Leaders do not swear

The apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians (4:29), “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen”. As a leader it is your responsibility to build your people up. In addition, it is your responsibility to understand that swearing is completely unrelatable. True leaders recognize this and lead by example.

I’ve learned that when someone quotes a dead person, they are telling you something to save face. George Washington once said “The foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing is a vice so mean and low that every person of sense and character detests and despises it.” If George Washington felt that strong against swearing, shouldn’t we also feel the same? I won’t go into a history lesson on how great George Washington was, but take the information he said and apply it to your life in a positive direction.

Swearing gives a bad impression that has the opposite affect you think it would. Most people swear because they think it makes them look smooth. You might use swearing to express your anger, frustration, and annoyance; but, people like to be around positive individuals. If you must swear, find a wooded area and speak your colorful words to an oak tree.

It might take you several weeks to break the habit of swearing, but as a leader you’re capable of doing anything you put your mind to. I’ve never seen a true leader swear. Leaders don’t swear, if you can show me a leader that swears- I’ll show you an average man.

Hugo Grotius

He knows not how to rule a kingdom, that cannot manage a province
nor can he wield a province, that cannot order a city
nor he order a city, that knows not how to regulate a village
nor he a village, that cannot guide a family
nor can that man govern well a family that knows not how to govern himself
neither can any govern himself unless his reason be lord
-Hugo Grotius

Closing the Gap with Reading

Rich DeVos once said "The only thing that stands between a man and what he wants from life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible." Anyone with belief can get what they want in life, but they'll have to take themselves to the next level to do so.

I once posted something on Yahoo answers that answered a question that dealt with one of my former jobs. In the end I wrote "if anyone else needs assistance feel free to e-mail me" I long forgot about it, but several months ago I had some young business owners e-mail me asking for advice.

I sent e-mails back and forth, but I explained to them that they will have to take their level of thinking to the next level to be successful. I gave the pointers they sought, but if they were capable of running a business that produced 10-20k a month, they would have done so already. This creates a gap of where they are and where they want to be. My objective would be to help them close this gap. (If they so choose) Do I make 10-20k a month? Not yet, but if Gods plan are to use me to assist them just a little, then I've done what I'm supposed to do.

It's the foundation upon you start. If you're going to build yourself an ocean front house, you'll have to start with a good foundation. You won't be able to build it on sand, or it will come crashing down in time. In hindsight, you know you can't build a house on a sandy foundation and the same is for your life. If you lie (white lies included), cheat, or steal you might not be caught this week or this year, but eventually there will be a "crashing" moment and you'll be found out.

It's like the story of a seven and five year old that is near a hot stove. The seven year old decides to touch it to see what happens. He touches it and starts yelling and screaming. His mother comes rushing in to see what happened. She explained to them that they can't touch a hot stove without getting hurt. Moral of the story is both kids learn the lesson not to touch a hot stove, but the seven year old learned through his personal experience, while the five year old learned from someone else's experience.

How do you get experience from others? Books are a great way of taking years of experience and compacting into a few hours of reading. My mentor once suggested that I should read these books (with MANY others), I suggest you do the same. Some of these books have sold millions and millions of copies.

1.) How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
2.) Personality Plus by Florence Littauer
3.) How to Have Power and Confidence in dealing with people by Les Giblin
4.) Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz
5.) 25 Ways to Win with People by John Maxwell
6.) Launching a Leadership Revolution by Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward

I'll leave you with this Albert Einstein observed "The problems we face today cannot be solved on the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."

Your Freedoms in this GREAT country!

The original source is unknown, but this article sums up why America is so great!

The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the president. In essence two thirds of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.

So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What we are so unhappy about?''

Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?

Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?
Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more
food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?

I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings.

Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes , an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in he backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have , and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks?

The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad?

Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the "Media" told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.

Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go.

They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells , and when criticized, try to defend their actions by "justifying" them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane!

Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad.

We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative."

The Ten Paradoxical Commandments of Leadership

Paradoxical Commandments of Leadership.

1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.

Love and trust them anyway.

2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.

Do good anyway.

3. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.

Succeed anyway.

4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.

Be honest and frank anyway.

6. The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest minds.

Think big anyway.

7. People favor underdogs but follow top dogs.

Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.

Build anyway.

9. People really need help but may attack you if you help them.

Help people anyway.

10. Give the world the best you have, and you may get kicked in the teeth.

Give the world your best anyway.

The above list was written by Kent Keith in 1968 when he was a 19 year old student at Harvard.