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We don't always get what we want (for instance, I never made it as an NFL quarterback), nor do we always get what we deserve (I haven't been struck down by lightening yet), but we do generally get what we expect.

This thinking becomes critical to success.  Our actions tend to line up with the picture we have of ourselves in our mind's eye.  People who expect the worst tend to bring it on themselves.  People who expect the best seem to make great things happen. 

None of this is black and white, but I am sure all of us can think of times when we wanted something so badly we could picture what it would be like.  We could feel it, see it, and sense it in every way.  Then, one day it comes true, and we think back to when we had pictured it so clearly.

This is why envisioning successful outcomes is so important.  Dennis Waitley calls it "Pre-Programming."  We can envision an outcome so often and so clearly that our actions automatically line up to bring it to fruition.  We will head in the direction of our most dominant thoughts.  Most of us have seen Olympic slalom skiers preparing before a run, sitting with their eyes closed and moving their hands in the air to mimic the route of the course: rehearsing every turn and rise and picturing a perfect performance.  Football coaches have learned not to say "don't fumble" because the picture of a fumble immediately pops into a player's head, and often, he complies by going out and fumbling!

Famously, when Disney Land was completed after Walt Disney's death, someone commented how they thought Disney would love to have lived to have seen it all.  A relative of Disney's replied that he already had seen it in his mind's eye, and that was how it came to be!  When Seinfeld was asked if he expected to meet with the success he had in television comedy, he simply replied "yes." Napoleon would plan complex battle maneuvers for his army for days.  When the conflict actually occurred, forces would advance here, problems would erupt there, and everything seemed to be confused and chaotic; nevertheless, more often than not, the final defeat of the enemy would occur exactly where he had predicted it! 

So, what are you picturing in your mind's eye? Are you rehearsing success or failure?  Do you parade a bunch of junk before your mind, or do you continually focus upon a victorious picture? Are you envisioning success or failure?  Are you setting yourself up for a beautiful picture, or more of the same? 

It's a tough lesson to learn, but very true: we only get what we picture!  So envision it, picture it, imagine it, rehearse it, whatever you want to call it, but work your mind to create your future. Then work like crazy to make it come true, refreshing it regularly to keep it real.  And one day, it is likely you will wake up inside the picture you once imagined.  It's not magic, and there's no heaven on earth, but you can lead yourself in the most positive direction by the force of your will and imagination.

Remember, success is not an accident.  If it occurs accidentally it will not last and it's not a true victory.  REAL victory comes through preparation and rehearsal.  So succeed – on purpose!        

One thing that strikes me as I read biographies of the great contributors to our history is a certain trait they all seemed to have in common: an urgent awareness of the press of time.  It seems that most people who wind up doing great things are a little impatient about getting them done. 

When Abraham Lincoln lost his last election (prior to finally winning the Presidency), his law partner told the story of Lincoln's dejection.  Lincoln supposedly had always felt he was called to accomplish great things, and suddenly felt that his time was up.  Theodore Roosevelt was famously impatient to accomplish greatness, perhaps to a fault.  I could list many more.  Other leaders, it seems, awoke to their calling once in the throes of some great challenge.  It was only at that point that they grew impatient, understanding the fleeting nature of time.

In all cases, though, leaders come to understand how important time is in their quests.  There is simply not enough time to do everything.  When hit with a great challenge, when in pursuit of a vision, leaders suddenly switch things into a higher gear.  What used to be entertaining isn't so entertaining anymore.  What used to be relaxing only stresses them out more.  Priorities suddenly become apparent, and leaders begin focusing on the "great" things and realize they can't do every "good" thing that comes along.  It's called a sense of urgency, and it is the mark of a genuine leader. 

Understand: you will not live forever.  As the Roman ruler Marcus Aurelius said, "Do not live as though you have a thousand years."  Make your time count.  Once it's gone, it's gone.    

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. 

It is customary to speak of thankfulness on this holiday, and I thought it an appropriate time to discuss the part that thankfulness plays in a leader’s life. 

Leaders deal in complexity, and to a large extent, they are asked to carry an unfair load.  Leaders are often trapped in an organizational structure below the authority of individuals who are not as capable of leading.  Leaders are also the ones with the steepest hills to climb under the most adverse conditions.  Leaders, it goes without saying, are also the ones out front, catching the most flack and dealing with the most resistance.

