SS 24 – Work Hard & Become A Leader; Be Lazy & Become A Slave. – Proverbs 12:24

Jason Hartman talks with Jim Collins, a Pastor, Motivational Speaker, Businessman and Author, he is the Founder of Beyond Positive Thinking Ministries and the Pastor of Victory in Christ International in Jupiter, Florida.

Ten leadership success principles with you that will help you both in your personal life and in your business life.  As I share each one, I’m going to give you an inspiring quote that applies to each principle; I’m going to give you a wisdom nugget from the richest man who ever lived; and we’re also going to have some fill-ins to keep the presentation exciting and fast moving.  Ready for your first leadership success principle?

The first principle for success in leadership comes in the form of a definition of life.  Here’s the best definition of life I’ve ever heard:

1.  Life is opportunity mixed with adversity.

I can tell you exactly what your life is going to be like over the next 1, 3, 5, and 10 years.  The one thing that’s a given in your life is this: Your life is going to include some opportunity, and your life is going to include some adversity; therefore, if you want to be a successful leader you’re going to have to maintain a “never-give-up” attitude.

Successful leaders know that opportunity mixed with adversity is a call for perseverance.  Perseverance includes persistence and determination.  Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States said this:

“Press on.  Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.  Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.  Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.  Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

Question: How long should we give a baby to learn how to walk?  After all, every fall is an adversity.  Maybe after the third fall we should say, “Just stay down there.”  No.  How long should a baby take to learn how to walk?  “Until” the baby walks.  Great leaders possess an “until” mindset.

American inventor Thomas Edison had an “until” mindset.  After failing at 10,000 experiments, he said, “I have not failed.  I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. <http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/30392.html> ”

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”  –Thomas Edison

Leaders never quit.

Our first wisdom nugget comes from:
Proverbs 24:10 (NKJV)
If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.

The first leadership success principle is “Life is Opportunity mixed with Adversity.”

2.  The Paradox of Time: Nobody ever seems to have enough, but everybody has all there is.

Every single person alive today has one thing in common – 24 hours in a day.  The rich and the poor both have 24 hours a day; the well and the sick both have 24 hours a day.  See folks, time levels the playing field, doesn’t it?  And because everybody has the same amount of time, you can no longer use the excuse “I don’t have the time,” because everybody has all the time there is.

Leaders take responsibility for their lives while others are making excuses.

“The price of greatness is responsibility.” –Winston Churchill

Proverbs 14:8 (NIV)
The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception.

3. Success isn’t measured by how well you do compared to how well others do, but how well you do compared to how well you could have done.

Far too many people spend their time comparing themselves to other people and worrying too much about what other people think about them.

Be yourself – pursue your dream.  Many people live their lives with the attitude: “I’m not who I think I am.  I’m not who you think I am.  I’m who I think you think I am.”  Instead, focus on what God has called you to do, and then become excellent at it.

If you’re going to be a successful leader, the first person you have to lead is yourself, and leading yourself starts with believing in your own potential.  People will find it much easier to believe in you if you first believe in yourself.

Here’s a story that everyone can relate to that exemplifies that: (Charlie Brown story – page 143)

Leaders believe in their own potential.

Former President Harry Truman said: “You cannot lead others until you first lead yourself.”

Identify your unique talents, work hard on developing them, and never quit.

You’ll be rewarded in life to the extent that you become excellent at what God has called you to do, not by comparing yourself to others, or worse, worrying about what other people think about you.  Successful leaders work hard on themselves and they work hard on what God has called them to do.

Proverbs 22:29 (NKJV)
Do you see a man who excels in his work?  He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men.

4.  Luck occurs when preparedness meets opportunity.

Abraham Lincoln said, “I will study and prepare myself and someday my time will come.”
John F. Kennedy said: “Leadership and learning are indispensable of each other.”

One way we can prepare is by learning from our mistakes.  They asked Tom Watson, founder of IBM, how he doubled his success rate and he answered, “I doubled my failure rate.”  Successful leaders see failures as simply rungs on the ladder to success, but they use their mistakes as an opportunity to learn something.

Another way we can learn is more proactive.  The late Charlie “Tremendous” Jones said: “You’ll be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.”

It’s been said that 70% of college graduates never read another non-fiction book the rest of their lives.  Statistics tell us that only 3% of Americans have library cards.  Help me with your next fill-in.  Leaders are…

Leaders are readers.

Proverbs 1:5 (NKJV)
A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel.

5. Discipline weighs ounces, regret weighs tons.

Discipline says: “I’ll do what I know I should do, when I should do it, whether I like it or not, whether I feel like it or not.”  Regret looks back on life and says: “I did what was fun and easy instead of what was hard and necessary.”

Leaders finish their assignments.

You can be a finisher in life by completing the work that God has called you to do.  Give your life 100% of your efforts.  When you work – work; when you play – play.

Well known writer and author Mark Twain said:
“Make it a point to do something everyday that you don’t want to do.  This is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain.” – Mark Twain

Proverbs 12:24 (NLT)
Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave.

6. We become what we think about.

Question: Why do we become what we think about?  Answer: Because thoughts produce words, and thoughts and words produce actions, and your thoughts, words, and actions determine the way your life turns out. Say it after me: “My thoughts, words, and actions… my life turns out.”

“Change your thoughts and you change your world.” – Norman Vincent Peale