Everyone has big goals and ambitions; things that they would love to achieve but may seem out of reach. Whether it is a successful, self-built business, a loving relationship that lasts for life, or just the idea of yourself being fit and happy, all these things are achievable. You just need to plan properly and follow-through, here’s how.
John Ramstead got the chance to speak with Rob Shallenberger about 4 of his 12 principles to becoming your best in episode 261 of the Eternal Leadership podcast.
The interesting thing is that every single step has to do with leadership.
When we look at our lives, in both the areas we are happy with and the ones we are not, we notice that every area is influenced by how we are acting as a leader. You don’t have to be a CEO or head manager to be a leader.
The Key to Success
Servant leadership is the key to success in all areas. This is the idea that to be a leader is not to lord power over others, but to serve others in a humble way that inspires them to the same actions.
Becoming your best starts with a mindset; the idea that everything can be done better. Getting comfortable is the greatest obstacle to forward progress. When we think things are good enough or don’t want to change because it might not work, we begin to stagnate. The greatest leaders in all areas have a constant drive to improve. In order to always be improving, there are some steps we must take.
Your Four Steps Forward
Step One
Be true to your character. When anyone begins building a house, the first and most important step is setting a stable foundation. We must define and then live by a set of values. I have found that when working towards goals and living a life that aligns with my core values, I feel fulfilled and I look toward each new day.
When I don’t feel like I am living in my values, I just feel drained and unmotivated. It is crucially important that we take the time to define what values such as integrity, kindness, humility, are important to us and then look at our daily lives and see what matches up and what doesn’t. It is then the responsibility of a leader to have the hard conversations with those around us if they are violating the values of the workplace.
Step Two
Define your vision. Your vision isn’t some ten-page paper of everything you want out of life, but instead a short two sentences for each area of your life. This will force you to get to the core of what you want and be simple enough to be able to build a clear plan. It also helps with the first step of being true to character. It is hard to fall away from those core principles if you have a vision that affects what you do daily.
For example, if you are married, one of the areas would be your marriage. “I want my spouse to feel like the most loved person on earth.” Is a good example of a vision statement. This takes arguments and other things that might affect that relationship and makes it simple. Instead of staying mad over an argument for a few days, looking at this vision statement should lead us to apologize and make up quickly.
Step Three
Managing a plan. We take the vision statements for the areas of our lives and make goals for the next year or two. Then share these goals with 3-5 people you trust for accountability!
Once we have people to be accountable to, it takes away our ability to let things fall by the wayside and forget about them. Along with the goals for our marriage, career, hobby, etc. we need to make goals for our personal care. These goals should be things to help care for your heart, body, and mind. Keep yourself healthy, always be learning, and develop healthier and happier relationships.
Step Four
The fourth, and maybe most important step, is pre-week planning. It is important to have those big goals that we want to achieve in the future, but the way to truly achieve greatness is to sit down for 30 mins before each new week and set goals for each of the defined areas in your life. These need to be specific things.
To use the marriage example again, a good goal would be to give your spouse a hand-written card telling them everything you love about them, and a bad goal would be something abstract like to listen better. When you make these weekly goals, it is also very important that you decide then and there what day and time you will do those things. There is a great productivity assessment on Rob’s website (becomingyourbest.com) that you can use to see how you are doing now, and then compare how you are doing after trying these steps for a month or two.
What’s Next?
Too often today we have these general far-off ideas of what we want and feel like we aren’t getting anywhere. Take the time to define the values that matter to you, the areas of your life that matter, and take the time to make yearly and weekly goals that advance you in those areas. Do this and you will keep moving ahead in a truly extraordinary way.
Let us know what your next step is in the comments below or join in on the discussion with the Eternal Leadership Community
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