Becoming Your Best

The 12 Principles of Highly Successful Leaders

1.         Be True To Your Character

Reflection: Character is built as it is tested, tried, and refined over time through adversity and challenges. It is having the courage to stand tall and true to others and to yourself; to be unmoving in the face of adversity. Being true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books - especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day. Never give up. And most importantly, be true to yourself. Write from your heart, in your own voice, and about what you believe in. Everyone wants to belong, or be a part of something bigger than themselves, but it's important to follow your heart and be true to yourself in the process.

Quote: “Real beauty is to be true to oneself. That's what makes me feel good.” – Laetitia Casta

To Apply This New Principle I Am Going To Try My Best To Achieve It And Try my Hardest To Be True To My Self. 

2. Use Your Imagination

1. Reflection: Using your imagination shows how far your mind has developed and what you are able to create in your mind. An imagination is something unique in everyone because everyone creates different visuals, scenarios, and picture in their mind. Imagination falls under the creation category, because when you are imagining you are making things up, in other words creating things in your mind from scratch. Every human being is capable of imagining and creating something and that only shows how smart and what the human mind is able to create in a short amount of time. To imagine is something cool because you can imagine a lot of fun, good things in the brain and in other words you can create something artistic.  When someone imagines something it just shows what they are capable of making in their mind and what they can do without them knowing they can.

2. Quote: “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” – Albert Einstein

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4. In order to apply this principle I will use my imagination more in a positive way and just create.

4. Never Give Up

1. Reflection: To not give up on certain things takes courage and a lot of guts, because as the road grows longer and more narrow there is going to be milestones to cross to finish what you started. In life things get hard and no one said it was ever going to be easy because sometimes life throws us hard tasks that sometimes will cause us to give up. To me never giving up is important because why give up on something you’ve been working hard for your whole life, it is not worth it and it will be a simple loss of time. To not give up takes courage because things in life do get hard, transitioning from a teenager to an adult is hard and many will pull the plug, give up, and say “I’m not ready” which should not be the case. In everyone’s life transitioning from time to time is difficult because that is what you have been accustomed to and in reality no one likes change because it takes you out of your comfort zone. To never give up means to trying your hardest and performing in the most best way possible to get what you want. To not give up takes courage and a lot of thinking and thought process because those decisions can affect your life in the future so it is important to be wise about it.

2. Quote: “Never give up, and be confident in what you do. There may be tough times, but the difficulties which you face will make you more determined to achieve your objectives and to win against all the odds.”-Marta

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4. to apply this I will put my best in anything and I do and remember to stay determined because after the rain comes the sun and everything will be worth it.

5. Find Peace & Balance

1. Reflection: Inner peace and balance are very useful and important for everyone. They are highly valued by most people, but few possess them. However, everyone can develop them, some more and some less. You become calm and relaxed, and therefore, more efficient in whatever you do. You gain inner strength that protects you from being adversely affected by what people say or do, and the ability to function and be in control in difficult situations. The presence of inner peace and balance in your life means that you possess common sense and good judgment, and that the outside world cannot shake your inner world. In addition, you have a handle on the various elements in your life and don’t feel that your heart or mind are being pulled too hard in any direction. More often than not, you feel calm, grounded, clear-headed, and motivated. The elements in life that require the most balancing can be divided into two categories: internal and external. Oftentimes, people focus on one more than the other. All in all it does not matter on which one you focus on as long as you find your peace and balance.

2. Quote. “Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.” – Thomas Merton

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4. To apply this I will try to find peace and balance in everything I do and focus on more positive things.

6. Live The Golden Rule

1. Reflection: The golden rule is endorsed by all the great world religions; Jesus, Hillel, and Confucius used it to summarize their ethical teachings. And for many centuries the idea has been influential among people of very diverse cultures. These facts suggest that the golden rule may be an important moral truth. The golden rule is best interpreted as saying: "Treat others only as you consent to being treated in the same situation." To apply it, you'd imagine yourself on the receiving end of the action in the exact place of the other person (which includes having the other person's likes and dislikes). If you act in a given way toward another, and yet are unwilling to be treated that way in the same circumstances, then you violate the rule. The golden rule is best seen as a consistency principle. It doesn't replace regular moral norms. It isn't an infallible guide on which actions are right or wrong; it doesn't give all the answers. It only prescribes consistency -- that we not have our actions (toward another) be out of harmony with our desires (toward a reversed situation action). It tests our moral coherence. If we violate the golden rule, then we're violating the spirit of fairness and concern that lie at the heart of morality.

