Ron Tustin - Lead Yourself Before You Lead Others

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For people itchy to make things better

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. - Anais Nin, 1903-1977

The German writer, Goethe wrote "before you can do something you must be something". We cannot make the most of our lives if we feel miserable and depressed. We cannot inspire the people we work with or be a good friend or family member if we are unmotivated. We cannot help others to do well if we do not feel great ourselves..

Do you know this story?

A father was relaxing on the couch reading the newspaper after a busy working day. His son playing around him was disturbing his peaceful time. The father, fed up, ripped out a picture of the globe that was in the paper and tore it into as many tiny pieces as he could. 'Son, can you try to put this globe together?' asked the dad, hoping this would keep the little boy busy long enough to finish reading the paper. He was stunned when his son returned after a few minutes with the globe perfectly reassembled. 'How did you it so quickly son?' asked the astonished father. The boy smiled and replied 'Daddy, on the other side of the globe there was a picture of a person. Once I got the person together, the world was okay'.

Our success begins within us. It all starts by sorting ourselves out. Once we do, our own world will be okay. We see the world not as it is, but as we are. By improving, refining and defining who we are, we see the world from more enlightened perspectives.  If we want to continue to grow we have to continue developing ourselves towards what we want to be as human beings.

Being busy and being well

How often do we meet someone and when we ask how they are, they often say “I am great thanks. I am so busy.” But do busyness and wellbeing always go together?  If we are not clear on where we are going we need to stop running.  We may run the wrong way. Taking time for reflection and introspection allows us to analyze what to do and how to make continual improvements.

For every problem we want to solve, the solution lies within us. New knowledge will help us identify and act on it. Every mistake in life has already been made by somebody who wrote about it. If we want to be better communicators, superior parents, lovers and friends, reading and knowledge can guide us.

So how can you give yourself a regular time each day to gain new knowledge and insights? If you do not work from home, you probably have on average at least 30 minutes commuting to work. Make it into your mobile university. Convert your toilet into a library. It just means making the commitment.

None of us are too old or too busy to commit to lifelong learning that is, learning for as long as we live. Self-awareness and reflection are proven ways to know ourselves and, hence, become role models to the people around us whether they are our colleagues, friends, spouses and children. They expect us to be at our best.

You may also find this of interest – ‘Interview with God’

You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.

Ron Tustin
Revive and Thrive Coaching

Read Ron's Blog
www.reviveandthrivecoaching.com
info@rtc.org.nz
Ph 0800 003679
 
Motivating baby boomers to see the world with fresh eyes.
 

Published 20th Jul 2010

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