John's Blog

Entrepreneur, manager, and politician are roles that each require it's own set of unique skills, but does not guarantee that the title holder is a leader.  A person gets the title of leader by way of birthing a vision. The leader was, is, and always will be the vision owner and curator, responsible for taking it from inception to completion, with the effective and efficient help of a team.  Anyone that feels strongly enough to act on a vision can lead. Having a vision obviously doesn't mean the person will be a good leader. Like any skill, leadership is loaded with various principles, strategies, and techniques, requiring study and practice to master.  Many visions lay dormant on the shelf of "one day," collecting dust. The owners of the " vision-in-storage" become reluctant to dust the vision off and make it happen, because they feel unworthy of the leader position.  Instead of letting your vision decay into "regret," equip yourself wi...

Hundreds of thousands of new ventures, fresh visions and infant businesses die, because the leader didn't know how to get it going. Of all the things your "new life" needs to survive, momentum is crucial.   Without a doubt, a clear future vision defines why we do it. Growth gurus want us to diligently sort a one year, a three year, and a ten year plan, because it's the "year of vision." Pffft! Those plans will be a fat load of useless if you dont action it tomorrow.  The saying, "objects at rest want to stay at rest," applies to your vision too. Have you noticed the tiny steps given by the strong man as he starts to pull the heavy truck? These little steps focus all his power to move the truck forward just an inch. Our vision needs tiny steps of focused power to get the first sign of movement. Focusing on just "the next step," creates the initial movement in our vision.  The following step will need less force to move the visi...

Asking someone to believe in their own greatness may be too much. Instead, ask them to believe in the calling, and the Caller.  A lone bush burning in the desert may not seem strange to some folks, but it caught the attention of the only person camping nearby as odd. Then, to make things really creepy, the bush spoke, nearly causing Moses to seek shelter inside his own belly button.   The story of God calling on Moses to lead the people of Israel out of Egyot strongly resonates within me, not that I've ever heard God speak from a burning bush. I like Moses's story, because it's so honest... funny, but honest. It represents the way in which so many of us respond to the calling on our lives.  The excuse Moses used to delay his calling was "I, I, s, stu, I stutt, I s, s, I stutter..." If only I could get dollar for every time someone used an excuse to get out of their calling, I'd be a gazillionaire! Even though he was raised in a royal house, our ...

We all look up to and admire a good leader, impressed by their skill, tenacity, and authenticity. We recognise that rallying people behind a single objective in a mutually beneficial way is extremely difficult. We even recognise that not everyone can be a good leader, and that it takes a special kind of person to fill leadership shoes.  So, why is it that we call leadership a "soft skill"? Why is it that a "leadership course" shouldn't be longer than four days? Why is it that the teaching of leadership, a skill globally recognised as prolific and difficult, is treated with such contempt? Maybe insecure people in leadership positions don't want competition and downplay proper training. Maybe labelling leadership as a soft skill was a marketing mistake made universities and educators.  Soft skills...! Don't talk stupid.  People don't enlist for leadership training for two main reasons: first, leadership is horribly misunderstood. Second, lead...

Walking along a desolate sandbar on the shores of an Indian river, Payeng's heart broke as he wept aloud for the death he witnessed.  All forms of reptiles and birds had died of exposure to a terrible storm on the river banks just days before. The cruel sandbank offered the animals no protection from the elements.    Fourteen year old Payeng went home and devised a plan. It was simple, he would plant and nurture saplings on the desolate sandbank until there was enough habitat to offer protection to all the animals. This plan would also prevent soil erosion on the largest river island, Majuli.  Thirty years later, Mr. Payeng has planted enough trees to create a forest covering 550 hectors, the equivalent of fifteen football stadiums. The Molai forest, created by Payeng, is now home to deer, tigers, rabbits, birds and more. How is this possible?  The dedication of one person to do something each day that may only make a small difference in the moment,...

"WTF!" This was my standard response to the "your-daily-habits-are-the -foundation-of-your-success" type leadership quotes, that is, until I discovered the power and purpose of mission.   My dad was a "stand up" guy when it came to work ethic. He would get up at four in the morning, do his daddy chores and still be in the office at 06:30 sharp. He was committed, determined and loyal towards his job, but he was just an average man and for all of his hard work, he never amounted to much.   I don't mean to sound ungrateful, nor am I attacking what my dad did to support his family. The point is that leadership quotes often imply that success is the result of hard work, but evidence in the real world suggests that success needs something more.   Shaun's dad was also commited to family and job, but with very different results. Shaun's dad worked hard at cultivating an attitude of service to others. He also worked to deliberately grow his s...

