How to Be a Leader

What does it take for someone to be a leader?

Some people believe that you must be born with it. While it may be true that some people possess a natural ability towards leadership, it can be learned. Like anything else, you get better at it with practice.

One of the key features of a leader is to lead by example. Our society has gotten too used to the idea that leaders simply bark orders at people. They expect people to follow those orders without the willingness to do the tasks themselves. Leaders need to be the captains of the ship and be willing to go down with the ship.

Another role of a leader is to take responsibility for your actions. Don’t pass the blame onto others. If you assume or accept a leadership role, then you will be looked upon to guide those you lead. Own up to your mistakes and figure out alternative courses of action when needed.

A leader should also have a vision for their organization.

You should know what you are trying to accomplish and figure out how you are going to get there. To continue with the captain of the ship analogy, you need to map out a route to take the ship.

When you are leading others, you need to display confidence. When people view you as a confident leader, they will do whatever you ask of them. There is a difference between confidence and arrogance. Be careful not to confuse the two even though they sometimes can cross.

Leaders are allowed to make mistakes.

How they recover from those mistakes defines their ability to lead. If you hide from the problem, you will lose the confidence that others have placed in you. Face up to the adversity of the situation and figure out how to handle it. This can require some tough decisions, but that is part of the role of the leader.

Leaders should listen to the people they are leading.

If you take the approach that you are always right, you will set the stage for a group of yes people. What this means is you will need to be responsible for every decision, even the ones that you thought you were delegating. Hire the right people and let them do their jobs. Listen to their concerns. Listening to others does not imply caving into their demands. You simply need to take what others say into consideration.

How to Develop the Courage to Lead

It takes courage to be a leader, but even if you have fears that have kept you from leadership roles so far doesn’t mean that you can’t overcome them and achieve positions of leadership.

Each decision you make in your personal and business life is a testament to your courage. Something as simple as refusing a rich dessert because you want to stay fit takes a certain amount of courage if you have gnawing cravings for sugar.

Other decisions you must make may be monumental and require the courage of a lion. A decision to quit a high-paying job to follow your life’s dream is a major decision that takes courage – and planning. And, some decisions may seem unimportant in the moment, but later you may see that they were life-changing.

Courage promotes confidence and self-esteem and builds a framework in which you can accomplish pretty much anything you set out to do. Think of the genius, Stephen Hawking, and how much he overcame to become one of the leading scientists and writers of our time.

It must have taken a tremendous amount of courage for Hawking to work through physical disabilities and manage to keep the passion for his work. Another great leader of courage was King George VI of England who overcame a speech impediment to give one of the greatest speeches at a time when the world needed it most.

Working through your greatest fears to have the courage to do something remarkable can lead you to the success. Here are some steps you can take in your own life that will help you build the courage you need to accomplish anything:

  1. Create a positive environment – Surround yourself with people who are positive and who believe in you. Building skills and talents needs those who will bolster your self-confidence and increase your self-worth.
  2. Maintain a positive attitude – Dealing with issues that challenge you can be turned into an opportunity for success. Try to think of each challenge in your life as an opportunity to use your skills and instincts to overcome and triumph.
  3. Get out of your comfort zone – You’ll never develop courage if you’re in a rut. Each day, find something challenging and outside of what you normally do and try it. When you open yourself to various situations, you learn to cope.
  4. Don’t let fear hold you back – Humans can become fearful of anything. Even situations that are supposed to be happy can become fearful if you over-think the situation. Get rid of those “what ifs” in your mind and replace them with positive thoughts.
  5. Enjoy the struggle – Yes, you can enjoy the challenges that life brings if you know that it’s building the courage inside you that will spur you on to bigger and better things. Life’s challenges only serve to make you a stronger and more courageous person.

Each time you accomplish something or overcome a fear, your confidence will grow stronger. The courage of a true leader is accomplished by taking small steps rather than overcome one big challenge, so take the steps to build your courage and be amazed at the results.

Monday Morning thoughts

Advice from the Institute of Physics in the UK!

We might not always be aware of it, but we tell stories all the time. Whether telling someone what we did over the weekend or explaining how we came up with a certain idea for a project, we use story telling to share our emotions, experiences and knowledge. 

