If you want to get to a better place, “Choose Different.”

Same choices = same results. Doing what you are doing is what has you where you are. In other words, where you are is a choice.

At the end of my driveway there are two options. Left or right. Both are equally available, but only one can win out. And my choice always determines my destination.

If you are not satisfied with where you are, then blame the chooser … the one in the mirror.

Unstuck traction is accessible. But only if YOU, choose different.

i2i,

Randy

What is one thing you want to do differently during the month of May?

Leadership is often filled with paradoxes. A paradox is defined as, “A statement or proposition that, despite sound reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory.”

The following list of paradoxes was developed by Dale Burke in his book, “Less is More Leadership.” Chew on these today and make adjustments in your leadership, as necessary.

In order to be relevant, stay ancient. 

In order to move forward, connect to the past. 

In order to serve more people, first get away from everyone. 

In order to speed up, first slow down. 

In order to accomplish more, go take a break. 

In order to make a statement, first be quiet and listen. 

In order to get moving, make sure you are well anchored.

i2i,

Randy

Which one of these needs some attention from you this week?

Is there another paradox you would add to Burke’s list?

In his book, “How the Mighty Fall,” Jim Collins references the Anna Karenina Principle. The principle comes from Leo Tolstoy’s book, Anna Karenina,which begins: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Collins makes the point from the quote that there are more ways to fall than there are to become great.

Let me suggest four:

1 – Forget what got you here.  There are certain disciplines and practices that helped you to achieve the success you have. Taking your eye off of those things will eventually bring you down. Those who are ruthless in their discipline are the ones who remain successful. If you find yourself struggling, maybe now would be a good time to go back to doing what you used to do when you were in a growth mode.

2 – Forget where you are going. Why are you in business? What is your mission? Those are questions that need to be asked often. They should shape your decision making, resources, and your alignment as an organization. If you stop focusing on why you exist, you are headed for a fall.

3 – Forget who helped you along the way. All leaders need to remember that many people have invested to help them get to where they are.  Be grateful and make sure you express your thanks to the appropriate people.

4 – Forget who you are trying to help. Just as someone invested in you, you should in turn invest in someone else. The point of your leadership is not to create a better life for yourself, rather to leverage your influence to bless others. The happiest people I know are more others focused than they are self-centered.

Today is a great day to . . . refuse to forget.

i2i,

Randy

Is there something else you would add to my list?

April Reminder … Order copies of my book, FINDING YOUR WAY: Discovering the Truth About You, during the month of April and receive free shipping. Click here to get your copy or visit findingyourway.us.

I am a big fan of Sir Ken Robinson. In his book, “Out of Our Minds,” Robinson remembers these words of Abraham Lincoln, spoken to congress in 1862. “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves and then we shall save our country.”

Robinson comments, “I love the word ‘disenthrall.’ What he (Lincoln) meant was that we all live our lives guided by ideas to which we are devoted but which may no longer be true or relevant. We are hypnotized or enthralled by them. To move forward we have to shake free of them.”

When it comes to your leadership world, where are you enthralled these days? That hypnotic place where you have married yourself to what used to work. Perhaps it is time to wrestle with what is relevant and make a commitment to “shake free” of something that is holding you back.

Disenthrall literally means, “To free from bondage.” 

If the status quo has you in chains, it is time to disenthrall.

i2i,

Randy

Why do you think leaders are so bound to ‘what used to work?’

Today you will make an important decision. You will either be a consumer or a contributor. The difference????

Consumers: Think about themselves; Complain; Blame; Take; Cut corners; Are never satisfied.

Contributors: Think about others; Understand themselves; Take responsibility; Share; Wait; Understand that satisfaction comes from being a contributor.

So decide. Will you be a consumer or a contributor today?

i2i,

Randy

What is one way you hope to be a contributor today?