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Letter From The Editor

Dear Friends,

We’ve finally bid the year 2009 good-bye. So tell me, did your life all of a sudden become brighter, happier, and more directed? Of course not! Changing our direction or being successful in the direction we’re already going takes far more than the flip of the calendar; it takes a plan, committed action, and accountability for doing what our plan says! Think about it this way:

Plans don’t see themselves through. People see plans through! You can have the most outrageous plan for where you say you want to go in 2010, but if you aren’t in action around what it takes to get where you say you want to go or have anyone holding you accountable for taking those actions, how are you going to get there?

On the flipside, action without a plan gets you nowhere… or at least no where you want to go! Here’s a visual for you: Imagine a dog chasing after its own tail. He’s committed… he’s in action… but he clearly doesn’t have a plan to get what he says he wants. Otherwise, he’d stop spinning in circles and have no problem reaching his tail! So, if you find yourself running in circles, stop! Determine the direction you want to go, write a plan that gets you there, and then move forward with unstoppable commitment and action! And while you are at it, have FUN!!

Life doesn’t have to be hard. You can have what you want and have fun getting there, but you have to choose it. So I ask you, what do you choose?

Warm regards,

Clay S. Nelson

Taking on Leadership

It is the start of a fresh New Year, and what better time to take on Leadership?! Yep, it’s time to stop waiting for someone else to do something, fix something, say something, or change something. As Andy Warhol said, “They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”

So let’s get after it. The world has waited for you long enough. No more hiding, holding yourself back with negative self-talk, polishing your timeworn excuses—let’s go!

“ But I don’t know how”, you say… Don’t let that stop you. Leadership is not about knowing “how”. Leadership is about being committed to moving forward in the face of not knowing how, and this commitment comes from those traits that both you and your team recognize and nourish as a necessary and integral part of your organization’s success. Leadership traits such as:

Being a Creative Visionary and Having Passion for Your Vision

• Your job as a leader is to ask, “What is our company’s purpose? What does it look like now? How do we want it to show up in the future, and what would the future look like if we achieve our vision?” And does your vision light you up? Does it light up your staff? Great passion yields great results. Passion is the fuel that drives your vision. It’s the F-U-N in life! If you aren't in love with what you do, then why are you doing it?

Teaching to Others What You Know

• For you to have the time and energy necessary to be the visionary, you must teach others so they can do the tasks necessary to achieve the vision. Leaders also teach others through their actions. What are you teaching them?

Being the Question, not the Answer

• Effective teaching means being the question, not the answer. When your staff approaches you with a question, you have a teaching opportunity. Don’t lose it! Ask them, “What actions would you take if I weren’t here?”

Being a Master of Change

• Leaders never wait for ideal conditions. Conditions are rarely “just right” and are always changing. Leadership is about moving forward, no matter what changes in circumstances you face along the way.

Being an Effective Communicator

• Leaders use straight talk—open and honest communication with the permission of those you are communicating with to do so. First, ask your team members for permission to shoot straight, which sets up their listening and gets them present to what you have to communicate. Communication is a two-way street, so as a leader, you must give your team permission to do the same.

Being Unstoppable and Undauntedly Committed to Getting What They Want

• Being unstoppable means giving up having to know the “how” about everything. And, it is all about keeping your passion alive and being driven to accomplish whatever your goals are, even in the face of fear, not knowing how, and life's circumstances. Unstoppable is taking actions consistent with your heart-felt desires, your commitment to your commitments, and being present to giving up "how?" It is where freedom, aliveness, security, creativity, and fun dwell and if you can "be unstoppable" there, you can have anything you say you want without knowing how you are going to get it!

Now, who do you know that can be all of these things (and the many others that aren’t listed here) at one time? No one! Therefore, it is crucial that as a leader you also be a dynamite team builder! You need a team of people around you who helps you make it all happen. You need team members you trust to be their word; team members who are passionate about what you provide the world and are clear about the direction you, as the leader, want to go; and team members who are willing and capable of moving the troops forward when you cannot. In the end, your team makes what you say you want happen! There is an old Ethiopian proverb that describes the power of a team, “When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.” Wow! Let’s get busy making a team like that!

Leaders, their teams, and their businesses can have it all. What are you waiting for? It’s your time, right now. Let’s get going!

Get Your Resolutions Back on Track

We’ve only reached the mid-point of the first month of the year, and many people have already given up hope on their New Year’s resolutions. How about you – have you gotten off track? If so, you get back on track by:

First and foremost stop making yourself wrong for what you haven’t done. Beating yourself up is a natural tendency, but it has no value in getting you mentally and even physically back online with your goals.

Second, you need to get out your plan and review it, taking particular note of who is on your team. If you don’t have a team of people around you that you allow to hold you accountable and support you in your request to make whatever changes you desire, keeping your resolutions and reaching your goals is going to be much, much harder than it needs to be.

If you could reach your goals by yourself, you would have reached them already. So bottom-line, you have to ask for help and be willing to be held accountable for doing what you say you are going to do!

Finally, when setting off on any resolution or goal you have to maintain an unstoppable mindset. Many times a person will set a by-when and if it doesn’t happen by that time, they quit and put it in the failure column. Those who are most successful and happy in life are unstoppable in their own behalf. They get things done when others say they can’t; they move people when others say they can’t be moved; they see what other people don’t see; they do what others can’t or won’t do! One way of highlighting these features is to never give up… to be unstoppable!

In the end, getting any New Year’s resolution back on track is about forgiveness (of yourself), team, and being unstoppably committed! So which do you choose – to wallow and question: “Why me?” or to be on track, determined, and successful in getting what you say you want in 2010? It is up to you. Remember: You are the only person who has a say in how your life turns out!

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