Archive for May, 2014

My Rule of 5

Published May 29, 2014 Leadership 4 Comments

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I’d like to share “My Rule of 5” and the importance of Mentoring. These are some of the things I incorporate into my daily habits. The first is that I believe in the importance of being mentored. It’s invaluable to have someone to talk with and receive their guidance as you journey along your path. I feel so blessed to have been coached and mentored by a few people from my company, Bankers Life and the John Maxwell Team. The other part of the equation is my “Rule of 5”. These are concepts I’d like to share with you to embody in your journey to become the best version of you!

 

#1 VISION

Crystal clear “Vision” is to know exactly where you are going. It’s something you can’t wait to share with others daily. The excitement is infectious and others will want to be a part of your vision. Sharing my vision has given me a sense of purpose and direction as I leverage building a successful team around me. To stay focused, I use a vision board. I love to hear people describe theirs, often with objectives that focus on getting a dream car, home, vacation, or maybe some form of monetary gain.   There’s nothing wrong with that. My vision board was like that until I received coaching and identified that the objective changed. It shifted from measuring success with possessions to who I wanted to become. I learned that what I thought was important was no longer the case. It’s an amazing journey and I recommend that you take your vision to a whole new level. Review your perspective and challenge yourself to project 5 to 10 years out with your vision board. What an incredible shift you gain in your outlook. I believe the #1 reason for my success to this point is that I challenge myself to be the person I want to become.

“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” ― C.G. Jung

 

#2 BRAND/MARKETING

What is your “Brand”, your purpose? In the past, it was common to “market” or advertise your products. The goal was to get more customers through this method. Today, marketing is important, but branding is even more so for your success. The consumer will buy you before they buy the product or service. So try to develop a brand and market yourself. It will take you to a whole new level whether it’s an entrepreneurial business, leadership, being a sales person, business owner, teacher, doctor or any business you may have. The key to your success is not advertising products, but about developing your brand. What are you known for?

My Brand I would like to say is “Leadership with Passion”.

 

#3 BE SELECTIVE

As a successful individual, you are best served to “Be Selective”. Pay attention to who you surround yourself with at all times. Are the people you’re with adding or subtracting value? I made the choice a long time ago to surround myself with winners. People who bring out the best in me and I in them. It’s exhilarating to interact with people who get you out of your comfort zone and challenge you to do something that helps you develop. If you’re the smartest person in the group, you’re in the wrong place and need to switch groups.

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” ― Jim Rohn

 

#4 FOLLOW UP

The concept to “Follow Up” is very important to your success. This should become second nature in everything you do. Human nature is to procrastinate. Most people don’t follow up, they assume that others will do it or that it isn’t necessary. Assumption is a leader’s biggest enemy. To meet your expectations, follow up!

What kind of follow up system do you have?

 

#5 FOLLOW THROUGH

“Follow Through” is a key factor to your integrity and credibility. Doing what you say you’ll do is crucial. If you promise to deliver something, no matter how big or little, and do not follow through, you create distrust and lose all credibility with your team. Lead by example and build a team of successful people to have around you.

“You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through.” – Rosalynn Carter

Remember these important qualities and be successful!

 

My Rule of 5

#1      Vision – Crystal Clear

#2      Brand/Marketing

#3      Be Selective

#4      Follow Up

#5      Follow Through

In everything you do, life or business related, remember these 5 concepts. They will impact your journey positively. It’s simple yet significant, how it will affect you. Learn them and live them!

 

Live with passion!

Farshad Asl

I am LinkedIn:http://www.linkedin.com/in/farshadasl

 

Close to my Heart – L • E • G • A • C • Y

Published May 22, 2014 Leadership Leave a Comment
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LEGACY. Typically when we think of the meaning, we often think of something old or left behind. Maybe something of monetary value. An inheritance perhaps.
When I pulled out my trusty Merriam Webster dictionary, it provided the usual information that LEGACY is a noun and means “money or property left to someone in a will.” Another source, the online Bing dictionary referenced something similar. 1. Bequest made in a will; 2. Something from the past; 3. Outdated or discontinued.

Hmmm, I was still looking for a different description that provided a newer concept. Let me explain. When I think about leaving a LEGACY, it takes on a whole new meaning. It pertains to now and how it can be used for development. LEGACY is a word I hold close to my heart. It is part of my being and pertains to leadership and developmental growth.

Simply said, “LEADERS today leave a LEGACY tomorrow.”

I believe LEGACY is an important partner with Leadership. To cultivate the spirit of leadership and develop that which inspires others to act with passion and lead with integrity as it means to transform life’s results in leaving a LEGACY.

“Leadership” – “Everything rises and falls on Leadership” – John Maxwell
Leaders are defined by the following characteristics found in Legacy.

Leadership
Enthusiasm
Generosity
Authenticity
Compassion
Youthfulness

Often the perception is that to be a leader, you’re older and experienced. Something that occurs towards the end of your life. Not true. LEGACY plays an important role in defining a good leader at any age. Leadership is not only about producing results or measuring success with statistics. Leadership is doing something with significance that makes families, organizations, societies, nations and the world a better place before you die.

