Leader's Compass 36 - What is Your Core? 5 Steps to Greater Freedom

When I was a personal trainer I would teach my clients the importance of developing the core of their body. The core is where the power comes from. The core is what protects the vital organs. The core is where we initiate every movement from. In fact - did you know that when your body begins to do a simple exercise like a biceps curl a deep muscle in the core of the body is the first to activate, stabilizing the body for the movement?

Our personal core is much the same. Who you are, who you truly believe you are is what gives you true power and freedom, or a lack thereof. Whatever you do is initiated from the core beliefs you have about yourself and the world. You can't do anything, even your daily, habitual routines without a deep core activation. The trick is that, just like the body's core your personal core can either be strong or weak depending on how you train it.

Create a daily routine of feeding your core as you prepare for the day

Here are a few tips to think about.

1. Develop your mission. Writing a mission statement is easier than what most people think. Simply ask yourself questions like:

• What are my core values?
• If I were at my own funeral, what would I want people to say about me?
• If the me from 20 or 30 years from now gave advice to the me now what would he or she say?
• How do I truly want to live my life?

Remember that your mission is what grounds you. It's the core that you always want to come back to.

2. Create a vision. What kind of life do you want? What compels you? What moves you forward? Write out a vision of who you want to be (character attributes) and what you what to acquire (skills and possessions). 

3. Write your script. Many people read "scriptures," religious or spiritual writings of others that serve as a script for their life. This is a good practice. However, YOU and you alone are in charge of dictating your life. What is your script? What are your scriptures? Write in a journal the values you want to live by, the thoughts that inspire you and that you want to come back to over and over again. 

4. Build your standards. A few weeks ago the Wall Street Journal had a great article about standards and their ability to keep you true to your goals. For instance saying "I never eat foods with artificial ingredients" has been shown to be more powerful than the willpower concept of just saying no to bad food choices in the moment. What standards to you have? What will you accept and what will you never allow?

5. Finally - feed your soul often. Keep a journal of your thoughts, emotions and progress toward your goals. Keep your mission, vision, values and standards with you. Personally I prefer to keep my "core" in a small notebook I carry with me daily so I can review it at any downtime. Some people prefer to keep their core on their phone in the notes section. Whatever it is for you - get it written down, keep it with you and review often. 

Keep your core with you to review regularly

Remember - your power comes from your personal core. Exercise it daily to consciously develop who you are and where you want to go. You are in charge. Live well and lead on.  

Leader's Compass 35: How You Do Anything

There's a saying that goes "how you do anything is how you'll do everything." This is a particularly ponderous thought for a leader. I've always been a fan of living an examined life. Regularly journaling ones thoughts, experiences and perspectives can help create a consistent habit of concious and intentional action.

Recently the Wall Street Journal highlighted a gentleman who had spent over 40 years journaling at the beginning of each day. This initial intentional action each day helped him make sense of his life, express his feelings and make his experiences and emotions tangible.

It's unfortunate that in our day and age loud and sometimes vulgar expressions of emotion are the norm. What would the world be like if daily a leader sat with a cup of tea expressing his thoughts on paper. What if she examined her emotions in a journal, making them tangible and clear before she vomited them on her team? What would happen if he examined how he felt and worked it out on paper with a plan rather than burying his feelings in a passive aggressive pattern?

How you do anything is how you will do everything. Are you concious and thoughtful with your emotions, your thoughts and your plans? Do you live and examined life? Do you live a life of true intention or are you constantly caught up in the mood of the moment? Your life, your growth, your emotional intelligence and maturity are all in your control. What path will you chose? How will you approach the one thing in your life that will create the pattern for everything? The choice is yours. Lead on and live well.