Mirror Mirror

“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.” Benjamin Franklin

A Connected Life

All of life is connected. To be truly successful or a whole person, we cannot do wrong in one aspect of life while attempting to do right in another. Everywhere we go in life we carry with us our past, our present, and a projection of what we hope our future will be. Our future projection is based on our past decisions, past behaviors, and our current values and beliefs. Therefore, the various components of our life cannot be approached in isolation. All components make up who we are and how others perceive us. Life is inner connected.

A Companion of Fools Will Eventually Be Harmed by The Fool

As much as our own decisions telegraph who we are as a person, so do the people we choose to surround our self with. We cannot say we are one type of person while we choose to surround ourselves with people of conflicting values and beliefs. Eventually those values and beliefs rub off on us and begin to change who we are. Positive and optimistic people surround themselves with like personalities. Successful and driven people surround themselves with similarly successful and driven people. The same holds true for negative and immoral people.

It is much harder to be lifted up than it is to be pulled down. This is because we are human. Human nature tends to lead us to travel the path of least resistance. Least resistance is usually comfort and ease. It is not the path that is hard or filled with obstacles. However, it is this path that makes the great great and the achiever achieve. While this is true for us as people, it is also true for our organizations.

Who Are You?

There are two types of people in the world. People who make excuses and people who make progress. People who make progress are also some of the most successful people in all aspects of their life. They find satisfaction and meaning in their work, their relationships, and in who they are as a person. They are driven, disciplined, and determined. They put everything into perspective, act, and possess the will to stay the course, no matter how difficult things may be. They value the learning that life's trials and tribulations afford them.

People who make excuses tend to find themselves being pushed and pulled by the direction of the tide, never making any progress toward achieving their dreams or the vision they may have in their head for the type of person they hope to become. They float in the wind like a plastic bag.

Excuse makers may not be okay with how their life has turned out, but they also do little to change their situation. The danger that comes with hanging out with these people is that misery loves company. Associating with and employing these people can be devastating to us and our organizations. Negative and immoral people will pull us and our organizations down.

Knowing who we are is important. Knowing the people we employ is important. Some of the characteristics of each type of person are listed below.

People Who Make Excuses

· Procrastinate

· View new projects as one more thing

· Spend time on meaningless tasks

· Struggle to understand what's most important

· Spend free time watching excessive TV

· Blame others/point fingers

· Possess a scarcity mentality

· Possess a victim mentality

· View their destiny as out of their control

· View success as luck

· Compare self to other people

· Do what they've always done, even though it does not progress them

· Fail to take full responsibility for their life

People Who Make Progress

· Get it done now

· View new projects as opportunities

· View obstacles as the way to enlightenment

· Eliminate time wasters

· Prioritize their work based on ROI of time

· Spend free time growing aspects of their life

· Take responsibility for their life

· Possess an abundance mentality

· Possess a survivor mentality

· Make their own luck

· Compare self to self, as competition with self is the only real competition that results in growth

· Do what they need to do to improve

· Know who they are, what they are made of, and live their core principals

Lead by Example

If we want to be the best we can be or create the best organization we can create, we must first reflect and then lead by example. We must look in the mirror before asking others. Just like weight gain, who we or our organizations are didn't happen overnight. Just like weight loss, who we become isn't going to happen overnight either.

We can begin today by doing those things we know we should be doing and stop doing the things we know we shouldn't. Changing who we are and how we behave takes time, effort, persistence, and discipline. We must be tenacious and determined to sustain the change we hope to see. Otherwise, and just like weight loss, once we lose focus everything will go back to the prior state.

If Not Us Then Who?

If we care about our people and our organizations, we have no choice but to look in the mirror and take inventory on our lives and our organizations. If one aspect of our life is out of whack, all aspects are suffering. If our organizational culture is poor, other aspects of the business are suffering to realize their full potential.

Who we are as people and organizations are played out for the world to see every day. We may not realize it, but our colleagues and customers see our opportunities for improvement. It is not until we see them and take action, that we will be on our way toward achieving our full potential. It is then that we become the truth. It is then that we become the best version of ourself. It is then that our organizations flourish.

The mirror does not lie. It can be a great source for external reflection, as well as a catalyst for fostering internal correction.

Randy Stepp is a principal with Renaissance Leadership Group. RLG is a full-service business development company driven by Purpose, Passion, and Strategy and the goal of helping entrepreneurs realize their vision for their business.

Visit Renaissance Leadership Group at www.renaissanceleadershipgroup.com to learn more.