![]() I was teaching a group of young leaders the other day and the question came up, “How do you stay on the right path? The young leaders wanted to know how can you avoid making ethical mistakes. I shared with them my simple formula for evaluating my actions, decisions and behaviors. It’s a simple acronym that helps me remember to make the best decisions and follow the best practices in life. I call it the S.H.I.P Principle! It stands for “Standards, Humility, Integrity and Philosophy.” Whenever I get ready to make a decision or take an action I ask myself does it line up with my S.H.I.P Principle. If it doesn’t pass the test, then I walk away. We are all headed somewhere in life, whether we set a definite course or not, we are headed somewhere. Some people are aimlessly traveling through life without any directions or guidance. This leads to a life of regrets and wasted time and energy. When you think of the word ship, it could apply to a cruise ship, cargo ship or a war ship, all used to carry something or transport something. I would like to also add a life ship to this list; you are the carrier of purpose, genius potential and great talent. But it can all be damaged in a matter of seconds. Some of you may remember the track star Marion Jones. A highly celebrated athlete that lost everything in a matter of seconds because of a choice she made. In an interview Marion said “If only I took a moment to think about my decision, I wouldn’t have gone to jail.” When you think about the S.H.I.P Principle, it will make you stop and ask the important questions. Does what I’m about to say or do line up with the Standards I have set for myself. Everything I try to do is done in a sprit of Humility and servitude, so I ask myself does this action line up. Next I ask myself is it in keeping with my Integrity. Lastly, does it measure up to my personal Philosophy and beliefs in life? If it can pass the S.H.I.P Principle then I am safe. The young leaders walked away with a quick way to evaluate their decisions and actions. What do you use to measure your decisions and actions? Leave a comment. Dr. Will Author, Genius Potential America’s #1 Leadership Life Trainer
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![]() Leading a life you love is all about being F.R.E.E. There are four essential things you must do to lead a life you love, and not a life you are enduring. Life at it’s longest is short, so make sure you live it F.R.E.E! This morning I had a great conversation with a lady at Starbucks that is getting ready to leave her safe zone for her F.R.E.E. Zone, she is mustering up the courage to leave a safe job and job security to live her truth. Which is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself in this life. Many will call you crazy, but in the end you will be F.R.E.E and really enjoying your life. I have come up with four key essentials to living life F.R.E.E. #1 FOCUS If you have never taken the time to ask yourself what really makes YOU happy, I mean, if you had to live with you, by yourself for the next 100 years on an island, what would you want to do everyday? How would you want to invest your time? What would make you happy? If you have never taken the time to sit down in a quiet place and find your truth about you, I suggest you do this ASAP! Take out a piece of paper and write out all the things that make you smile and laugh. Write down the ideas, thoughts and plans you think about everyday at your desk when you should be working. Answer this question, “If I had all the money I needed would I still work at this job for the next 20 years?” If your answer is no, you need to rethink some things. Once you have finished this list, this becomes your FOCUS LIST; this is what you should be working on accomplishing. Whatever it takes to make this list true in your life is what you should be focusing on. #2 RESEARCH What do you need to do or who do you need to become to lead the life you love. Is it a career change? Does it require a new degree? Does it require a move? Maybe you need to make some new connections; maybe you need to let some people go. Once you finish your FOCUS LIST, now you need to research what you need to do. This research may mean talking to people you trust about how you truly feel about the life you have settled for. The time you invest researching what your next steps will be are very critical to leading the life you love. Whether you make life changes or not, the same time will elapse. Five years from now you will be the age you would have been whether you change or not. Why not invest the time doing what is needed and becoming who you need to be to lead the life you love. From your research, you are now able to craft out a plan of action. During the research phase you may need to seek out help, counsel and guidance. This can come from mentors or you may need to hire a life trainer to help you navigate these uncharted waters. #3 EXECUTE You have written out your FOCUS LIST, done your research, it is time to execute your plan. This is where life can take a new turn for you or not. Many people know that changes need to be made for them to truly enjoy life, but they allow fear to grip them and keep them from making the changes they need to make. Before, during and after the execute phase you need to build your support team. People that have traveled the journey you are about to travel. Avoid people who have allowed fear to grip them and try to discourage you from taking steps toward a more fulfilling life. Some of these people are good intentioned people, but unfortunately, past failures, mistakes and being safe have trapped them in the cycle. The cycle that many people find themselves in after years of being on the life thread mill, doing the