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Welcome to Your Achievement Ezine
Issue 366 - June 4, 2008

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"If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time a tremendous whack."  Winston Churchill

Today's issue includes:

1. Your Achievement Article - Velvet-Covered Bricks by Dr. John C. Maxwell
2. Your Achievement Quotes - Contentment, Courage and Creativity
3. Your Achievement Tips - Take the Responsibility by Vic Johnson
4. To be a great influencer...
5. More Information

1. Your Achievement Article

Velvet-Covered Bricks by Dr. John C. Maxwell

As a child, when I misbehaved, I was sure to receive "The Look" from my father. I have vivid memories of the furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips of The Look. It makes me shudder just to remember it. The Look could cut right through my body and penetrate into my soul. There was nothing comforting about The Look, and, invariably, it signaled impending disciplinary measures. The Look was to be respected, The Look was to be feared, and, above all, The Look was to be avoided.

However, just as I can recall The Look, I also remember the tenderness of my father's care after he disciplined me. I remember the whispered assurances of his love for me. I remember the warmth of his embrace as he held me in his arms. I remember his tenderness as he gently explained why I had been disciplined and how I could learn from the experience. His was not mean-spirited or severe in his discipline; rather, his loving correction was intended to develop me into a man of character.

Leaders, like my father, must balance toughness and tenderness. My friend, Tim Elmore, describes these leaders as Velvet-Covered Bricks. They are firm and strong on the inside, but soft and pleasant on the outside. In this article, I would like to discuss the qualities of that make a leader into a Velvet-Covered Brick. I am indebted to Tim Elmore for many of the thoughts in this lesson.

TOUGH BUT TENDER
Some leaders are so tough they could chew nails, but their insensitivity prevents them from connecting with their employees. Ignorant of the emotions around them, they rely on authority and scare tactics to earn the allegiance of their team.

Other leaders go the extra mile to earn the admiration of those they lead. They love to be seen as the "good guy," and they go soft on their team. To protect their popularity, they sacrifice healthy confrontation or neglect holding employees accountable.

A Velvet-Covered Brick leader makes difficult decisions, but at the same time, they act as emotional caretakers to the people their choices affect. They instill discipline, but they also provide encouragement and inspiration.

CONFRONT PROBLEMS BUT CONSIDER PERSPECTIVES
Velvet-Covered Brick leaders are not afraid to deal with conflict in order to iron out an unhealthy situation. By actively addressing problems, they are peacemakers as opposed to peacekeepers. At the same time, such a leader remains open to the perspective of others. Although supremely confident, a wise leader knows the fallibility of his or her judgment, and they turn an attentive ear to those who share differing opinions.

COMMITTED TO RESULTS AND COMMITTED TO RELATIONSHIPS
Leaders with a Velvet-Covered Brick mentality refuse to compromise goals or take the easy road out of tough spots. They relentlessly set the bar high so that the team achieves its potential. Yet, all the while, leaders value people just as much as productivity. They never sacrifice relationships simply to get results

PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL
The Velvet-Covered Brick type of leader maintains an aura of professionalism in the workplace at all times. Such a leader stays poised in the most heated moments and keeps control of his or her emotions. While approachable, they reserve part of themselves (their fears, knowledge, insights) so that they can effectively motivate the team from a place of authority.

At the same time, leaders don't want to come across as aloof, distant, or plastic. The best leaders are warm, genuinely interested in their teammates, and intentional in understanding what makes each person unique. Additionally, to connect with the team, they may show selectively disclose information about themselves or even let down their emotional guard during a meeting.

TAKE CRITICISM AND SERVE THE CRITIC
Leaders who aspire to be Velvet-Covered Bricks develop thick skin and bypass the desire to retaliate against critics. Instead, they graciously accept criticism and welcome confrontation. Then, they take pains to win over their critics by reaching out them. They go the extra mile to wade through conflict until resolution can be reached.

RESPECTED AND APPROACHABLE
A leader earns respect on the basis of what he or she has done. More often than not, respect is gained on difficult ground. Adverse circumstances test the mettle of a leader and show a leader's true merit.

For a Velvet-Covered Brick leader, respect is balanced by approachability. An approachable leader has a consistent mood, is quick to forgive, willing to apologize, and shows authenticity. A leader at ease with himself puts others at ease. Secure leaders aren't constantly seeking validation from others, and, as such they are free to add value to those they lead rather than deriving value from the approval of those around them.

