goals? Your moonshots? You are gifted and respected and successful, but are you still growing?
Our challenge to you: Are you doing an autopsy on your success each day? We love celebrating wins with you, but those wins of today won’t be enough to carry you tomorrow — it’s the difference between “best” and “better” that Dr. Maxwell has written about before. How can we help you reach for better and see how far your aspirations and plans can take us when we execute them in an integrated way?
