Taking Action.
The most effective way to do it, is to do it. Amelia Earhart.
Great leaders leave indelible footprints in the passage of time, often spanning generations; unmistakable evidence; markers of where they have been.
Regardless of when, and where they walk, great men and women leave their footprints; revealing with clarity their spirit, courage and the direction they were going; along with encouragement to follow in their footsteps.
Leaders in any field are often recognized for being the first to do something, or perhaps for having achieved the biggest or most difficult feat. Sometimes their very leadership and ultimately their branding is identified by virtue of having achieved.
Yet so often success or progress is held back by the forces that conspire to hinder a leaders success; such progress being compromised by the interruptions, compromises and insecurities that hold leaders back from achievement.
Military history abounds with accounts of leaders whose mission failed after stretching their forces too far due to lack of support, resources or back-up; business lore resounds with records of organizations that foundered due to being under-capitalized, under-trained or unprepared in some way; and sporting history reveals the poignant accounts of athletes who experienced great disappointment and ignominy, even within sight of victory, due to being physically or psychologically unprepared.
The annuls of history also record the stories of great leaders who possessed that intuitive quality of vision mixed with perspective; who saw opportunity and determined to run with it; who intuitively calculated that they could go where no-one had gone before; who weighed up the odds, believed in themselves and their teams and set out to achieve the impossible; who refused to accept the negativity and doubt of their skeptics, and went on to achieve greatness, establishing new records, standards and normal’s.
Great leaders know that whilst achievement usually depends on proper planning and preparation in advance, the single most important criteria is to take action; and this may mean taking massive, unrestrained and uncompromised action in the face of doubters and opposition.
These great leaders are generally prepared physically, in some cases financially, and in all cases mentally to act when opportunity presents itself. Once they gain a vision of what they want, they immediately set about preparing, resourcing, training in the expectation that their day will come. Never, ever will they be guilty of facing opportunity and lamenting that fact that if only they were ready; they are permanently ready in expectation.
Without exception they refuse to accept that it can’t be done. Without exception they refuse to delay, stall or procrastinate when they see the chance to achieve their goal.
These men and women exercise initiative in the face of complacency, when others think it needn’t be done; they take action in the face of difficulty, when others say it can’t be done; they act in the face of mediocrity, when naysayers say it shouldn’t be done; and they step up to the occasion when onlookers say it isn’t necessary or the right time to do it!
These people will not delay simply because some part of their process is not quite ready; they are not ones to wait until every single one of their ducks are lined up; they realize that perfect opportunities rarely, if ever come and that the time to act is now!
These leaders will not accept, nor will they give excuses as to why action should not be taken and invariably live by the philosophy that today is the day, that tomorrow never comes. They inherently seize the moment!
Great leaders such as these fully understand that fear of the unknown, of failure or of criticism is inherently normal, yet should never be accepted as a reason to hold back, for fear is something to be harnessed, not something that restricts us.
These great men and women of vision, of foresight, see a challenge and search for ways how it can be done, not reasons why it couldn’t or shouldn’t be done.
Great leaders understand the principles of timing and action.
The footprints of great leaders, who saw into the future and spanned generations, who have previously travelled our paths will often reveal simply, yet profoundly, the benefits of spurning procrastination, and taking action.
Author Neil Findlay
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