The title of this post is a quote from Tina Selig’s book What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20 (p.67). I like this book, so much so that I am going to make it one of the required readings for a new course I am developing on Entrepreneurial Psychology. I included a quote from Tina’s book in my previous blog post on quitting your job.
I strongly agree that most of the barriers to abundant living, however you define abundance, are between our ears. We are capable of doing incredible things once we decide we want to do them. That doesn’t mean that we won’t experience resistance, failure, and pain along the way, but real excellence can only be experienced once we decide to do something different, something other people are not willing to do. Excellence is a form of purposeful deviance.
Tina goes on to say this:
If you want a leadership role, then take on leadership roles. Just give yourself permission to do so. Look around for holes in your organization, ask for what you want, find ways to leverage your skills and experiences, be willing to make the first move, and stretch beyond what you’ve done before. There are always opportunities waiting to be exploited. Instead of waiting to be asked and tiptoeing around an opportunity, seize it. It takes hard work, energy, and drive – but these are the assets that set leaders apart from those who wait for others to anoint them. (p.70)
Do this because it is the right thing to do, both for yourself and for those around you; however, don’t expect all around to stand and applaud. Be prepared for many of those around you to discourage you. But don’t use any of this an excuse to wrap yourself in the safety and comfort of conformity and mediocrity.
Press on.
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Bret,
Thanks for your post and for sharing some of Tina Selig’s comments. I’ve added her book to my list of ‘want-to-read-books.’ I identified with this comment from Tina: “..hard work, energy, and drive – these are the assets that set leaders apart from those who wait for others to anoint them.”
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
December 10th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Welcome, Joanne! You are going to LOVE Tina’s book. I have my students read it and they all love it too. Thanks for visiting and sharing! Bret
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It is so true, if you want a leadership job, all you have to do is start leading and the other leaders will see it and you will become one of them.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
October 6th, 2011 at 6:45 am
Concur, Matt. Thanks! Bret
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