In the Ability to Lead, I quoted Warren Bennis who says, The Lone Ranger is dead.  In order to lead a Great Group, a leader need not possess all the individual skills of the group members.  What he or she must have are vision, the ability to rally the others, and integrity….

A Regional Director is discussing the thrust and directions of the office to her staff.

Visualizing what you want and wish to happen as if it already exists, opens the door to letting it happen.  A leader must have a vision to effectively set priorities and keep people focused and motivated.

Jim Clemmer says, Give it a strong, clear picture of what you want and this creative power starts to work magnetizing conditions about you — attracting to you the things, resources, opportunities, circumstances and even the people you need, to help bring to pass in your outer life what you have pictured . . . what you picture in your mind, if you picture it clearly and confidently and persistently enough, will eventually come to pass in your life . . .

That’s how powerful a vision is to a leader.  What you are thinking and imagining will usually happen, especially if you act on it.

“Soon after the completion of Disney World someone said, ‘Isn’t it too bad Walt Disney didn’t live to see this’. I replied, ‘He did see it – that’s why it’s here’.”
- Mike Vance, creative director, Walt Disney Studios

Disney World was created based of Walt Disney’s strong vision of how it shall look like.

A leader’s vision gives hope to the people especially in times of crisis, stress and difficulty and in state of confusion and despair.  As a leader, you must know where you are going.   Hesburgh says that you can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.

Where there is no vision, there is no hope.
- George Washington Carver

I’m inviting you to share your ideas and opinions on the role of a vision to a leader by leaving your comments below this article.  I love to hear from you.

Your friend,

Nimia Acebes

In the article, Leaders Must Touch the Heart , I quoted these words by John Maxwell, One of the most common mistakes people make is trying to lead others before developing relationships with them.  It happens all the time.  A new manager starts with a company and expects the people working there to respond to his authority without question…the leader expects to make an impact on his people before building the relationship.  It’s possible that the followers will comply with what the leader’s position requires, but they’ll never go beyond that.

To succeed in business, never take people for granted.  Zig Ziglar says, The reality is, regardless of what business we’re in, since it is fueled by people, we are all in the people business.

Having a Sportsfest is one way of developing relationships with people.

Develop relationships with the people you lead through:

1.  Genuine Courtesy. People are delicate and sensitive.   They want to feel important.  Greet your people with a smile and don’t forget the words please and thank you.

Even the little courtesies that we give to them are important.

2.  Respect. Be punctual because punctuality is respect for other people’s time.  Listening is one of the greatest expressions of respect.  Listen to what others are saying and respond only after he finishes his statements.

3.  Appreciation for them and for their point of view

People want to feel valued and cared about.  Appreciate them for their hard work and contribution to the success of any project.  Be specific in your appreciation.  Give praises for their point of view and suggestions for the success of the organization.  Give them small gifts occasionally, as a token of appreciation.

In the book, The Leadership Challenge, James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner say, Leadership is a relationship between those who aspire to lead and those who choose to follow.  It’s the quality of this relationship that matters most when we’re engaged in getting extraordinary things done.  A leader-constituent relationship that’s characterized by fear and distrust will never, ever produce anything of lasting value.  A relationship characterized by mutual respect and confidence will overcome the greatest adversities and leave a legacy of significance.

Public Allies, an AmeriCorps organization dedicated to creating young leaders who can strengthen their communities, sought the opinions of eighteen- to thirty-year-olds on the subject of leadership.  One of the questions was about the important qualities of a good leader.  Topping the respondents’ list is “Being able to see a situation from someone else’s point of view.”  In second place is “Getting along well with other people.”

I shall be very glad if you could leave your comments after reading this article.  I love to hear from you.

Your friend,

Nimia S. Acebes 

A young officer in the Army discovered that he had no change when he tried to buy a soft drink from a vending machine. He flagged down a passing private and asked him, “Do you have change for a dollar?”

The private said cheerfully, “I think so. Let me take a look.”