Get out of the box Part 5 - Fear of Failure.  We've briefly looked at three sides of the box that keeps us in complacency. Surprisingly, the emphasises in the last side is not on failure, but on the fear of that failure.   If I asked you: "What's the opposite of success," are you likely to answer with: "failure"? Most people would, and why not? That's what we've been taught.   We have, however, seen in this series that Thomas Edison, with his ten thousand attempts at making the light bulb, doesn't regard failure as the opposite of success, but rather, he sees failure as a necessary part of the path to success. Many great people from history share Edison's view of failure.   So, what would Edison and his illustrious group of powerful friends regard as the opposite of success? The answer is "fear."  By way of simple definition, success means "satisfactory completion of a goal, task or action." Success is the happy...

Get out of the box - Part 4 - Fear of the unknown.    The most common barrier to getting out of the box of complacency is the fear of the unknown. When encountering this fear in others, you must know that they have not planned!    Planning removes the impact of the "unknown" element, and replaces it with "calculated risk."    People wrongly believe that they can just "wing it" through this life, and still enjoy the benefits of success. Nothing could be further from the truth.    Winging it through life is like standing up on a public platform to do an unprepared speech - it results in a lot of incoherent rambling that goes nowhere and means nothing.   When asked to prepare for a thirty minute speech at Cambridge University, Winston Churchill said he needed two weeks to prepare. When asked how long he would need to prepare for a two hour speech, he replied "I'm ready now."    Life is like a thirty minute speech, it ne...

Get out the box - Part 2 - Success is a numbers game.  The box of complacency is a four-sided prison of our own making, locking us into the rut of mediocrity.  The first side of the box is called: "the lack of instant feedback." People are unwilling to get out of the box because their previous attempts have not produced results quick enough.  Our "instant" mentality is fueled by instant access to information, entertainment, and services through the hand-held computers we all carry, called cell phones.  Our world has geared around producing instant feedback. Even our restaurants cater to this insatiable appetite for immediate results. We don't even have to go into the restaurant anymore. We drive up to a window to order, drive to the next window to collect, and instantly we have our food.  This desire for "instant feedback" has spilled into our drive for personal and business success. In reality, success is a result of good ideas, hard work a...

It's not in the comfort zone that you will discover your greatness. No! When standing amidst the lions in the den, you realise that the Power in you is far greater than the jaws of death.    It is easy to believe that you are strong, wise, or powerful while standing in the middle of your comfort zone, never confronting a real enemy in a real battle.    Very few people venture beyond the walls of the safe house to discover the true beauty of this life. Those that do leave are divided into two groups: the mad dogs and the patrolling lions.   Mad dogs are annoyingly easy to identify by the incedeous noise they make. They constantly bark about their feats of strength and victory, and howl about their greatness as a way to scare off potential threats lurking in the darkness.    Sadly, the mad dog is driven by his or her fears, and fail to discover who they really are as they hide behind the noise of empty boasting.   Mad dogs easily fall vi...

The call on each person to "influence and leadership" is not about bringing change to THE world, but rather, to change YOUR world.    The concept of leadership is misunderstood by most people to mean "those with global power and universal influence that control all the other little puppets in the world," instantly excluding themselves from the sphere of leadership and influence.    When thinking about leadership, most people imagine "world changers," like Ghandi or Bill Gates, but see themselves as having little or no influence. As a consequence, people believe that they are not leaders.    This perception is simply wrong.    When you realise that Ghandi and Bill Gates did not start their journey as "global influencers," but were merely people with a dream, you will recognise that they both answered a call to change their own individual worlds first.    Stepping out and acting on their personal dream allowed their influence t...

Our personal development and life success is directly linked to the statement: "I am the way, the truth and the life."    Each of our missions in life uses this legendary quote as a map to growth through: focus, momentum and mastery.    Just in case the process is not clear: focus equates the way, momentum equates the truth, and mastery equates the life.    Some people incorrectly hold the belief that we must first discover truth, which then magically opens "the way" for us. In reality, we need to progress along the way in order to discover our personal truth.    Testing the leadership model, the U49, I set out on a personal growth path, exercising my mission as I went. I had preselected a random mission as part of an experiment to prove the effectiveness of the leadership model.    The experiment required me to dedicate one hour a day of focused time and effort, performing the various tasks within my selected mission, for a p...

In the dying seconds of the game, the team's star player does a twist, fooling the opponent. The star sidesteps another challenger, and with a flourish - scores again!    In the after-game interview, the star player tells how being in the "zone" gave them "move-prediction" powers, supported by super strength and stamina, making winning a sure thing.     As "fans" we swoon at the thought of our star's abilities on the field, and at their charisma off it.    With glittery admiration we wish, oh, we so wish we were them for a day! Would you want to have the skills and abilities of a great sportsman or woman for a day?    Would you like to jog onto the pitch, walk into the office, or swagger into the arena, knowing you were empowered with your hero's abilities, skills, or focus? Of course you would! We all would like some hero's ability in one form or another! That's not the question we should be asking. The real question is: wh...