“Leaders lead while inspiring with incorporating and building upon people’s confidence.”
“Example is not the main thing in influencing others, it is the only thing.” – Albert Schweitzer
“Don’t find comfort in being followed because you’re feared, but rather, be followed because you’re respected. That’s true leadership.” – Unknown

“Enthusiasm” – “People who intensely believe in their purpose to leave a legacy behind.”
They have the ability to spread their positive outlook and a readiness to take action, involving all who come in contact with them. It’s the difference of being laser focused on what can be done instead of allowing inertia to set in. Enthusiastic people take action rather than setting up roadblocks or distractions. What helps grow enthusiasm and build on the momentum is to have a clear vision of what motivates you to remain focused.

“Generosity” – “Generosity is a strength, not a weakness.”
Generous leaders are confident and giving of themselves and their knowledge. The gain is not financial, it’s in growth and sharing. Generosity, when freely given, empowers people to receive what they truly want, knowledge, credit for their actions, praise for their efforts, responsibility because they’re capable and the authority because they’ve earned your trust. Generous leaders have faith in others to succeed. In turn, they receive ten-fold, loyalty, commitment, and a positive outcome.
“Authenticity” – “It’s not what you tell people but how you make them feel.”
I believe Leadership is a verb, not a noun when you factor in authenticity. An authentic leader’s role encompasses active participation with their team. Expressing strength and confidence to lead with their hearts, not only with their minds. Authentic Leaders are not afraid to show emotion and vulnerability as they share in the challenges with the team. Also critical to authentic leadership is to develop a solid foundation of trust with open and honest communication. It’s surprising to me when leaders lacking authenticity are surprised to find team members unhappy and leave.

“Outstanding leaders go out of the way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.” –Sam Walton

“Compassion” – “The secret to long-term relationships is providing kindness, caring and love.”
As a leader our purpose is to provide knowledge and generate trust through kindness. This will provide a foundation that allows others to make choices, right or wrong, and grow in a positive manner from the experience. Taking the time to go the extra mile when needed is the best way to develop solid leadership. Compassion is that special element that is often missed and makes the difference in building a positive environment.

As you can see, it’s very important to leave a legacy.

“Youthfulness” – We often think that leadership is something that only occurs when you’re older.”
Successful leaders leave a legacy behind at any age. The “Y” in legacy is to remind us that our future leaders are young and energetic, full of new ideas and eager to embrace the vision and principles of Leadership. Leaving a legacy is for all ages, developing everyone, our future leaders in society, our country and the world.

“You may ask why I’m so passionate about leadership and creating a legacy. It’s simple, to influence others positively so that the next generation of leaders can leave their legacy.” – Farshad Asl

“A Mother is a dealer of Hope”

Published May 11, 2014 Leadership 1 Comment
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When I stop and think about my Mom, I feel a tremendous amount of love and gratitude for her. This is for you Mom, and all the Mother’s being celebrated today.

My story relates back to when I was only 7 years old, remembering the fear in the pit of my stomach of going to school or having the confidence to face a difficult situation that seemed huge and impossible at the time. I can still hear my mom’s calm, gentle words telling me, “You can do this because you are brave!” To this day, I can still hear her voice saying those words to me when I have to do something difficult. I realize now that I was very fortunate to have a caring, positive Mom who believed in me and knew that I could do anything if I put my mind to it. This gave me the foundation that all small children need to fall back on as they make their way through life.
Not only did my mother believe in me and instill a positive approach to life, she possessed that priceless gift of giving me unconditional love. She understood the value of loving me for who I am, and letting me learn from my mistakes which gave me the ability to become the person I am today.
The third gift my mom gave me as a young child, was to listen and let me be heard. My mom understood the importance of listening to me, no matter what I had to say. Through it all, she would set things aside to give me her full attention and listen to everything I needed to say. That may sound easy, but it took a lot of patience and love to focus on what I was saying and not half listening and thinking about other things.

These are the same skills used in the foundation for strong leadership. Leaders working with people, have a critical role to provide a never ending amount of positive feedback, instill critical growth and build self-esteem with future leaders and most of all, carefully listen to their concerns.
My foundation came from the nurturing my mother instilled in me at a young age, and today, the leadership position as an adult to be unwavering and devoted in helping others to build self-esteem, seeing opportunity from a positive perspective and listening to others.

Celebrating my mom and all Moms who have had positive impact, giving valuable time to listen and provide unconditional love.

Mothers are the foundation of the family. They make sacrifices just to see a smile on our face.

In honor of our Mothers and their unconditional love, these quotes are for all moms with love and appreciation:

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.
– Tenneva Jordan

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Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.

“M” is for the million things she gave me,
“O” means only that she’s growing old,
“T” is for the tears she shed to save me,
“H” is for her heart of purest gold;
“E” is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
“R” means right, and right she’ll always be,
Put them all together, they spell “MOTHER,”
A word that means the world to me.
– Howard Johnson

My mother is my root, my foundation. She planted the seed that I base my life on, and that is the belief that the ability to achieve starts in your mind.
– Michael Jordan

Live with passion!
-Farshad Asl