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“The lion is king because of one simple word; Attitude!” – Myles Munroe

When you see yourself as a leader, you become a leader. This statement may sound overly simplified but as any true leader has discovered, there is a great deal of growth and development before one may see themselves as a true leader! As leadership is birthed, developed and exercised, the growing leader will experience the confidence of a lion to lead others with strength and humility.

Leadership is Crucial

“Everything rises and falls on leadership.” – John C. Maxwell

It is crucial for true leaders to rise up and lead. The saying is true that all it takes for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing. When true leaders influence the world, it becomes a better place. This idea is better understood by discovering the nature of a true leader.

True Leadership

A true leader has discovered their reason for existing on this planet. Innate influence causes a person to lead others when they discover their purpose. This births the leadership attitude which causes others to follow their lead!

“Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less!” – John C. Maxwell

Purpose and Leadership

“What changes a follower into a leader is a change in attitude.” – Myles Munroe

Nothing changes a person’s attitude more than finding their true purpose.

A person who discovers their purpose becomes a contagious leader. Purpose becomes the driving force, leading to greater inspiration for leadership. Inspiration is the most pure form of influence found in a leader’s repertoire for leading others!

“Leadership is the capacity to influence others through inspiration, generated by a passion, motivated by a vision, birthed from a conviction, produced by a purpose.” – Myles Munroe

The following steps are derived from Myles Munroe’s definition of leadership.

To increase your leadership you must turn Myles Munroe’s definition upside-down:

1. Discover your purpose

Your purpose is your reason for being on the planet. It is your assigned destiny! We all posses talents, desires, personalities, etc. that cause us to excel in a particular field or endeavor. This is a signpost to our purpose. We are all born to fill a profound purpose!

2. Grow your conviction

Believing in your purpose is essential for following a path to your destiny. Each human has an obligation to humanity to add value to this planet before they die. We all have brilliance stored within waiting to be discovered. Conviction needs to fulfill purpose!

3. Receive your vision

Our life’s vision is a picture of how this world will be a better place because we have impacted it during and after our lifetime. Dreams and desires lead to a sense of our purpose in pictures. As we see our unique purpose it can become a lived out reality!

4. Passion is produced

A life vision infuses us with a passion to energize our efforts and enthuse others to follow our goals.  Passion is revealed in a life that has discovered something to die for. A significant cause, related to potential breeds passion within us and those we lead!

5. Inspire others

When people view living passion their desire to live for more is awakened. This causes followers to move towards the one with an intense passion. When individuals experience your commitment they galvanize as teams under the life vision you live and express.

6. Influence others

Influence speaks to the core desires of humanity.  Significance, truth and acceptance are three core desires of humanity. When a person finds their purpose, others are attracted to the energy lived in a dream. Without influence, a leader must resort to manipulation.

Press into Purpose

Leadership is increased as we discover and press into our purpose for living. A business leader discovers their “gift” and learns to serve it to the world through the platform of a business (or group of businesses). A ministry leader discovers their “gift” and learns to serve it to the world through the platform of a ministry (or group of ministries). Politicians, educators, etc. are similar.

What is your greatest gift?

Your gift may not have fully emerged but you will have desires in a general direction. As we refine our desires and gifts to sharpen our focus upon our true purpose, we discover a clearer picture of our leadership purpose in life.

Your leadership is a key to your prominence on this planet!

Every person has a key to influencing the world. I believe the old saying is true, “Everyone has 5 minutes of fame!” Some have lifetime influence as they discover their purpose and serve it!

Purpose Activity

List 3 of your favorite things to do. Design a business or ministry plan around one of these. As you embrace the planning stages for this new venture you will begin to tap into your purpose.

By designing a number of ventures you will breathe life into your purpose. Find the venture that promises the highest return of significance (in your perception). This is a part of your purpose. Actively pursue this venture and you will begin to really lead!

We all need motivation to begin, and to begin is to win. As Jim Ryun puts it, “motivation is what gets you started; habit is what keeps you going.” You can never form the habit of doing anything which you are not motivated to do in the first place. So motivation is the ignition key that awakens the engine in you. Once that engine starts running, it never stops except by your permission.

The great challenge is that a lot of us find it difficult to get started. We are so secured in our comfort zone; not willing to take a risk or face any hazard. T.S. Elliot said, “Only those who risk going too far can possible find out how far they can go.” You never know what you can do until you try. As Zig Ziglar said, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started”. Life is a daring adventure and it takes daring people who are internally motivated to move out and achieve great success.

A motivational leader is someone who is internally motivated not only to motivate himself but takes it as a responsibility to motivate others. As a manager, supervisor, and CEO of an organization, you are a motivational leader and your employee’s motivation should be your utmost concern and responsibility. But you must first be motivated in other to achieve that great objective of motivating them.