Even so, leaders should be among the most thankful of people.  Why?  Because as Orrin Woodward once said, "I am just thankful God has seen fit to use me for something!"  And that’s the true spirit of thankfulness a leader should always have.  No matter how tough the climb, we should be glad for the mountain!  The Bible tells us to rejoice during our challenges!

So is your leadership journey a challenge to you right now?  Does your walk feel mostly up hill?  Are you plowing your way through obstacles?  Rejoice, my friends, and be glad God has seen fit to challenge you!

I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving, and may you and your families be blessed!

It's common to hear people say, "I just want to be happy."  And who doesn't?  It's certainly much better to be happy than sad.  Good times are better to experience than bad.  But pursuing happy is a little off the mark.  It's like trying to grab smoke. 

Whenever we make happiness our goal, we set ourselves up for a futile chase.  First, we do something that we think will make us happy.  Then, once that pleasure is through, we move on to the next.  Usually, the pleasures have to escalate to continue to satisfy, and we find ourselves in an endless climb.   From pleasure to pleasure we go, never really finding happiness.

The paradox is that happiness comes from living according to the highest picture we have of ourselves, not from pursuing and receiving pleasure.  Everybody has an image in their mind of who they are and what they stand for.  Sometimes our actions verify this inner image, and sometimes they run counter to it.  This is where our spirituality comes in.  The proper picture of ourselves is from God's perspective.  Our perspective will always be a little flawed, skewed, and biased.  We either tend to think we are better than we are, or we think horribly of ourselves.  But our Creator has the true picture, and the closer we get to understanding what the Bible says about who we are, about "who's" we are, and about what we are here to do, the more we can understand what the accurate picture of ourselves should be.  Happiness then comes from living according to this accurate and true picture of ourselves. 

Interestingly, this results in large part in service to God and to others.  When we are faithful in this service, in which we may or may not find "pleasure", we will, however, find happiness!  It's such a strange paradox, but I believe you'll find it to be true.  It's one of the reasons that serving other people works so well to lift your spirits when you are down.  Tis much better to give than to receive.  But every time we give, we actually receive at the same time.  It can't be helped.  Happiness will find you there!

Leadership ultimately ends up being about service to others.  That's why most leaders you meet, even if in the middle of strife and surrounded by obstacles, are actually very happy.  They might not be the biggest consumers of pleasure in our society, but they generally have a corner on the market of happiness!  I guess it's one of God's rewards to those of you who give of yourself in the service of others.  God bless those of you who are out there learning and growing, seeking to expand in your leadership ability, and looking for ways to make your gifts count in the lives of others!  May you experience all the happiness your pursuit earns you!    

Learning starts with realizing that we still have more to learn.  As the saying goes, "The more I learn, the more I realize how much more I still have to learn."  In fact, I am continually surprised at how often I have to re-learn something.  I didn’t realize I had to re-learn it, until I actually did re-learn it, at which time I realized I had known it before but somehow forgotten it!

Confused?  A better way to say it might be, "You don’t know what you don’t know."  And, not only do we not know what we don’t know, but we are forgetting what we used to know!  So if we don’t know what we don’t know, and we are forgetting what we do know, it kind of makes you wonder what we DO know, you know? 

The point is that the human mind is an organism that requires constant care and feeding in order to stay healthy.  And the more you feed it, the more you learn, the better it does and the better you feel.  Staying hungry for learning is one of the healthiest things anyone can do in life.

Those who don’t spend any time learning are usually not very much fun to be around.  Ignorance is normally louder than wisdom!  I got to thinking about this one day, and wondered why more people don’t take an active approach to learning and growing.  They buy food constantly to feed their physical hunger.  Why wouldn’t they invest just as readily in their mind?  Then it occurred to me; when we are hungry our stomachs are empty, our stomachs actually make a growling noise!  Perhaps it would be good if our brains made a noise when we start getting ignorant!  (Some people would need earplugs before going in to work).  But actually, ignorance has a way of getting heard.  It may not be "growling" per se, but our tongues normally convey our ignorance loudly enough!

Let’s all avoid the "brain growl" that a lack of learning promotes.  Embrace learning at least as much as you embrace that turkey dinner on Thanksgiving!  A few CDs, a good book or two, a stimulating conversation with someone that can teach you something, travel to a new place, etc.: these are the delicacies of knowledge.  Bon appetite!