Were you the kid that always asked why?  

Even though I would like to say I was it wouldn't be true.  I use to always think why but in my family the answer was usually "Because I said so".  Because of that many times as a young man, I just accepted what I was told and pressed on.  In some ways, it helped me but it others it made me settle.  I learned to follow the herd and get along.  It made life easier but it didn't make me happier.  I didn't know how to think critically.  

That is until I met a man by the name of John Gunther.  John Gunther was a Technical Sergeant in the United States Air Force.  He was extremely knowledgeable and sharp.  He was a leader and a learner....and he asked lots of questions.  He never pretended to know everything and he didn't always go with the flow.  I was fascinated and started watching him.  During Commander's calls and town hall meetings, he would ask questions and get great answers.  No one laughed at him or ever told him (that I know of) "because I said so".  It was amazing, because of what I saw in him I took a chance and asked a question when he was speaking to our squad.  Sergeant Gunther, this may be a dumb question but.....I don't remember the question anymore but I remember he stopped me and said there is no such thing as a dumb question.  What made it even more special was he said, "thank you, that is a great question" I bet everyone wanted to know the answer to that.  He put me on a pedestal and made me feel 10 feet tall.  I will never forget that feeling.  Since then I ask the question that comes to mind.  It has served me well and made me a better leader.  

All these years later I find myself reading a wonderful book.  Good Leaders ask Great Questions. This is one of my favorite John Maxwell Books. It takes me all the way back to 1985 when I was a young NCO in Minot North Dakota learning valuable life lessons from an awesome leader and mentor.  

What questions do you have that you are afraid to ask?  What do you want to know?  Whatever it is there are no dumb questions.  Good Leaders Ask Great Questions and Good Leaders take the time to lift up young leaders and point them in the right direction.  

Thank you, Chief Master Sergeant, (Ret) John Gunther.  I am still living the lessons you taught me long ago.  I only hope I can be the leader you are someday.  

Leadership...The Superbowl of Life

Tom Brady won his fifth ring in overtime last night in a Super Bowl for the ages. 

It was a long slog that seemed destined for an unexciting blowout with only a quarter to go. These are the times that we feel that we are destined to lose or fail.  These are the times when we have a decision to make.  Which direction am I leading?  One of the seldom considered maxims in life is that leadership is what you do to or for others.  But the first person we must lead is ourselves.  Then we can lead the people around us.  No matter what you feel about Mr. Tom Brady, he is a leader that first leads himself.  With that leadership, we saw a serious change in the outcome of that great event.  A few remarkable plays, a ton of excitement, and 31 unanswered points later, the first Super Bowl to go to overtime, ended with a Patriots win.

Sometimes, life feels the same way -- a long, long march down the field of work, school, relationships with family and friends, followed by an extraordinary series of exciting developments at the end.  

What does this mean for you?  Well it means that this is a good time to remind you that this is your season for winning.  It is not too late for you, lead yourself and others will follow.  Learning to become a good leader can change a no win situation into your own Super Bowl celebration.

Good luck with making this year your championship season.  Keep your eyes open for an announcement in the next couple of weeks.  We are planning a training workshop that well expand your ability to win this year and all the years to come.  Go ahead champion…….

I’m rooting for you!

Your Attitude Is A Choice

They made me mad!  It wasn't my fault?  If I had that (Job, House, Car, Career, Girlfriend.....).  How many times have you heard this?  More importantly, how many times have you said these words?  I have found that blaming others and your circumstances is a sure way to fail.  It is true that negative things happen to us.  It is also true that life is hard sometimes.  I have learned that if we let our circumstance define us we give away our power to make a difference in our lives.  

It's been said that our attitude determines our altitude.  Let's think big and dream big.  Let's make a decision that no matter what we will overcome and we will get there.  As John Maxwell says, The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes. That's the day we truly grow up. 

Equipping

What is equipping?  

It’s providing an environment for other people that can help them grow. In order to provide an equipping environment to yourself and to people around you, it is important to develop a skill set essential to help people grow their abilities. equipping can be in any form, you can enable people to move towards professional growth, by teaching them the skills you have and they don’t, or you can enable them in personal life by encouraging them to do what they have always dreamt of, and sometimes all you need to do is just listen to what they are sharing and give them advice accordingly. Equipping yourself and others with skills that can help you all grow is also an essential to building personal and professional relationships. As John Maxwell is fond of saying, success is a journey, not a destination and it is a road full of bumps, potholes ups, and downs. In order to get through this journey, and help others get through this journey, constant growth is essential.  Many of us can become derailed by the environment and struggle with what we mostly believe are external factors.  As leaders, our job is to so help each other succeed in this journey by positively enabling each other as we share this path.  It not only helps others succeed but it will also provide you with satisfaction and growth that you need. 

Stand by for a great opportunity coming soon that will Equip you for the upcoming year and beyond.  2017 is going to be a very good year.

"ACTION

 

Google the word "action" and one definition you will find is, "the fact or process of doing something, typically to achieve an aim." You will also find, "a thing done; an act.". The first definition denotes movement and the second completion. 

 

So how do we ensure something gets completed?  By being in motion.  You've heard the saying, "A body at rest stays at rest, and a body in motion stays in motion."  Making a conscious decision to rest is helpful for our bodies, souls, and minds.  However, continuous idle inactivity causes frustration it leaves us stuck. Purposeful activity leading toward a specific goal brings about satisfaction and progress.  No matter how slow, progress is rewarding. 

