An Ignoble Experiment: Lead Your Life by Example

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	February 14, 2012 - Vol. 4 Issue 50

Lead Your Life by Example

One way to improve yourself is to learn from someone who already is living an extraordinary life. Here, one of the nation's greatest leaders, Colin Powell, offers his insights into how to lead an exemplary life:

Inspire others. "I do try to inspire," and inspiring goes beyond motivating. People must feel that their efforts matter.

Don't be afraid. "We all make mistakes. What you do with a failure is study it and see what you did wrong, what you did to fail in the situation. Once you've analyzed it and learned from it, roll that mistake up and throw it over your shoulder [and move on]."

Be honest. Colin Powell demanded honesty from his subordinates and encouraged their opinions whether they agreed or dissented, according to Soldier, Karen DeYoung's biography. But when the decision was made, he expected his team members to embrace it as if it had been their own.

Exercise empathy. "I try to be empathetic, trying to see the other person's point of view. In the military, I tried to understand soldiers. In diplomatic life, when I was trying to work on a problem with a foreign minister, I would try to see what he wanted, not just what I wanted. I tried to see what we both would need" to make progress to benefit both sides.

Go with your gut. "We do not have the luxury of collecting information indefinitely. At some point, before we can have every possible fact in hand, we have to decide," Powell writes, saying that he goes with his gut feeling when he has acquired 40 to 70 percent of the information about a situation.

LATEST BLOG POST
Make Love Everyday
by Darren Hardy

The one thing I want more in my life is love.

One of the most valuable personal development principles I was ever taught was:
Don't want what you want. That will only create more want.

Instead: Give what you want. That will ignite the process of creating it.

What do you want?

Confidence? Bolster the confidence of someone else.
Courage? Encourage to someone else.
Hope? Provide hope to someone else.
Money? Give money to support someone/something else.
Belief? Instill belief in someone else.

Love? Give love to someone else.

Being raised without a mother and having Sergeant Gunnery as a father I'm a little uncomfortable expressing my love.

So I started making/giving love privately. I outlined this in The Compound Effect: …"Second, I do something that sounds a bit odd, but I send love to someone. The way to get love is to give it, and one thing I want more of is love. I give love by thinking of one person, anyone (it could be a friend, relative, co-worker, or someone I just met in the supermarket—it doesn't matter), and then I send them love by imagining all that I wish and hope for them. Some would call this a blessing or a prayer; I call it a mental love letter....

This process turns on my love magnets every morning. It's amazing how the world changes around me when I turn on the magnets in the morning.

Another form of love making I do is...