You are not a product of your past, but of the choices and actions you take now.     As a ship moves, it leaves a trail or a track of its travel through the water. You can easily tell where the ship has been by looking at this disturbance that we call a wake.     As much as we can see the ship's past path by observing the wake, it has no direct bearing on the ships movement now or its progress in the future.     It would be ridiculous to claim that the resulting wake has an influence on the ships current direction.     To claim that your life now is a product of your past, is to claim that you have no power to influence your actions or decisions.     Your life is a product of the now. You live as you choose to behave in the moment.     When looking at a clock on the wall, mindless of the countless times the hands have travelled around and around again, we call the time as we see it now.     Your past is...

"All your arty words and clever philosophies mean nothing to me.   "Your 'I am' and 'peronal truth' crap has no relevance in my life, or anyone elses for that matter.   "I work and live in the real world. I have what I want and I'm slowing down for my old age.   "I don't need you and all your motivational bullshit, because I'm already motivated." He smugly sipped his beer and slumped into his chair.   "Check!"  Previously, I would have kept quiet, and left the ignorant to their devices. However, this is the year of the teaspoon. So, buckle up buttercup, because here comes a stirring.   "You sit confident in the things you have amassed in life; car, house and a seemingly secure job.  "You are lulled into complacency by objects that break, rust and are stolen, and think you're better off for it. Really?   "You think 'I am' is empty and disconnected, when your view of self is direc...

Truth and Deception may be opposites on the scale of "desirable," but they are grossly enmeshed by a great equalizer called 'self.'     Self Deception is the two-faced enemy of our success. The first face is deception that we are not 'good enough.' We conjure up lies about our worth that works magic to keep us dumb, pathetic, and purposeless.     Once we break free from the depressing shackles of self doubt, by realising the Sea of Potential we possess is enough to overcome any limitation - we suddenly meet the second face of Self Deception.     This cunning enemy comes as our 'friend', stroking our ego and allowing us to wallow is self glorification, believing we are greater than we actually are.     In this delusion of Grandeur, we adopt self -awarded titles reserved for recognition by others, like 'leader' or 'influencer', which inflate our arrogance and sharpens the axe of pride that will eventually cut us down to size....

Why are we really here? To pay tax and then die?   Goodness! I hope there is a lot more to our existence on this odd little rock than death and taxes.     I used to observe those people that had clicked into a sense of their purpose with wonder.  Trying to find the common key to unlock my own destiny, I noted that just as many of the purposeful where devotees to some form of religion as those that were not. Spirituality did not seem to be a factor in discovering purpose.    A factor that did separate the purposeful from the rest was the intense sense of self they had.    The purposeful have a clear image of who they are, and embrace it without remorse, and without arrogance. Identifying their talents and abilities, the purposeful unashamesly pursue excellence, allowing their gifts and talents to carry them to the top of their field... and in no uncertain terms - to make a shit load of money in the process.    In contrast,...

How well would you fare in the Dragon's Den?  Inspired by the TV show, where entrepreneurs stand in front of potential investors to ask for money for a share of the business, I started to wonder ...  Not that I'm starting a company and need investment. No, I wondered how I would fare in front of a panel pitching me, and what I believe about the world and all in it. I'm not one to be easily swayed by the opinions of others. I past needing validation from people a long time ago. I wanted to know: if I was "the company," would people choose to invest or not. Cowardness, or fear of the truth or (maybe) both, caused me to forego a panel of real people. Instead I elected a panel of mirrors.  I took the tall, thin mirror from the hallway. In my mind this mirror represent a tall, thin man, experienced in business, especially finance, intelligent, and maybe a little mean and a little cold.  I took the rectangular mirror with its pine frame from the bathroom....

So, I believe my mission in life is to play the role of a teaspoon🥄. Yes, you read that correctly. Why a teaspoon, you ask. Well, I am.  When, for example,  making, a cup of coffee, and you have all the ingredients in the cup, you add the hot water, but do you drink it straight away?  No, of course not. You take a teaspoon (should be called a coffee spoon for this example 🤷‍♂️😁) and you stir...  The ingredients need to be stirred to properly mix them, giving a happy flavour experience all the way to the bottom of the cup.  In my mind, the teaspoon🥄 brings nothing nor removes anything from the cup of coffee, it is used to stir. EFG 😈  I believe people (yes, you are a people) have everything they need for life and godliness already. Sometimes people (you) just need to be stirred a little to remind you, to permeate you with the full coffee flavour throughout your cup of life.  Public courses, books, articles, videos, and one-on-one ...

Wait now, Sausage. Let's just unravel this quickly. When peering into the mirror,  we were taught to look beyond the reflection, to deep, deep within the soul of the face staring back. We were taught to search in ourselves what we could become. This lesson then forged a path of constant change for us. We nip, tuck, chisel and chop our way through life to reveal the gem we once saw, hidden in the depths of our reflection. In the process, we sacrifice our true identity and align with "Human Becomings". We ought to look in the mirror and see who we really are, walk away and live up to that image - a Human Being - a true expression of a perfect creation, called you.