People are drawn to leaders who value them. They will approach a leader who makes them feel encouraged, helps them grow, and treats them honestly.

REVIEWING THE VELVET-COVERED LEADER
The Brick
The Velvet
Toughness
Tenderness
Confronts
Problems
Considers Differences
Results-driven
Relational
Professional
Personal
Endures Criticism Serves the Critic
Respectable
Approachable

-- John C. Maxwell
 
 
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"I never failed once. It just happened to be a 20001-step process."  Thomas A. Edison

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"Determination gives you the resolve to keep going in spite of the roadblocks that lay before you."  Denis Waitley

2. Your Achievement Quotes

CONTENTMENT

"Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have got it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known." -- Garrison Keillor

"You can't have everything... where would you put it?" -- Stephen Wright

"I am a big believer in the 'mirror test'. All that matters is if you can look in the mirror and honestly tell the person you see there, that you've done your best." -- John McKay

"When we have done our best, we should wait the result in peace." -- J. Lubbock

COURAGE

"Fear is the opportunity for courage, not proof of cowardice." -- John McCain

"Pain nourishes courage. You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you." -- Mary Tyler Moore

"Courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared." -- Eddie Rickenbacker

"To keep our faces toward change, and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate, is strength undefeated." -- Helen Keller

CREATIVITY

"No matter how old you get, if you can keep the desire to be creative, you're keeping the man-child alive." -- John Cassavetes

When we tire of well-worn ways, we seek for new. This restless craving in the souls of men spurs them to climb, and to seek the mountain view. -- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

"While we have the gift of life, it seems to me the only tragedy is to allow part of us to die whether it is our spirit, our creativity or our glorious uniqueness." -- Gilda Radner

"Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind." -- Samuel Johnson

"Life leaps like a geyser for those willing to drill through the rock of inertia." Alexis Carrel

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"Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough."  Og Mandino

3. Your Achievement Tips

Take The Responsibility by Vic Johnson (excerpted from Day by Day with James Allen)

"A person is buffeted by circumstances so long as he believes himself to be the creature of outside conditions." - As A Man Thinketh

One of the great weaknesses of our society today is the growing attitude of victimization. Many people claim themselves to be victims of some outside force. "I had to file bankruptcy because of my ex-wife…", "If my company hadn't laid me off…", "If that driver hadn't pulled out in front of me…"

When we are victims of circumstances, or as James Allen says, a "creature of outside conditions", we have no power. We have given over the power in our life to the circumstances. The longer we give power to our circumstances the worse or circumstances become.

In his book, "Above Life's Turmoil", Allen writes, "You imagine your circumstances as being separate from yourself, but they are intimately related to your thought world. Nothing appears without an adequate cause."

To get control of our circumstances we must first acknowledge personal responsibility for being where we are. That was the hardest part for me because the "victim" in all of us doesn't want to take that responsibility.

When we take the responsibility we must then take control of our thoughts. And, yes, in the beginning that can be hard. It seems sometimes that it's our nature to first think negatively. But that's just because it's the habit we´ve developed. And like any habit, it can be changed by replacing it with the habit of thinking the right way.

One of my favorite teachers, Emmet Fox, writes: "You are not happy because you are well. You are well because you are happy. You are not depressed because trouble has come to you, but trouble has come because you were depressed. You can change your thoughts and feelings, and then the outer things will change to correspond, and indeed there is no other way of working."

And that´s worth thinking about.
Vic Johnson

 
This article is excerpted from Vic Johnson's book, Day by Day with James Allen. "Day by Day with James Allen" gives you a bite-sized, daily helping of James Allen's self-help classic, As A Man Thinketh, along with the insights and experiences of himself and others. Some days bring comfort, some bring hope and inspiration, and still others bring a call to action. But every day brings the ageless wisdom that has helped so many understand that as we think in our hearts, so we become. Book includes complete text of As A Man Thinketh. To order go to http://www.jimrohn.com/shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=139 or call 800-929-0434.

"When someone tells me there is only one way to do things, it always lights a fire under my butt. My instant reaction is, "I'm going to prove you wrong!"  Picabo Street

4. To be a great influencer...

If you missed the special offer on the remarkable 26 CD program featuring Dr. Maxwell's very best and most influential audio teachings on LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, SUCCESS and TEAMWORK (and less than $6 a lesson) please go to:

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"Have the dogged determination to follow through to achieve your goal; regardless of circumstances or whatever other people say, think, or do."  Paul Meyer

5. More Information

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