The officer drew himself up stiffly and said, “Soldier, that is no way to address a superior. We’ll start all over again. Do you have change for a dollar?”

The private came to attention, saluted smartly, and said, “No, sir!”

Each of us commands some authority. There are or will be those we guide, supervise, rear, mentor or lead. Some of us will be effective and others will feel as if we’re running a cemetery: we’ve got a lot of people under us and nobody’s listening.

Much has been written and taught about leadership, but I find that at least four traits are common in all people of authority who effectively elicit cooperation and respect from those who look up to them. Whether you are a parent, whether you find yourself in the workplace, sitting on a volunteer committee or teaching some-one a new skill, these traits will help you effectively guide those who
would seek to follow.

These good leaders are…

L isteners. They take time to listen to the suggestions and concerns of those they endeavor to lead.

E ncouragers. They don’t try to do it all themselves. Neither do they motivate by force or guilt. They encourage others and help bring out their best.

A ssertive. They say what needs to be said without being unkind. They tell the truth as they see it, openly and frankly.

D ecisive. They know what needs to be done and they make timely, even difficult, decisions when necessary. But they can also take charge without running over the people in their lives.

In short, good leaders L-E-A-D!

It’s said that the trouble with being a leader today is that you can’t be sure whether people are following you or chasing you. But those who will develop these four traits are sure to find that their authority will be valued and respected.

– Taken from an article by Steve Goodier on the Four Traits of Effective Leaders at http://www.lifesupportsystem.com

Leaders need to be motivated everyday in order to fuel their enthusiasm to achieve their goals and exceed their performance targets efficiently and effectively.

This is my choice of the 101 best motivational quotes from the top writers and speakers.

Anthony Robbins

1.  A real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken a new action. If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided.

2.  How am I going to live today in order to create the tomorrow I’m committed to?

3.  I challenge you to make your life a masterpiece. I challenge you to join the ranks of those people who live what they teach, who walk their talk.

4.  I’ve come to believe that all my past failure and frustration were actually laying the foundation for the understandings that have created the new level of living I now enjoy.

5.  Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.

Brian Tracy

6.  Your greatest asset is your earning ability. Your greatest resource is your time.

7.  You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.

8.  Whatever you believe with feeling becomes your reality.

9.  All successful people men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose.

10.  Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of evry part of your life.

Robert Kiyosaki

11.  When people are lame, they love to blame.

12.  The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way.

13.  A lot of people are afraid to tell the truth, to say no. That’s where toughness comes into play. Toughness is not being a bully. It’s having backbone.

14.  If you want to go somewhere, it is best to find someone who has already been there.

Deepak Chopra

15.  There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle.

16.  The less you open your heart to others, the more your heart suffers.

17.  The way you think, the way you behave, the way you eat, can influence your life by 30 to 50 years.

18.  If you and I are having a single thought of violence or hatred against anyone in the world at this moment, we are contributing to the wounding of the world.

19.  Our thinking and our behaviour are always in anticipation of a response. It is therefore fear-based.

20.  To think is to practice brain chemistry.

Suze Orman

21.  If the boss is a jerk, get over it. First of all, don’t you think there’s a good chance that your boss’s boss knows what’s going on? If so, just keep your head down and do the work. Usually, if you put in maximum effort and produce excellent results, someone in the company is going to take notice. Either you will get promoted or your jerky boss will get the heave-ho. It happens all the time.

22.  A big part of financial freedom is having your heart and mind free from worry about the what-ifs of life.

23.  Try handling problems in the office as dispassionately as you can and I guarantee you will have a better time of it; not least because when you bring emotion into the conversation, you furnish your colleagues with an easy “out” for dismissing you. If you are able to strip out the emotion, however, people have to deal with you based on the facts.

24.  Whenever you’re confronted with a tough work situation, stop for a second and try to honestly answer this question: Am I approaching this emotionally or am I approaching this professionally?

Stephen Covey

25.  Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly.

