HispanicVista Columnists

HispanicVista Columnists

Lead Your Life - Take a step to greatness.

By Daniel Gutierrez

I was in a meeting recently where an executive of a large organization asked me, “What is self-leadership and stepping into greatness?” My answer was, “The ultimate manifestation of potential.” It seems that most of the time people look at leadership as something that is on the outside. In other words, it is something you do. I believe rather that it is something that you being.

I have found that people don’t follow leaders primarily because of what they do but because of who they being. Self-leadership then becomes very important in terms of how you manage your company or organization. Like children, people follow you because of what you are, not what you say.

There are many facets to self-leadership and actualizing potential, but one of the most important is the ability for a leader to stay focused.

When I was in the midst of creating the first Latino success forum—Imagine!—one overriding thing proved to be true: There were always plenty of people, places, and tasks that would distract me from my actual goal, and I would find myself wondering why I was getting caught up in what was basically meaningless. Many times our failures are not a result of a lack of good intentions; they come about because we have allowed something to distract us from what is really important.

Avoiding Distractions and Staying Focused

Reaching success is a constant redirection of our goals. Give this experiment a try: Stand outside and pick out a tree in your yard or in a park. Now stand directly in line with that tree. Every time you take a step toward that tree, you must redirect your goal to reach that tree. In our daily lives we have thousands of thoughts running through our minds at one time. If we allow our thoughts to wander, we are likely to find ourselves in the yard next door!

To stay mindful, I use the RF Method, which has four aspects that allow you to stay focused, even during the most turbulent times:

Reconnect—Focus

Rediscover—Focus

Recommit—Focus

Reengage—Focus

Reconnect When you find yourself in a place where you feel lost, like you are failing, like you are disconnected from your goals, take a few minutes and reconnect to the reason you are attempting that goal in the first place. Find a place where you won't be bothered, and turn off all the chatter of the world surrounding you. This exercise is meant to help you reconnect with you, not with the outside world. It amazes me when I see people inordinately connected to their cell phones, pagers, and laptops, who then wonder why they aren't connected to themselves. Turn these distractions off, and answer the following questions:

If you are a student, why are you going to school? Why did you go to all the trouble of applying to an institution of learning? What are your goals? _________________________________________________________________

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If you are a business owner, what led you to become involved in the business you are in? What were your initial goals for starting this business? What are your ultimate goals? _____________________________________________________

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If you are an employee, why did you choose your particular job? Do you have aspirations beyond this work? Why did you accept this position? Are you satisfied and proud of your work? ______________________________________

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Rediscover It is extremely important that we understand the "why" behind our dreams. Otherwise we end up wondering whether we are leading our lives or our lives are leading us. Once you have truly identified the "why," you can rediscover your life goals. We all sway from our original dreams—we change our minds and we rethink what we want from life. It's only natural. Rediscovering what we want in the here and now serves to remind us what we are capable of and what we deserve from life. Rediscovery will also allow you to perform the next step: recommitting.

Recommit Now that you have reconnected with your past, your goals, and your dreams, it's time to recommit. We must clearly see what it is we want, and we must commit the mental and physical efforts to get there. Success requires purpose, and it is only by committing that we can harness that purpose and make it work for us. We must not be swayed from our mission. If we lose that focus, we must then recommit ourselves and take the steps to succeed.

Reengage Many times we allow the fear of failure to take us out of the game. Then all of a sudden we find ourselves losing that focus we worked so hard on. It happened to me over and over again. I reiterate: Life is so full of distractions that giving into the chatter can literally mean the end of your aim. When this happens, you must force yourself to get back in the game, which can be difficult. It takes a will of steel and a renewed effort to reconnect, rediscover, recommit, and reengage. Assess the results you have seen so far and celebrate them. Assess your failures, forgive yourself, learn from them, and move on.

EXERCISE: ACTIONS SHOW COMMITMENT

Take a few minutes and write down the actions you have taken that show commitment toward your goals. Remember, commitment means action. What are you willing to do to get where you want to go?

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We must reconnect and refocus in order to reach our goals. Taking action is how we prove our commitment. It is a cyclical process: You make a commitment, you refocus again, you reconnect, you commit, you refocus. It can be frustrating, it can feel like a chore, it can be easily ignored. But it can also bring fulfillment and joy like you have never experienced.

The last step in the process is to rediscover your passion; rediscover the greatness in you that created results in the past. Reidentify with the powerful you—the one who began this journey in the first place—the one who had enough passion to form a powerful dream.

In order to nurture your passion, you must rediscover yourself every day. Without passion, it is nearly impossible to remain motivated. Without passion, it is very difficult to recruit the help you need on your journey. With passion, however, anything is possible, and people will be drawn to that, because passion is contagious.

There are some men who have a hard time admitting that they are passionate beings. Do you consider yourself passionate? Or are you allowing failure to get the best of you? The goal of the following exercise is to rediscover that emotion that resonates deep within your soul.

EXERCISE: YOUR TRUE PASSIONS

Take a few moments to write down your true passions. There are no right or wrong answers: Your passions belong to you alone.

I am passionate about _______________________________________________________

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Your passions should tell you very important things about your dreams. Look at your list carefully, and consider whether your current situation reflects what is truly important to you. Now focus on how to get the results that would enhance your life, and reengage your efforts toward those goals.

There is a great scene in the movie Top Gun. In fact, Tom Cruise's fly-boy character engages in the RF Method with great results, although I can't take credit! In one scene, Cruise's character is in combat with the enemy. He is flying wing man, and his job is to protect the lead plane. In the heat of battle, he loses his composure and can’t follow through with his mission. He bails out, leaving his team vulnerable to destruction. In the film, his character goes through an inner struggle that paralyzes him completely. He can’t act. Then, just when you think he's out for the count, he reconnects, refocuses, recommits, and rediscovers his passion. He steps into his greatness and reengages in the fight, coming out a hero.

Reengaging in our dreams and goals is imperative. All along life's travels, people will say, "You can’t.” Your friends and family may not understand your dreams; they may be afraid for you. But the truth of the matter is, it is not their wall to climb. It is yours. So keep on climbing!

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Daniel Gutierrez, Worlds #1 Latino Motivator - Author/Motivator/Consultant http://www.danielgutierrez.com/ -- info@danielgutierrez.com