Simply Do

It was a meeting of the great minds of our times last week, as I had the opportunity to listen to the various speakers at Chick-fil-A’s Leadercast session in Atlanta.  It was inspiring.  Their bits of wisdom and optimism spoke of things each of us can do right now, today, wherever we are, to make a difference and do great things.  I would like to pass along some of their thoughts here, and also to keep for myself – to remind me when I need it most.

Andy Stanley – author, speaker, pastor.  After working as an associate pastor and student minister at First Baptist Atlanta, he and five others founded North Point Community Church in 1995.  It has now grown to five campuses, over 24,000 attendees weekly, the second largest church in the U.S., and he was voted one of the most influential Christians and has the 3rd most influential church in America.

He starts the conference…  Ask yourself:  What is my critical role?  What is my unique contribution?  What is my core responsibility?  Do these things.

In case of an emergency, if you had to “break the glass”, what would be your role?  What would you do?  That should be your one sentence mission statement.  Anything that goes against that is not what you are supposed to do.

Condaleezza Rice – first female African-American Secretary of State, college professor

Look for the enabling condition.  It all starts with one – one act, one person.  Look for that one thing that makes you act, makes you step out.

Be right with yourself.  Be grounded.  Have integrity.  People will see it.  You cannot truly lead without it.

Be an optimist.  Nobody wants to follow a pessimist.

Motivate toward a common goal.  Out of difficult circumstances in our past, good things have happened.

Be open to where life might take you.  Life is a series of events.

Mark Krzyzewski – Duke University Head Men’s Basketball Coach and Team USA

Focus on a culture of success, not on winning.

John C. Maxwell – author, sold over 20 million books

Add value intentionally everyday.  It will increase your influence.

Instead of trying to find a leader to solve our problems, Be the Leader.

Dr. Henry Cloud – psychologist and business coach, author

Create necessary endings.  If you are going down the wrong road, the worst thing you can do is hope it works out for the best.

Sanya Richards-Ross – 2012 Olympic gold medalist, track & field

Push through your fears.

David Allen – leading author on personal and organizational productivity

A kind of peace shows up during crisis.  You are no longer thinking about trivial things such as your email.

Einstein, Mother Theresa, and DaVinci all had the same amount of time as us.  It’s not about the time.  It is about having room to think.

Flexibility, not perfection.

And here are a few of my own that I like to say, both in my job and in my own personal life:

If we are making it too complicated, then we are doing it wrong. 

We are all good at something.  We each can do something uniquely that no one else can do exactly the same.

And from Seth Godin, marketing guru:  You are not your resume, you are not your work.  What you do matters more than what’s on a piece of paper.

  So let’s go do it!