26.  While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.

27.  We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.

28.  Don’t argue for other people’s weaknesses. Don’t argue for your own. When you make a mistake, admit it, correct it, and learn from it / immediately.

29.  We may be very busy, we may be very efficient, but we will also be truly effective only when we begin with the end in mind.

30.  Until a person can say deeply and honestly, “I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday,” that person cannot say, “I choose otherwise.”

Jim Rohn

31.  When you know what you want, and want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it.

32.  You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.

33.  You don’t get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.

34.  Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.

35.  If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us.

Zig Ziglar

36.  Every choice you make has an end result.

37.  Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street.

38.  If you wait until all the lights are “green” before you leave home, you’ll never get started on your trip to the top.

39.  If you want to reach a goal, you must ’see the reaching’ in your own mind before you actually arrive at your goal.

40.  People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.

Jack Canfield

41.  People who ask confidently get more than those who are hesitant and uncertain. When you’ve figured out what you want to ask for, do it with certainty, boldness and confidence.

42.  One of the things that may get in the way of people being lifelong learners is that they’re not in touch with their passion. If you’re passionate about what it is you do, then you’re going to be looking for everything you can to get better at it.

43.  Some people fold after making one timid request. They quit too soon. Keep asking until you find the answers. In sales there are usually four or five “no’s” before you get a “yes.”

44.  Success depends on getting good at saying no without feeling guilty. You cannot get ahead with your own goals if you are always saying yes to someone else’s projects. You can only get ahead with your desired lifestyle if you are focused on the things that will produce that lifestyle.

45.  As you begin to take action toward the fulfillment of your goals and dreams, you must realize that not every action will be perfect. Not every action will produce the desired result. Not every action will work. Making mistakes, getting it almost right, and experimenting to see what happens are all part of the process of eventually getting it right.

Mark Victor Hansen

46.  Big goals get big results. No goals gets no results or somebody else’s results.

47.  Dedicate yourself to the good you deserve and desire for yourself. Give yourself peace of mind. You deserve to be happy. You deserve delight.

48.  Ideas attract money, time, talents, skills, energy and other complementary ideas that will bring them into reality.

49.  Improve your business, your life, your relationships, your finances and your health. When you do the whole world improves.

50.  You control your future, your destiny. What you think about comes about. By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands – your own.

Dale Carnegie

51.  You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.

52.  If you can’t sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It’s the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep.

53.  You’ll never achieve real success unless you like what you’re doing.

54.  Flaming enthusiasm backed by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success.

55.  There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts: what we do, how we look,
what we say, and how we say it.

Joe Vitale

56.  Finally, what I really want is to be happy in this moment, where the magic and miracles happen. Stay in the moment and all gifts are added as you breathe and take inspired action.

57.  It’s really important that you feel good. Because this feeling good is what goes out as a signal into the universe and starts to attract more of itself to you. So the more you can feel good, the more you will attract the things that help you feel good and that will keep bringing you up higher and higher.

58.  Start each day off on the right foot.

59.  Thoughts are sending out that magnetic signal that is drawing the parallel back to you.

60.  The thing is, we have to let go of all blame, all attacking, all judging, to free our inner selves to attract what we say we want. Until we do, we are hamsters in a cage chasing our own tails and wondering why we aren’t getting the results we seek.

Norman Vincent Peale

61.  Practice hope. As hopefulness becomes a habit, you can achieve a permanently happy spirit.

62.  Live your life and forget your age.

63.  Change your thoughts and you change your world.

64.  How you think about a problem is more important than the problem itself – so always think positively.

65.  Those who are fired with an enthusiastic idea and who allow it to take hold and dominate their thoughts find that new worlds open for them. As long as enthusiasm holds out, so will new opportunities.

Jeffrey Gitomer

66.  Obstacles can’t stop you. Problems can’t stop you. Most of all other people can’t stop you. Only you can stop you.

67.  Your job is to meet the right people and read the right books.

68.  When you begin to give value to the world, somehow the people you affect will find a way to tell you. Even if it takes a couple of years.

