Graduate Leader Mashup

May 22, 2013

BLOG ONLY Exclusive Content – Follow up to today’s Jackson Sun article entitled, “Congrats, You Graduated!  Now What?”

Do you remember your high school graduation?

If you are anything like me the answer is, “Yes.”  At the time it did not seem like that big of a deal.  It was what I expected to do, and not doing so was never a thought.

The picture above, depicts what Paul Harvey would call “The rest of the story.”

Laying next to the mortar board, tassel, and diploma, you see a key.  This is what the diploma gives you.  It gives you a key to be used in whatever manner you deem appropriate.  For an 18 year old kid… what a scary thought.  High school attendance was mandatory, at least until a certain age.  Teachers, administrators, and staff cared if you went to class and if you didn’t there were repercussions.  Your parents could even be held liable for you not attending school.

When your title changes to “college student” all bets are off.  The key has been handed to you.  Only you can chart the course from this point forward.  You did not have to chose what your high school diploma would say on it.  You did not have to declare a major, which would limit your future employment choices… until now.

What are you going to do with the key?  Are you going to dream big, or simply live as if the key means nothing to you?  Are you going to spend time maximizing your time or wasting it?

Leave a comment below – For those of you who have completed college, what was the best advice you received or would offer to this years graduates?

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3 Reasons Vision is Important and How to Create One

May 20, 2013
Have you ever seen the roof added to a house prior to the foundation?

Of course you cannot put on the roof prior to many steps being completed first.  The ground must be leveled and cinder blocks laid before any wood is applied to the home.

This is not just an article about business, mission statements, or goals.

Reason #1 – Clarity – Do you often feel like you have way to much going on?  What about the feeling that you have all of these segments of life with the only seemingly related component to them all is YOU?  Because we all have different segments of life, we need different visions to get us where we want to go.  I learned of the importance of this from best selling author, Andy Stanley (@andystanley), in his book entitled Visioneering.  I would highly recommend it.  I also wrote about Clarity last week in The Jackson Sun, which can be found here.

Reason #2 – Simplicity – If your life is anything like mine, you need to have something which keeps you focused in the direction you would like to go.  It makes it very easy to assess if you should participate in something new or pass.  This enables you to prioritize your time.  Are these activities moving you toward your vision or away from it?  Have you ever noticed the more you are involved in, the more people ask you to do?  I am working to try to find some level of participation in all areas of my life, and before a clear vision was applied, I found myself feeling convicted to say “Yes” to everything.

Reason #3 – Leadership – Vision enables you to lead.  Have you ever tried to follow someone without a solid vision?  The outcome is very unknown, but it is more than that.  When a leader does not have a clear vision for the future, they get distracted by everything.  These teams will not have any picture of the future to which they can buy-in.  Have you ever felt like the entire team were all moving in their individual directions?

Please comment below – What’s your personal vision?  Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

SUCCESS = Friends + Clarity

May 15, 2013

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What kind of relationships do you have?  Do you clearly know where you are going, why you’re going there, and what you hope to accomplish?

Read my article in today’s edition of The Jackson Sun to learn more about relationships and clarity here.

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