Striving towards Excellence

1. CONSISTENCY: Those who impact lives stay at the task with reliable regularity. They seem unaffected by the fickle winds of change.
2. AUTHENTICITY: People who impact others are real to the core; no alloy covered with  a brittle layer of chrome, but solid, genuine stuff right down to the nubbies.
3. UNSELFISHNESS: Those who impact us the most watch out for themselves the least. They notice our needs and reach out for help, honestly concerned about our welfare. Their least used words are "I", "me", "my" and "mine".
4. TIRELESSNESS: With relentless determination they spend themselves. They refuse to quit. Possessing an enormous amount of enthusiasm for their labor, they press on regardless of the odds.

In 1752, a group of Methodist men, including John Wesley, signed a covenant that each man agreed to hang on the wall of his study. The articles of this solemn agreement were as follows:

• That we will not listen or willingly inquire after ill concerning one another;
• That, if we do hear any ill of each other, we will not be forward to believe it;
• That as soon as possible we will communicate what we hear by speaking or writing to the person concerned.
• That until we have done this, we will not write or speak a syllable of it to any other person;
• That neither will we mention it, after we have done this, to any other person.
• That we will not make any exception to any of these rules unless we think ourselves absolutely obliged in conference.

• I will no longer dwell on this incident.
• I will not bring up this incident again and use it against you.
• I will not talk to others about this incident.
• I will not allow this incident to stand between us or hinder our relationship.

Make it your life rule of living to always do your best. It's your constant effort to be first-class in everything you attempt that will help you conquer the heights of excellence. Let superiority become your trademark.

Do a little more each day than you think you possibly can. There is always a best way of doing everything. Find it.

Do a little more than average and from that point on your progress multiplies itself out of all proportion to the effort you put out.

Do more than you're supposed to do and you can have or be or do anything you want.

If you want to enjoy enduring success, try traveling a little in advance of the rest of the world.
Your greatness will come from being great in the little things.

Intention -- Get really clear about what you want.

Desire -- How much do you want something new for yourself? Know your motivation. Desire brings the energy for change.

Belief and/or willingness to trust you can have what you want. If belief is lacking, can you believe in the possibility that you can find a new way of living?

Perseverance, discipline -- It takes time and effort to change attitudes and habits. We can’t expect a new life overnight.

Acceptance, both of what’s happening now and of who we are. Until we honestly and openly accept our present situation, we cannot change it.

A willingness to try something new.

Your attitude is not determined by circumstances, but by how you respond to your circumstances.
You can respond positively or negatively to any situation.

It's how you react to events, not the events themselves, that determines your attitude.

Any challenge facing you is not as important as your attitude towards it, for that will determine your success or failure.Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.

It's not your position but your disposition that counts.

Whatever thoughts you plant in your subconscious mind and nourish every day with conviction and emotion will one day become a reality.

Constant repetition carries conviction. Repeat something often enough and it will start to become you.

A change in what you tell yourself will result in a change in your behavior.

What you impress upon your mind, you'll inevitably become. You are what you think.

by Dr. John C. Maxwell

Growing up, future United States President Harry Truman never thought of himself as a leader—nor did anyone else. With “eyeglasses thick as the bottom of a Coke bottle,” historian David McCullough writes that Truman couldn’t try out for school sports and mostly stayed home, working the farm, reading, or playing the piano.

But the course of his life changed forever when, as a young man, he signed up for the Army to fight in World War I. He was shipped off to France as the head of an artillery battery, and for the first time in his life he was forced to lead men through moments of mortal danger. His initial test came on a rainy night in the mountains. The Germans had dropped an artillery barrage close by, and his troops panicked and broke ranks. In the frenzy, Truman’s horse fell over on him, and he was nearly crushed. McCullough writes: “Out from under (the horse), seeing the others running, he just stood there, locked in place. He called them back, screaming as loudly as he could…shaming his men back to do what they were supposed to do.” The men regrouped, got through the night, and many of them returned home safely. Throughout the rest of their lives, those men were loyal to Harry Truman, their leader, who refused to back down in the face of his own fear.

According to McCullough, Truman discovered two vitally important things about himself that night. First, that he had plain physical courage; and second, that he was good at leading people. He learned that if the leader shows courage, it’s contagious.

In his conclusion on Truman’s life, McCullough writes: “And war was the crucible.”

A crucible is an opportunity, test, or emergency that summons the very best from a person and reveals their finest inner qualities. Once a potential leader experiences a crucible, they are transformed forever. The crucible is a challenge or crisis that proves the leadership capacity lying within a person and becomes a defining moment in their leadership journey.

Qualities of the Crucible

1. They Happen To Every Emerging Leader.

   Leadership has to be tested and proven; and the only way this happens is through the crucible. First of all, the crucible is a necessary test for leaders to find courage. Secondly, the crucible shows the leader’s followers whether or not they can place their trust in the leader. Under heavy artillery fire, it was necessary for Harry Truman to find out he had enough courage to hold his ground. While important for him, the crucible was equally important for the soldiers in his platoon, because, after that moment, they knew they could respect him as their leader.

2. They Reveal The Hidden Potential Inside a Person.

   Crucibles are like tea in hot water. They bring out the true colors inside. Crucibles don’t make the man or woman; they simply reveal the character within. What a person does in the crucible will make or break their future as a leader. The crucible will either show their hidden potential or their hidden problems. Either way, the crucible never leaves us the same.

3. They Bring Great Difficulties and Stress.

   Crucibles are often accompanied by suffering, at least temporarily. For some leaders the crucible experience has been imprisonment, war, or sickness. For others, it was being overlooked for a promotion, losing a client, or being laid off.

   Maturity and experience with crucibles will not lessen the difficulty, but they will lessen the stress. When we have experience, we understand what is happening, and we can take confidence in having persevered in the past.

4. They Purify Motives and Shape Ambitions.

   Crucibles are cleansing and purifying because they help a leader sort through priorities. Ambitions are brought to light, as the crucible helps leaders get past the trivial and the mundane. J. R. Morgan said it best, “A man always has two reasons for doing anything—a good reason and the real reason.” The crucible has a way of pressing out the real reason.

5. They Teach Lessons That Help Leaders Transcend Themselves.

   Crucibles push us to go places we normally wouldn’t venture. I vividly remember a conversation with my friend, Dr. John Bright Cage, a heart surgeon. In his concern for my fitness, he scolded me for not leading a healthy life. I recall arguing with him over and over that my health was fine while ignoring his warnings about being overweight. I kept arguing, denying, and justifying until the day I finally had a heart attack. Talk about a crucible experience! It had a wonderful way of awakening me to examine my lifestyle.

6. They Either Become an Obstacle or an Opportunity to Fulfill One’s Purpose.

   Crucibles make us or break us. They help us or hurt us. They’re an asset or a liability. Crucibles almost always leave a memory we look back on as a defining moment. They propel us on a trajectory, either good or bad, towards our leadership destination. Many of us realize our “life purpose” through the crucible experience.

   Winston Churchill, the great British leader said: “There comes a special moment in everyone’s life, a moment for which that person was born. That special opportunity, when he seizes it, will fulfill his mission—a mission for which he is uniquely qualified. In that moment he finds greatness. It is his finest hour.” Winston Churchill was exactly right; and that moment almost always comes through the crucible.

"This article is used by permission from Dr. John C. Maxwell's free monthly e-newsletter 'Leadership Wired' available at www.maximumimpact.com. "