69.  The key is not to “call the decision maker.” The key is to “have the decision maker call you.”
Napoleon Hill

70.  The best job goes to the person who can get it done without passing the buck or coming back with excuses.

71.  Action is the real measure of intelligence.

72.  Do not wait; the time will never be ”just right.” Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.

73.  The world has the habit of making room for the man whose actions show that he knows where he is going.

74.  Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.

75.  What ever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

Leo Buscaglia

76.  It’s not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something.

77.  Love is always changing and unless we stay aware and change with it, it eludes us.

78.  To live in love is to live in life, and to live in life is to live in love.

79.  Life is our greatest possession and love its greatest affirmation.

80.  We are all born with God-given, unique traits and skills. But as with all possibilities they will remain unrealized unless they are developed, nurtured and put into practice.

Og Mandino

81.  Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.

82.  Always seek out the seed of triumph in every adversity.

83.  I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply ALL my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy.

84.  The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting goals and achieving them. Even the most tedious chore will become endurable as you parade through each day convinced that every task, no matter how menial or boring, brings you closer to fulfilling your dreams.

85.  The only people who never fail are those who never try.

Ken Blanchard

86.  Don’t quack like a duck, soar like an eagle.

87.  People who produce good results feel good about themselves.

88.  The best way to teach people is by telling a story.

Earl Nightingale

89.  Creativity is a natural extension of our enthusiasm.

90.  People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going.

91.  All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination.

92.  Everything begins with an idea.

93.  Our attitude towards others determines their attitude towards us.

Robert Allen

94.  You don’t drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.

95.  Don’t let the opinions of the average man sway you. Dream, and he thinks you’re crazy. Succeed, and he thinks you’re lucky. Acquire wealth, and he thinks you’re greedy. Pay no attention. He simply doesn’t understand.

96.  The future you see is the future you get.

97.  If service is the rent you pay for your existence on this earth, are you behind in your rent?

98.  Fear melts when you take action towards a goal you really want.

Les Brown

99.  Life takes on meaning when you become motivated, set goals and charge after them in an unstoppable manner.

100.  If you fall, fall on your back. If you can look up, you can get up.
101.  Don’t let someone else’s opinion of you become your reality.

I hope this list has inspired you and I’m happy if you could share your favorites by leaving your comments below this post.

Your friend,

Nimia Acebes

Inspirational texts and motivational tapes and CDs lift our spirits when we are depressed.  We also need motivational messages in the morning to set the mood of the day and for our personal development.

Here, I am sharing with you my own choice of the top ten motivational gurus, whose speeches and writings have encouraged us towards self-improvement.

1. Anthony Robbins

Born February 29, 1960, is an American self-help writer and professional speaker. He became well known through the use of firewalking in his seminars. He initially studied Neuro-Linguistic Programming but went on to develop his own methods. He is now considered as the Leader of Leaders and the world’s best success coach.

2. Brian Tracy

Brian Tracy is a recognized expert on business and leadership. He has studied, researched, written and spoken for 30 years in the fields of economics, history, business, philosophy and psychology. He has consulted for more than 1,000 companies and addressed more than 4,000,000 people in 4,000 talks and seminars throughout the US, Canada and 40 other countries worldwide.

3. Robert Kiyosaki

An investor, businessman, self-help author and motivational speaker. Kiyosaki is best known for his Rich Dad, Poor Dad series of motivational books and other material. He has written 15 books which have combined sales of over 26 million copies. Three of his books, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Rich Dad’s CASHFLOW Quadrant, and Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing, have been on the top 10 best-seller lists simultaneously on The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and theNew York Times.

4. Deepak Chopra

Deepak Chopra is a world-renowned authority in the field of mind-body healing, a best- selling author, and the founder of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing. Heralded by Time Magazine as the “poet-prophet of alternative medicine,” he is also the host of the popular weekly Wellness Radio program on Sirius/XM Stars.