And we have been doing so throughout history. Stories have allowed us to pass on information from one generation to the next in the form of books, visuals and the spoken word. Some cultures rely heavily – or solely in some cases – on oral storytelling to pass on traditions, values and beliefs. Members of the Native American Abenaki tribe, for example, have traditionally told their children stories as a way to teach them right from wrong and so instil core values in them. Fairy tales have done the same for many cultures for hundreds of years.

So why stories? What makes them so valuable? 

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

First and foremost, stories allow us to make sense of the world around us. The way this works is quite simple: our brains are hardwired to look for patterns, i.e. finding links between cause and effect. This is how we learn from a young age. For example, if we touch something very hot and it hurts our hand we make the causal connection between the two and learn not to touch that thing again. The end result of this thought process is a story, which we can then share with others to spread our knowledge.

Stories can touch us in any number of ways. They can open our minds to new perspectives, inspire and persuade us, help build our confidence, grow a sense of inclusion and incite change. Ultimately, they can be used to shape our values and beliefs. Think, for example, of how stories are used within religion and politics to influence how people think and what they believe.

Photo by Daniela Constantini on Pexels.com

A story’s power comes from its narrative form, which draws us in much more than dry facts ever could. Evidence from neuroscience suggests that when we listen to a story our brain patterns start to mirror those of the speaker, allowing us to connect on a deeper level. The way a story is structured – with a clear beginning, middle and end – also helps to maintain our engagement as we long to hear the outcome. 

Being a great storyteller is an incredibly useful skill for any professional to have, and a relatively easy one to master: after all, it’s something that we practise almost every day. However, to perfect the art there are some ground rules to keep in mind:

  1. Make sure you understand your audience and how best to best to engage them.
  2. Your story needs to be easy to follow with a clear structure.
  3. Don’t forget the power of delivery: your tone of voice and body language can influence engagement levels.

Evaluate your own storytelling skills: how comfortable do you feel telling a story? How good do you think you are at engaging others when you speak? Then start practising those skills. Whether it’s at your next networking event, during a presentation, or a meeting with your boss or a hiring manager: tell a story about you, your career or the project you are working on. Chances are whoever’s listening will remember that story over anything else.

The Power of Positive thought

Consider this scenario:

You’re preparing for an important presentation. It’s not going very well and you start to think you’re going to mess it up completely. Every small mistake you make reinforces this idea, up to the point where it’s all you can think about.

What this example demonstrates is the power – and danger – of negative thinking.

Research into negative thoughts has shown how they lead us to dissociate from the outside world and turn our focus to one thing only: the thing that is making us feel angry, scared or bad about ourselves. As a result, we stagnate.

Positive thoughts have the opposite effect,

By opening our minds to see a whole range of possibilities and therefore welcoming new ideas and perceptions. Barbara Fredrickson, a professor at the University of North Carolina and researcher of positive emotions, believes thinking positively can even have long-term benefits. In her ‘broaden and build’ theory she describes how the broadening of our sense of what is possible generated by positive thoughts can lead us to develop new skills and so progress in life.

For some of us, looking at things from the bright side is something that comes easily; others find it harder. That doesn’t mean all hope is lost, though: thinking positively is something that you can train yourself to do. 

First of all, you’ll need to start making a conscious effort to not give in to negative thoughts. Recognise when you start dwelling on the bleaker side of things and put a stop to it by asking yourself what you could do to make the situation better. Then start setting actionable goals for yourself – reaching them will empower you.

The next step is to foster positive thoughts.

Easier said than done? Not necessarily. While positive thinking creates positive emotions, this process also works the other way around. This means that doing things you love, that bring you joy, can help you to think more positively. Think, for example. of a time where you engaged with something you are passionate about: perhaps you went to a concert or saw a film you really loved. Did you feel inspired afterwards? Perhaps it even led you to actively pursue a goal related to that passion?

Or you can try something new.

Meditation has been proven to help cultivate positive thoughts, while a study published in the Journal of Research in Personality showed that writing about positive experiences can have the same effect.

Thinking positively means getting out of your head and looking for solutions.

It’s something you may have to practice to get better at, but ultimately it can open doors that you may otherwise have walked right past.

More Inspirational thoughts

I hope the previous article had you thinking more about the things that have inspired you. I remember being at High School and learning about Marco Polo and his trips to China and the Romanticism of the Silk Route from China to Europe. So far I have lived in Chengdu, Almaty and Baku, all cities on the ancient route. My Education inspired me to become a Physicist and work in Nuclear Research before becoming a Physics teacher.