 

Tiny steps are better than no steps.  Today, take one tiny step to start your forward motion."

Relationships

Lefford, what is the most important relationship that I should focus on right now? 

Funny enough I get that question a lot these days.  It is a surprising question to me now but 10 years ago, I struggled with that same question.  I was getting close to retiring from the Air Force, I was trying to decide what I was going to do when I grew up.  Should I retire before 30 years, go back to Florida and get a government job, take another assignment, stay at Shaw AFB, stay in South Carolina?  

With all of those choices came great opportunities as well as great risks.  I talk to friends, family, mentors, and the leaders around me and they all said something like this.  Lefford, you know a lot of people; the relationships you have should help you in finding a good job.  It was nice to hear and to be honest, I felt pretty good about what they were saying, it comforted me that I would be able to find employment.  I felt good about the friends I had and the relationships that I had nurtured. 

In 2012, I retired from Shaw and stayed in the local area.  Because I held close ties with the base I was often asked to come back and talk to people that were retiring or leaving the Air Force for other reasons.  I started to get the questions on how to be successful after leaving the military?  What organizations should I join?  Who should I get to know?

For several years, I gave all of the normal responses:  Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, BNI, Toastmasters, and the VFW.  All good choices but after meeting John Maxwell and becoming a part of his team I understood that my answers were incomplete.  Today my answer may surprise you.

Now, I tell everyone this simple truth.  The most important relationship that you need to build is with yourself.

What are my strengths, weaknesses, motivations, values and talents? Only by understanding and accepting yourself, can you then focus on building effective relationships with others?

This is something that we aren’t normally taught (at least I wasn’t).  I have learned that we can’t really give what we don’t have and if we don’t love, appreciate, and have a good relationship with ourselves we can’t possibly have a good relationship with others. 

So, my friends, whatever it takes I offer you this.  Learn how to love and appreciate yourself.  Learn to be a great friend to YOU.  With that mindset, you will have much more to offer the world and you will be able to be successful in any position you chose.

RELATIONSHIPS:  Everybody wants to be somebody special, and everyone needs encouragement.  I remember when I first showed up to RAF Mildenhall in January 1988.

I was a young Staff Sergeant with a wife and young son and I had never been overseas.  I am from a small town in Georgia and didn't know a whole lot about the big wide world.  I was basically faking it with my wife and members of my family.  I tried to make them think I had this world travel thing and that I was cool, calm and collected.  The truth is I was a wreck.  I didn’t know what I was doing, I didn’t understand the currency, I didn’t understand the culture, and I really didn’t understand myself.  That is when I meet Sgt Frederick Thomas (aka Freeze).  Freeze was the kind of guy that when he walked into a room everyone gravitated toward him.  He had a ready smile, strong handshake and a hug for all the ladies (we will talk about that in a later post), he was an immediate friend.  He took me under his wing and made my transition to England a lot easier.  He was there to help me get a place to stay, a vehicle and connected me to the right people to make life in England good.

Freeze was a master in developing relationships.  You see he had a way of not only adding value to people but he showed you your own value no matter how deep it was hidden inside you.  I don’t know if he ever knew this but when you help one person, you’re impacting several others. What you give to one individual overflows into the lives of everyone they interact with as well.  Because of what he did for me I was always trying to pay it forward.  I wanted everyone that I met coming to England for the first time to get the reception that I received.  

Freeze had very strong people skills and because of that, he was super successful and a great influencer.  As my friend and mentor, John Maxwell says Leadership is influence nothing more and nothing less.  Until your people skills are strong, your influence will be weak. Only very tiny visions can be accomplished alone; to achieve anything worthwhile involves working with a team. To multiply our influence, we must learn to connect with others in mutually productive ways.  We must also care about the people we come in contact with, John Maxwell also famously put it “People don’t care how much you know unless they know how much you care”. 

Freeze taught me a lot about friendship and relationships.  He passed on about eight months ago, I miss him every day but he is always in my thoughts.  I will always keep this with me from him, that you can never be truly successful unless you develop good relationships. 

Frederick (Freeze) Thomas, I am missing you brother!

Success

Success is a process, it's a lifelong strategy of building on strengths and minimizing weaknesses. As I go about my life I hear a lot of people talking about trying to get success like it is a specific place or a specific time.  I don't think it works like that.  Success is a journey, not a destination.

I remember when I was growing up in Glennville, (A little town outside of Savannah Georgia) and my idea of success was having a little trailer on the end of town.  I wanted a hunter green Ford Pinto with a Stick in the floor, tinted windows, wire basket rims (with curb finders).  To make the package complete I want a Panasonic stereo with 6x9 Jensen mindblower speakers (oh yeah and the 40-watt power booster).  To me my friends, that, was success

Fast forward 30 years, would you call that success?  What would you say if you saw me riding down the streets of Sumter like that?  I will even throw in my "Magnificant Curl" and baggies to help you see the picture.  NO!  You probably wouldn't say I was very successful even though I would have achieved (at that time) my ultimate goal.

I think that if you base your success on getting to a destination that it will be limited.  When you get there you may be tempted to clock out and say I am done.  I believe that Success is when you start your journey towards growth and continue to get as good as you can. Every time you get good, you seek to get better.  Some may call this silly, or say I am never satisfied but I believe that as long as we are here we should be striving and that striving makes us successful.

What does Success Look like for you?