2. Quote: “Golden rule of life: never underestimate your rivals.” – Sid Waddell

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4. I will aply this rule into my life by treating others the way they want to be treated despite if they are being wrong or right. Everyone wants to be treated with respect and with kindness.

7. Building and maintain trust

1. Reflection: Trust is number one in relationships it is number one when it comes to anything. In order for you to be friends with someone or know someone there has to be a trust boundary set. If you cannot trust someone then nothing can form out of there. Trust is a crucial thing when it comes to relationships because without it there is nothing. When there is no trust in a relationship a lot of animosity can form and that is not health. All in all, Trust is fundamental to life. If you cannot trust in anything, life becomes intolerable—a constant battle against paranoia and looming disaster. You can’t have relationships without trust, let alone good ones. Intimacy depends on it.

2. Quote: “Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It's the foundational principle that holds all relationships.” – Stephen Covey

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4. To apply this principle I will try harder in my friendships and relationships, and will learn how to trust more. 

8. Quick to listen, slow to wrath

1. Reflection: Before getting mad someone should take into consideration to listen to what the other person is going to say, and let them explain themselves. When someone gets mad and does not let the other person explain their side of the story that is not right and you are not giving the other person a fair chance. It is always nice to let the other person speak and not let your emotions get all tied up and cause any animosity within you and that person. To listen is one of the greatest things a person can do because that means you are communicating and talking things out instead of getting mad and just leaving it on bad terms. Communication is key in everything and without communication you have nothing , and the problems will never go away.

2. Quote: James 1:19 - Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.

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4. I will apply this to my everyday life by communicating more when I am upset and working things out with my friends, and family.

9. Lead with vision

1. Reflection: The key elements of leadership are the ability to create a vision, then to lead people towards its fulfillment. Leaders look for new opportunities or different ways to foster growth. Leaders find the new and look to the future, building on but not resting on current success. Good leaders also look for differences and opportunities, rather than necessarily taking the most obvious or popular route. However, there is no point in being a visionary leader if your followers can’t follow, no matter how enthusiastic they might be. This is where the importance of bridge building lies, as an essential complement to vision.

2. Quote: “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” – Warren Bennis

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4. I will apply this to my life by seeing life in a new perspective and setting visions and goals like I have been doing.

11. Do What Matters Most

1. Reflection: To do what matters most if an essential thing that everyone should be able to do because you always want to do what’s important first and then do the other things that are least important. To do what matters most means that you know how to prioritize, and focus on what is most important. When you do what matters most you feel more accomplished because you did what was most important than doing what is not so important or matters the most. Also in order to change your life or make any life changing decision you need to do what matters the most and what is worth doing because if you do not, nothing will change. To do what matters most means that you are a responsible person and that you know what you’re doing with your decisions. Always placing what is most important first is a great way to show that you are responsible, and are maturing as a person.

2. Quote: “I think there are certain business matters which we must now conduct differently than we used to.” – Vince McMahon

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4. I will apply this principle by putting important things first and the less important behind it.

12. Be Accountable

1. Reflection: To be accountable means that you hold all the liability when something happens. When someone is accountable they are trustworthy people because they will own up to whatever they have caused and admit to it. Being accountable has its pros and cons but it is a good thing to tell the truth when needed to. When someone is accountable some people will think its bad because they tell the truth and don’t lie and that can be a threat to others for many reasons. One reason is because they know they will not get away with anything bad that they did along with the accountable person because the truth will come out. One good thing about being accountable is that you do not blame others for your actions  and you take it as it is and do not lie about what you did. An accountable person also deals with the consequences and owns up to anything and everything. All in all being accountable is a good thing even if others do not agree with you being responsibility and your heart says It is the right thing then be proud and own it.

2. Quote: “Most of all, be honest with yourself and make sure those in political office, our so called public servants, are being honest, holding them accountable for their actions!” – David Pratt

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4. I Will apply this principle by always being accountable and liable for whatever I do.