People who are inspired have some common traits.

For one thing, they are more open to new experiences. That almost always comes before the inspiration hits, indicating a certain willingness to be open to inspiration as a precedent to experiencing it.

It’s important to note that inspired people were neither more nor less conscientious than any others. Meaning that inspiration wasn’t something that they could command or “will” to happen.

The other thing inspired people have in common is a strong desire to master what they do.

However, they are also not competitive. Remember that inspiration is transcendent, and competition is a survival instinct. That indicates that trying to beat out or one-up someone is not conducive to inspiration.

There are other critical factors in people who are often inspired.

A confidence in their abilities.

Even though they may not be experts in everything, they are comfortable with their specialties.

Self-esteem.

Inspired people have the confidence not to doubt themselves, indicating that they are able not to sabotage themselves.

Optimism.

It’s difficult to be inspired if you’re stuck in a negative state. People with optimism are more open and more prone to inspiration.

Inspiration is not just a flash of vision; it’s a motivation that births creativity and motivation. People who get inspired are usually the ones more eager to jump into a project.

Why We Need Inspiration in Our Lives

Most of us are going through tough times.

Job losses, furlough, travel restrictions, not seeing family, stuck in the wrong country, salary cuts – well most of that has hit me. From Christmas until September I was in Morocco, facing difficulty travelling back to UK due to flight restrictions and Covid testing regime. Then I moved to a new job in Azerbaijan just as a war began with neighbouring Armenia. SO we have had a 9pm curfew for the last 6 weeks. Fortunately, the war is over; now we just have Corona virus to deal with…

Keeping positive and maintaining this blog has been difficult. I bought a franchise for an online site way back in January, called daysoutinleeds.com , a site for advertising bars, pubs, restaurants, hotels and places of entertainment, the exact places that have been shut down! It was meant to be a passive income stream. I know it will eventually take off and make money, though for now it is just ticking over.

I did a little research about INSPIRATION as we all need some just now. A couple of articles should help.

Inspiration cannot be measured or quantified. You cannot report to your boss that you had this much inspiration today and therefore have accomplished so much.

In today’s world, people often consider that which can be measured is more important or more valuable.

But without inspiration, there’s nothing to measure because we produce nothing.

Inspiration is what creates, and all that is measured springs from this nebulous concept.

There are three parts to inspiration, according to psychologists Todd Thrash and Andrew Elliot.

Evocation.

Inspiration is created spontaneously and without intent. The word inspiration means “divine breath.” Inspiration is not a part of our baser, more primal brains; it serves no purpose for basic survival.

Transcendence.  

This part comes in moments of clarity and with the awareness of new possibilities. Inspiration is indeed the mark of higher consciousness in us. Inspiration comes from a place of beauty and clarity.

Approach Motivation.

It’s a fancy way of saying that the person with the inspiration seeks to communicate that vision. Either by talking about it, creating the vision in real life or letting others share in the vision.

I haven’t tried this yet…

SO I am still sharing things I find while trawling the internet. I found this article and would be interested for any feedback.

Search Engine Submission Service

You can make money by setting up your own search engine submission and page optimization service. You can purchase this code for pennies at script purchasing areas on scriptlance.com or hotscripts.com. Search engine submission scripts simply take user input and submit them to search engine services. You can also charge BIG fees for page optimization. Some people pay as much as $1000 to have their webpages optimized for search engine submission. Most fees for search engine submission are small, but page customizations for submission fees are often large. These services are complementary and should be bundled for maximum financial impact. Here are some tips for starting this service:

  1. Overture.com offers free tools for optimizing pages
  2. Search engine submissions can offer a lot of repeat business creating a list of customers and offering incentives that can easily stimulate income
  3. Some of these scripts are FREE, search for them diligently

This business can net you about $1000 per optimized project and $10-$70 per search engines submission. The profit potential here is extremely high.

Search engine optimization (SEO) can be as simple adding the overture suggestion words to the keyword contents section of a webpage. Some great websites to visit are listed below to help you with this service:

This business offers a lot of repeat business potential. Keywords change in their relevance over time. So once you do an optimization for a customer, you can call them up in 3-6 months and ask to “reoptimize” their pages. If pages are doing well in their category and customers are earning well, they will be glad to pay your fee again for your service.