Dr. Chopra is the prolific author of more than fifty-five books, including fourteen bestsellers on mind-body health, quantum mechanics, spirituality, and peace.

5. Suze Orman

An American financial advisor, author, motivational speaker, and television host. She is the host of The Suze Orman Show on CNBC. She has written six consecutive New York Times Best Sellers; has written, co-produced, and hosted six PBS specials based on her books; and is the most successful fundraiser in the history of public television. Similar programs that she hosts on QVC, the leading home shopping network, also place her as the top seller.

6. Stephen Covey

Dr. Covey dedicates his life to teaching principle-centered living and leadership to individuals, families, and organizations. Holder of an MBA from Harvard and a doctorate degree from Brigham Young University, Dr. Covey is author of the international bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, named the #1 Most Influential Business Book of the Twentieth Century, and other best sellers that include First Things First , Principle-Centered Leadership, and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families.

7. Jim Rohn

For more than 40 years, Jim Rohn honed his craft like a skilled artist—helping people the world over sculpt life strategies that have expanded their imagination of what is possible. Those who had the privilege of hearing him speak can attest to the elegance and common sense of his material. It is no coincidence, then, that he is widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers of our time, and thought of by many as a national treasure. Jim authored countless books and audio and video programs.

8. Zig Ziglar

A popular American motivational speaker and self help author. He came from humble beginnings to be an expert sales person, best selling author, and highly sought after public speaker. Ziglar has successfully blended his own religious beliefs with positive thinking to create a philosophy that  is his own. He penned a 2007 book entitled God’s Way Is Still the Best Way.

9. Jack Canfield

As the beloved originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, Jack Canfield fostered the emergence of inspirational anthologies as a genre – and watched it grow to a billion dollar market. As the driving force behind the development and delivery of over 100 million books sold through the Chicken Soup for the Soul franchise, Jack Canfield is uniquely qualified to talk about success.

He’s personally taught millions of individuals his unique and modernized formulas for success and has packaged them in his latest book: The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.

10. Mark Victor Hansen

With his endearing charismatic style, Mark captures his audience’s attention as well as their hearts. With his one-of-a-kind technique and masterful authority of his work, time and again he continues to receive high accolades from his audiences as one of the most dynamic and compelling speakers of our time.

The Chicken Soup idea was just one of many that has propelled Mark into a worldwide spotlight as a sought-after keynote speaker, best-selling author and marketing maven.

He is also a prolific writer with many popular books such as The Power of Focus, The Aladdin Factor, Dare to Win and others.

You might also have your own choice and I’m glad if you could share it with us by leaving your comments below this post.

Your friend,

Nimia Acebes

I have just read one of the popular posts of Bob Bessette titled “Cubicle Bliss: 10 Steps to create an inspiring workspace” at his website at http://totallyuniquelife.com or you may also reach it by visiting www.bobbessette.com.  I like the intelligent way he presented his steps.

He listed down these 10 steps to create an inspiring workspace:

1. Keep it clean!

2. Get a comfortable chair and keyboard.

3. Surround yourself with words to live by.

4. Quotes, quotes, and more quotes.

5. Display your weekly tasks prominently.

6. Display your yearly goals prominently.

7. Buy some cool stuff for the cubicle.

8. A pic says a thousand words.

9. Collect artifacts and display them.

10. Soothing Sounds.

I agree with his steps but step number 2 depends upon the availability of funds in the office where you are connected.  For the pictures,  place them in a folder in your laptop, or in a photo album or in a scrapbook.  For ease of performance,  keep decorative objects and  personal mementos in a spot where they won’t get in your way or distract you.

It is important that you make your workplace an inspiring and livable one because you spend more of your waking hours at the office than at home.  Another step that I could add is color coding in the office, including files.  It is a remarkable innovation because it makes the work area bright and a cheerful place to work in.

I know you also have your own list of steps and I will be very glad if you could share it with everyone by leaving your comments below this article.

Your friend,

Nimia Acebes