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Knowing who you are now and who you want to become are two of the most important things to know in life.  Here are a few things to pay attention to while you are on this journey:

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You don’t know everything. I promise.

Once you realize this, you can begin seeking what answers you need.

It makes you vulnerable and that in itself makes your team trust you more.

A leader that shares what they know and is humble in the areas of where they need to grow, shows others that it’s ok to know where your strengths are and those areas where some work needs to be put in. In the process you will pick up skills that make you better along the way.

Once you know that you don’t have the answer, you can begin to find it.

You can begin looking on where to find the answer and you can also direct others on how to problem solve. This will help you and your team over and over again.

What is something that you have had to say “I don’t know” to? You can leave a comment below.

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Mission statements are important. Really important. They take time to process so you can come up with the one that is right for you. Be specific. Keep it just long enough to get the point across. You want to be able to remember it so you can tell others and so you can keep it handy for when you need to use it. Make sure it will lead you to your desired outcome. And once you find that fitting mission statement for your personal life or for your business, it is now time to put it to use.

Here is why using a mission statement in every area of life is so important:

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Some people will shrug off their reputation because they either don’t care to know or they think that the public’s perception isn’t accurate, but here are three reasons why you NEED to know what others think of you:

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The Stress

You just found out about something big about to take place. I don’t know about you, but I would stress out in this moment. I usually do it quietly and internalize most things. That’s how I deal. No matter how you deal with it, you feel it from time to time. The question is, what do we do after the stress?

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Are you an individual who was once successful, but is now wondering how success has slipped away? Are you a head of a once-profitable company that wonders how things are the way they are right now? Are you trying to get things rolling again after taking a break from it all and just can’t figure out how to make it happen?

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People have all kinds of definitions and ideas of what success is, but I do know one thing…

I know that you want to be successful.

In some way, shape or form.

If you aren’t successful at the task at hand, you will either be motivated to achieve the challenge or you will be frustrated into submission. If you lose enough times, it can and will affect your confidence level. All people need a few wins to see a different outlook. When you succeed, your self-talk begins to change to the positive. You believe that you can do anything. And it is that one thing you will need most to succeed.

The thing is…

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I have countless Leadership, Life Coach and self-help books along the way. Leadership books are my favorite books to read because I definitely don’t have all the answers and need some help along the way. Each book has different points throughout, but there is two main points that all of them teach:

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I tweeted this recently and I felt it was right because of what most people seem to be doing these days. You can tell the culture that we live in from the crazy shopping malls, the price tags on items, the debt that people are in, the commercials for those have to have items on the television and the hours that people work to make money so they can buy those crazy things.

Yep, for the most part, people seem to be into themselves. I’ll admit that I am selfish sometimes…a lot of the time. If I am not intentional, my face is in front of my iPhone, you will see the glowing apple on my MacBook Air instead of my eyes, I will take care of MY schedule and make sure that I am taken care of, without REALLY caring about others. I am really good at “surface” conversation, but deeper conversations can become time consuming. Hopefully I’m not the only one…

When looking at these actions, this is really not what I want to be remembered for. SELFISH just isn’t a good word. It doesn’t look good on the resume.

It’s time that people realize that just saying who they want to be, or saying who they should be, doesn’t really make them that person. Leading by example is a good thing.

Your actions make up who you are and what you will be remembered for.

What are some specific things that you want to be remembered for?

“How often do you take the time to think about the past?”

It’s a question that I sometimes didn’t see the importance of in the past and I often put it off to be honest. I felt that the future was the only necessary spot to look in times that I needed a way out of a situation, a stepping stone or a new way to go. The future is definitely a great place to focus as well, but we can’t forget about the past.

Let me say that my number one strength identified by the strengthsfinder test I took is “futuristic”, so this is a tough one for me. (The first time I took the test it had all my characteristics out of whack. That’s because I took the test and answered as the person I thought that I wanted to be, not the person that I truly was. My advice for you if you take the test is that you answer the questions as the person that you currently are.)
My drive comes from what could be and what the future holds for us. I definitely don’t spend enough time reflecting. It is such an important part of the creative, spiritual, relationship and planning processes in life that we would be neglecting if we didn’t at least acknowledge the importance of it.

Reflection is important for 4 reasons:

1. It’s important to know where you came from.
2. It’s easy to see a mistake and then you know not to repeat it in the future.
3. Looking to the past can help you find peace in the current situation that you’re in.
4. You have to know your story and how to communicate it to others.

What have you learned from reflection?