As a motivational leader, your starting point to motivational leadership is to begin seeing yourself as a role model, seeing yourself as an example to others. See yourself as a person who sets the standard that others follow. Many business managers, entrepreneurs, and CEOs are not aware of the effects that motivation can have on their business, and it is therefore important they learn and understand the factors that determine positive motivation in the workplace. Lee Lacocca said, “Motivation is everything. You can do the work of two people, but you can’t be two people. Instead, you have to inspire the next guy down the line and get him to inspire his people”. Therefore, as a leader, you should understand that the influence you have on your sub-ordinates help boost their morale in putting their best at work.

A healthy leader motivates rather than demotivate. They always seek to focus on achieving their organization’s primary mission by raising the energy and momentum of their followers to work towards achieving the same goal. The question is: what are those qualities that motivational leaders possess that enables them to increase the energy of their people in boosting productivity at work? Let us examine a few of such qualities:

They know the personality of their Team: As Henry Ford, Founder of Ford Motors once said, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success”. Motivational leaders at workplace are really amazing in the sense that they understand the personality of their team members that helps “keep together” as a team in achieving sustainable progress. Research has shown that employees respond well to recognition, rewards and incentives at workplace. And majority of them value relationships and respond to an open, social atmosphere to be able to work well. As a motivational leader, you are the initiator and your people looks up to you to nurture the atmosphere of good working relationships.

Set the Example: Motivational leaders recognize that their positive lifestyle is a source of motivation to those they are leading. For this reason, they strive to set an exemplary lifestyle that others emulate. They know that their actions are closed examined by those they lead and one wrong signal from them could lead to loss of their credibility.

Communicate vision for the future: It has been said that vision is the crystal clear mental picture of a desirable future we hope to see. In other words, your vision is your future. As a motivational leader, your followers will follow you to the degree you guide to the desirable future. No one wants to follow a blind leader who cannot see beyond his environment. And followers are disposed to knowing when you are incapable of leading them when they begin to feel the uneasiness of being in one spot with no future in view.

Empower others to lead: As a motivational leader, your commitment to developing leaders will insure ongoing growth to the organization and to people. Realizing that people are your most valuable asset, and that providing the opportunity for their growth to becoming effective leaders is not an option but a necessity, should be a top priority in your agenda as a motivational leader.

Look beyond the followers’ weaknesses: Throughout life, we acquire abilities and skills that help us to reach our goals and fulfill our purpose in life. We also have underdeveloped areas or weaknesses that need improvement. A motivational leader does not reprimand his followers when they fall short in their ability but rather encourage and sharpen them to braze up in their area of weaknesses. As a leader, he helps position them to play to their strength so they can achieve more and better themselves.

Reward and Appreciate Accomplishments: The motivational leaders understand that to keep the employees motivated, they need to be appreciated and rewarded for good behavior and for tasks well performed. Things like thank you “John” for carrying the assignment well or sending a short message through email or better still pasting on the notice board the outstanding employee of the month is highly recommended to push the employees’ productivity.

Click the link below to buy some of my latest books from my online store:

> Ten (10) C’s of Personal Power.
> Unleashing Your Potential.
http://www.elvisukpaka.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=50

Click the link below to download my FREE latest e-Book titled: “The Motivational Devotion” A 365 days inspirational quotes to keep you motivated all year round.

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You may also want to join “Elvis Leadership Forum” on Facebook, (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=261942700222) where we discuss interesting topics on Leadership Like:

• What is Leadership?
• Is it better to Lead than to manage?
• Are Leaders Born or Made?
• Do you consider yourself a leader or a follower?

by Elvis Ukpaka

Elvis is a leadership expert. To gain access to more of Elvis’ tested wisdom and insight, on how to achieve peak performance – and leadership – that gets the NEEDED results, go to http://www.elvisukpaka.com, to signup for his Peak Performance Leadership Newsletter. You can reach Elvis directly via Email: elvis@elvisukpaka.com or Phone:234-802-367-1070

Catherine Franz, a Business Coach, specializes in writing, marketing and product development.  Newsletters and  additional articles:  http://www.abundancecenter.com blog: http://abundance.blogs.com

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By Catherine Franz

I introduced my eco-friendly lifestyle at the first day of class. I informed my class that in our class, we will try to save whatever resources that we can and provided them the reason why we should do so. I did not simply lay down the facts about our environment, I also emphasized that what we will be doing will not necessarily benefit us, but the next generation. Since it was the first day, I also felt that it was fitting to introduce my “green house rules.” I had to explain to my students that these rules were specially designed for our class and that they should not expect their other classes to do the same.

Here were some of our eco-friendly rules:

1. All recycled papers. I informed my students that whatever requirements that they need to submit should be done in recycled papers. I was not asking my students to buy these “recycled papers” but I was actually referring to papers whose other sides are printed and the other side is not. These are still good papers. Besides, after recording and checking their assignments, these students will simply throw these off to the nearest garbage can. Let what they throw be papers who have been exhausted beyond repair or reuse.

