In trying to get some inspiration for this new venture I decided to turn to my son.  I simply asked him: “What’s the best thing I’ve ever shared with you?”  After some time had passed, we both moved on to other things & frankly I thought he’d forgotten.  He eventually came over to me & said the best thing I’d shared with him was………time!

Well, needless to say, this blew me away.  We all search for things in which to be proud of our kids but this simple answer struck me as profound for a teenager.

The only thing we all have in common is time.  Several months ago I was speaking with a great friend about this subject & he said this is how he explains it to his university students.  “Time is like having to spend all your money every day, it’s a precious commodity, use it wisely!”  -Dr. Joe Spaniola  A profound analogy for sure.

“Don’t count the days, make the days count!”  -Muhammad Ali

Love this quote, we lost a great one recently for sure.  His ability to connect with people through his larger than life personality & gracious spirit was invaluable.  Above all, he gave them the most precious gift he had…his time.

On your very best day at work; the day you came home & think you have the best job in the world; what did you do that day?

I’m sure you’ve seen this in some form before.  In answering this question we connect our passion inside our chosen profession & discover our effortless intangible qualities!

Should we focus on how we use the time we devote to people/projects?  Is there another approach?  A few years ago I stumbled on an article in Harvard Business Review that proposed “energy” instead of time management.  How & when we use our mental, physical, emotional & spiritual energies can be just the switch needed to feel great about our choices.  Here it is for reference.

manage-your-energy-not-your-time

Activity vs. Achievement

Coach John Wooden speaks to this very eloquently, just check out his great TED Talk here for his awesome insights.  Are we being compensated for the stuff we do or are we valued instead for our ideas, creativity, mentorship & development contributions?  As technology advances the jobs humans do will get increasingly more demanding in the “soft-skill” areas.  Work in these aspects will help bring the “beautiful” nature of our talents to the forefront!

Busy is a choice!

We always find time for the things that are important to us.  This is the bottom line.  Try to spend less time on the less important stuff.  Although these are sometimes essential to the enterprise, getting back to the aspects only we as unique individuals contribute leads to accomplishing the right things.  Keeping our motivation & engagement high will consistently build trust!

Thanks for the inspiration son!

All the best,

Karl

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If we stopped to think about how many decisions we make each & every day it would be a daunting task.  Would we be satisfied with the outcomes?  What would we learn?

In this offering, hopefully, we’ll keep the conversation going about our own personal aspirations, development & transformational leadership.  Please comment or connect so we can learn from each other through our experiences to live the life we dream about!

In today’s world, it seems we have learned how to be distracted by all the wonderful technology available.  Being bombarded by information can derail our effectiveness in making meaningful decisions that positively affect those we are trusted with leading.  Having a personal system to help us make decisions consistent with our values is a powerful tool.  Let’s check out how (to me) the Man of Steel does it….if he were real!

The “Superman Rule”

Make the best decision(s) possible to benefit the most amount of people regardless of the consequences for yourself.

This might seem a bit utilitarian in nature but it really helps keep me grounded & focused on others in making big or small decisions.  Throughout his history, Superman has stayed true to his belief of being here on earth to HELP!  His strong character base has been tested over & over again.  The struggle is real to us!  This is one of the reasons we love his story & why it remains relevant to our human existence.

None of us will ever have the responsibility of using other-worldly powers to affect the outcome of events.  I’m sure as kids we all had fantasies about having special powers of one kind or another but, alas, it was not to be.  However, we can move forward in a positive manner by using his example of strong purpose, courage & steadfast moral compass.  After all, a perfectly normal human invented him & challenged our thoughts on what it means to lead!

We can see how & what he does but it’s in the “why” we discover the most impactful aspect of his (pretend) life on earth.  Read a comic or watch one of the movies again with the intent of extracting leadership lessons from his decisions.  I’m sure you’ll get a totally different meaning from them this time around.  What decision would you have made in a similar situation based on your values & purpose?  Whether good or bad, we always find what we’re looking for…stay positive!

“Nearly all men can stand adversity but if you want to test a man’s character give him power.”           -Abraham Lincoln

Not only was he one of the greatest leaders in history but was also an optimist with his vision of what America could become.  He stayed true to his values & communicated them in a common sense way that was easily understood.    What great historical leaders do you most identify with?  Why?

By seeking to understand before being understood, our empathy is displayed & we build the trust of others.  The Superman Rule will hopefully put decisions in a manageable context to focus our leadership on serving others first!

All the best!

Karl
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