7 Profound Lessons From 7 of our Historical Leaders

“Leaders aren’t necessarily special. They don’t wear a halo and they certainly don’t glow in the dark. Leaders are just the individuals who are further along the path that you are traveling. Because leaders have traveled the path successfully, they are able to provide insights into the journey so by absorbing the lessons they have learned, one would think that with application, your path may be simpler.” Aristotle

Today I want to take a look at seven amazing lessons from seven amazing leaders. These lessons are intended to give us insight into our journey, as well as provide us with some much needed motivation. As you will see, these seven leaders are from differing backgrounds, but their message is similar.

As a sidenote, there are hundreds of leaders out there so if your favorite isn’t listed, add it in the comment section below this post. With that, let’s get right to it.

• 1. You Must Crawl Before You Can Walk

“Every artist was first an amateur.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson “Despise not the day of small beginnings…Although thy beginning be small, thy latter end shall greatly increase.” It’s important that we remember that Rome was not built in a day. There are no overnight successes. Success happens over years, and only to those who are consistently consistent. Every “somebody” was once a “nobody;” everyone starts “small,” but if you’re focused, and if you’re steady, one day, you will be “big.”

• 2. Work From Your Strengths

“Just do what you do best.”- Red Auerbach Learn what you do best, and focus on that! If you wrote a book that only sold one copy after five years, then maybe writing’s not your “thing.” Discover your true passion and dedicate your life to doing that task to the very best of your ability. That’s what success is. Success is not buying a Rolls Royce; success is doing the best with the talents that you’ve been given. It’s playing the card you’ve been dealt to the very best of your ability.

• 3. Your Attitude Determines Your Altitude

“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”- Thomas Jefferson I know its clich’ but your attitude really does determine your altitude. Having a negative perspective is like walking through life with dark shades on; you don’t see as clearly and you miss opportunities that are right in front of you. In essence, you are your own worst enemy. It’s critical that you keep a positive mental attitude, it’s critical that you believe in your possibilities. Frank Loyd Wright said, “The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.” So always believe that you will succeed.

• 4. Success Comes From Your Habits

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.”-Aristotle Your life is a collection of your habits. If you succeed, it will be because over the course of your life you’ve collected habits that cause success. Your habits will take you further than your education. Robert Collier said, “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.”

• 5. You Must See Your Success in Your Mind

What you constantly ponder you will eventually become. You must see where you want to be. The clear vision of your desire gives you the motivation to make it happen. This works positively or negatively. If you consistently think about gambling, you’ll eventually try it. If you consistently think about providing value, you will eventually provide it. It all starts with the vision in your mind.

• 6. You Must Have a Goal

“A goal properly set is halfway reached.”-Abraham Lincoln Are you working towards your goals’ A person without a goal is like a car without an engine; it ain’t going nowhere. You must have a goal, and you must constantly work towards the achievement of that goal. You must constantly move in the direction of that goal. Conrad Hilton said “Success’seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”

• 7. Go After Your Dreams

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”-Mark Twain

You only live once, you only get one bite at the apple, I suggest you go after your dreams. Helen Keller said life is either a daring adventure or nothing! So live the life you’ve always imagined, explore, follow your passion, and in the end, you will have no regrets.