2. Everything should be handwritten. This does not mean, of course, that I am not a big fan of computer print outs. However, for one-page assignments (or until six pages), it would be very cost-efficient to hand write these assignments than have them printed using commercial or desktop printers. Studies have shown that unless you use soybean ink, papers who have prints in them require more “processes” (and thus, energy) before they can be recycled compared to papers who have been printed with soybean ink. This also eliminates the student’s practice of copying and pasting from internet articles.

3. Pencils up! In my class, everyone is required to use pencils instead of pens. Most pens are made from plastic and other non-biodegradable materials and since I encourage my students to take down a lot of notes, they will be consuming more pens that they have in their other classes. Instead of using ink, I encourage them to use pencils. Pencils are made from wood and while they cut down trees to make these, they are more eco-friendly because they are biodegradable.

4. Fax me please. I give my student’s take home assignments and instead of having all these handwritten into recycled papers, I also gave them the option to submit these requirements via fax that does not use papers-online fax. I gave them a website where they can send online faxes for free, of course.

Tina L. Douglas is a professional writer. She loves to help the needy people through her articles. She gives advices, tips and techniques on certain matters like identity theft and online fax.

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By Tina L Douglas

Carine and Steve

When I began my journey into adulthood, writing and musical theatre were my passion. I graduated college at 20 and became a newscaster at a radio station in a mid-sized market within a few months. The pay was very low, but the experience was what I was going for at the time. I spent my time doing many interviews with local heroes, city officials, creating public affairs programming, and I did the afternoon news. I loved being able to write, produce and be on-air talent. I felt a sense of wonder and awe that some people in the community actually recognized my voice!

Fast forward a couple of years: I fell in love at first sight with my husband and chose a life with him over a job offer of merit. We’ve had a wonderful life together, and I don’t regret having made that right, instead of left turn. We have two amazing adult children who have given us much joy. As a couple, we are still very much in love and supportive of each other. In fact, it was my husband who encouraged me to try and get back into some form of journalism.

When our children were young, I taught school, in one form or another. Teaching various age groups from birth through high school was more than satisfying. There is nothing as heartwarming as watching a child be thrilled about something you’ve taught them to do and then gush about it to their parents.

During those years, I began to suffer from severe pain; trying to run a private pre-school and day care became unbearable. Then the news came that my aches and pains were more than just overwork and stress. I had rheumatoid arthritis. Thanks to some powerful modern drugs, I am able to function at what most people would call a remarkable level. But, I did have to shut down my pre-school and turn my life around.

My decision turned out to be a wonderful thing! Although I have to have a day job (selling high end plumbing), most of time, I’ve gone back to writing! My motto has become “nothing is too small to write and submit!” I’ve had mainly recipes with their accompanying blurbs published, but they’ve been in major magazines. As well, I’ve been lucky enough to be part of two major articles in women’s publications. I just submitted an article ( to a women’s website? magazine?), and my writing co-horts told me during previews that it was a wonderful piece of journalism. I’ve since started my own blog, and many people tell me that they can hardly wait to see what I conjure up next!

Although I’ve done many things in my life, next to my very supportive husband, writing has always been my passion. My dream is to follow that passion and have enough free-lance writing to be a full-time writer. Will it happen? For now it’s a dream, but how many of us know what our future will bring?

As I walk down the hallway, I look on each side of me. There are beautiful pictures of models posing, flowers, all kinds of arts, and just big pictures of all chaos just waiting to catch my eye. Then, there it is. As I turn on the corner, I walk on to the hard wood floor that smells of pine and it spreads out so far just to make room for huge cameras and special lights. I look out ahead of me and there are all my friends, they’re my life and I love it. Flashes of light catch my eyes in every other direction, but not just any flash. It’s the flash that catches the past; the flash that catches the moment; and the flash that catches the passion of my life and that is photography. Then I stand there just watching and smiling because I finally did it. I reached my goal. All my friends who also work with me come to me for help, of all people they come to me. Wow, I’ve made it. I’m finally needed in this world. I am somebody!

Photography is my passion, and to become a professional photographer with my own studio and my own style would be my dream job, not only would I be doing what I love, but I would also be able to live my life as a confident woman knowing; that I made it. I got through the big rocks and over the hills and through the risk I had to take in believing that I could do it. If I could reach my goal, I will be the happiest photographer in the U.S. Reaching for my dream job is a enormous step; but without taking it, how will I ever know if I could make it or not?

Another reason why becoming a professional photographer would be my dream job is because I want to prove to everyone that I can do anything I put my mind to. I want to prove that I can be someone. I can be who I want to be. I want to set an example for younger children that if they keep pushing and pushing they will soon make it past the rough parts onto a smoother surface to where God has lead them to. I want to follow God’s path for me; and as for now God has opened the door to this life and I’m not just going to sit back and give up. I’m going to take this opportunity and make it my life, and I’m going to love it.