same thing, but hoping life will eventually bring joy. This will be a scary time for you; you are walking down a new street, moving into a new neighborhood. You will make mistakes, you will be unsure of yourself and nervous about the decision you have recently made, this is what I call the side effects of following your dreams. But trust me, it’s all worth it. You will be learning new things, meeting new people. Take it all in and learn as much as you can. #4 ENJOY This is what it is all about, enjoying the life you live. We are responsible to add to the world our GENIUS POTENTIAL, contribute more than you receive, make someone’s life better. But you can only truly do this from a place of fulfillment. When you lead the life you love, it becomes easier to assist other people on this life journey. I encourage and invite you to live the F.R.E.E. life. Free to explore, free to live, and free to give back. Implement the F.R.E.E. System into your life today and lead the life you love!!! Dr. Will Author, Genius Potential America's #1 Leadership Life Trainer ![]() This is a photo I took at my local book store the other day. I didn’t count how many magazines were on the stand, but as you can see, quite a few. Filled with articles upon articles all wanting to be read by you and I the consumer. Companies have added hundreds of advertisements to pitch their products to us, and so much more. As I walked by the stand, I could hear each magazine screaming “Buy me, buy me, buy me!” Everywhere we go we are being bombarded with a thousand choices. Choices that will either enhance our lives or waste our time. With the limited time, energy, and focus we each have, how do we manage our time and make better choices. Choices that will impact your life for the better in positive ways. When we break down our lives there are about five key areas that we need to focus on and manage. They are faith, freedom, family, focus, and finances, these are the areas that govern our lives and when managed correctly can produce a harmonious life. Let’s look at each area briefly, then I will share with you a few tips on how to make better choices to get the needed development in each area. FAITH Faith is the spiritual area that we all need to feed and develop. This directly speaks to your inner man, the spiritual part of you. We are tri-part beings, spirit, soul and body and each needs to be attended to. FREEDOM Freedom speaks to what lifestyle you choose to live. This is a serious area that you need to give thought to and make the necessary adjustments to lead the life you love. If we are not personally happy with our lives, every area of our lives will be affected. FAMILY Family is what I call home base; home base needs to be protected, natured and cultivated. Family is an essential ingredient to wholeness, happiness and wellness. Placing high value on this area will produce great joy. FOCUS Focus deals with what you are trading your life and time for each day. What significant vision or dream are you living for? How are you releasing your Genius Potential into the world? FINANCES How we manage our finances and create wealth for ourselves and our families plays an enormous role in our lives. Finances determine what experiences you will have in life, what you are exposed to and the quality life you enjoy. Failing to give each of these areas the proper attention will cause you to have headache and heartache in life. So how do we bring them into harmony, how do we develop each area? Over the years I have used three tools to help me and my clients produce high results in these key areas. When these three tools are incorporated into your life, they produce awesome results, and results are the name of the game. My experiences have taught me when I combine the use of mentors, time management and active church participation, my life runs very smoothly. Having mentors, using your time effectively and attending a great church will greatly assist you in developing the quality of life you want. MENTORS Mentors, trainers, coaches, or advisors, whatever terminology you choose to use help reduce the learning curve in your life. These individuals can assist you in answering some of the difficult life questions and provide tips, tools and practices that will help you navigate life’s journey. They can help you in developing your focus area and finance area. Just ensure these individuals have the results in their lives you desire. TIME MANAGEMENT Learning excellent time management will help you cut down on all the people and things calling for your attention. Everything and everyone do not warrant your time. I constantly ask myself, “How is this helping me develop?” Whether it’s a conversation, reading an article or watching something on T.V. every thing must qualify for my time. Time is a precious commodity you can not get back. ACTIVE CHURCH PARTICIPATION There was a recent study that showed regular church attendance can add years to your life. Not only that, but if you attend a good church, not a perfect church, those don't exist, but a well rounded church can help assist you in many of the keys areas. Many churches have great services that can help you with your faith development, family development and in the freedom area by helping you develop some core values you are going to live by. There are many voices calling for your attention in the world, you can greatly assist yourself by selecting a few voices you trust and follow them. This will cut down on confusion and give you a clear path to follow to success and significance. Dr. Will Author, Genius Potential America's #1 Leadership Life Trainer |
AuthorDr. Will is an author, speaker and leadership consultant.... Archives
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