When someone you don’t like or respect suggests something, what is your first reaction? I bet it’s to dismiss it. You’ve heard the phrase, “Consider the source.” That’s not a bad thing to do, but if you’re not careful, you may very likely throw out the good with the bad. Don’t let the personality of…

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By far the greatest obstacle to success that I see in others is a poor understanding of people. A while back the Wall Street Journal published an article on the reasons that executives fail. At the top of the list was a person’s inability to effectively relate to others. One day I was talking to…

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According to noted medical missionary Albert Schweitzer, “Example is not the main thing in influencing others … it is the only thing.” Part of creating an appealing climate to grow potential leaders is modeling leadership. people emulate what they see modeled. Positive model – positive response. Negative model – negative response. What leaders do, potential…

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One of my roles as a motivational teacher is to try to help people reach their potential. For years, I tried to inspire passion in audiences by going about it the wrong way. I used to tell people about what made me passionate, what made me want to get out and do my best. But…

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Team members always love and admire a player who is able to help them go to another level, someone who enlarges them and empowers them to be successful. Players who enlarge their teammates have several things in common: Enlargers value their teammates: Your teammates can tell whether you believe in them. People’s performances usually reflect…

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English heart surgeon Martyn Lloyd-Jones asserted, “Most unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself rather than talking to yourself.” What kind of voices do you hear? When you face new experiences, does a voice in your head say you’re going to fail? If you’re hearing negative messages, you…

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My friend Dwight Bain sent me a story of a ham radio operator who overheard an older gentleman giving advice to a younger man. “It’s a shame you have to be away from home and family so much,” he said. “Let me tell you something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my…

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The ability to understand people is one of the greatest assets anyone can ever have. It has the potential to positively impact every area of your life, not just the business arena. For example, look at how understanding people helped this mother of a preschooler. Leaving my four-year-old son in the house, I ran out…

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When I meet people in social settings and they ask me what I do for a living, some of them are intrigued when I say I write books and speak. And they often ask what I write about. When I say leadership, the response that makes me chuckle most goes something like this: “Oh. Well,…

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All good mentoring relationships begin with a personal relationship. As your people get to know and like you, their desire to follow your direction and learn from you will increase. If they don’t like you, they will not want to learn from you, and the equipping process can slow down or even stop. To build…

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