Tuesday at 2:00pm with Russ

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

Greetings to you!

Each week I send out a short leadership blog that's called "Tuesday at 2:00pm". The purpose of this is simply to provide a brief thought on leadership that you can read and think about in just a few minutes. I send it out every week at 2:00pm (PST) and encourage you to make an appointment with yourself to pause and think about the thing I'm writing about.

Russ...

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"I'll say NO to some good things so I can say YES to some really good things". *Russ Cline


What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

Well, I had a birthday milestone this past week and turned 60 years old. I don't think it's that traumatic, however being whisked away to a beach in Mexico by my wife for a few days helped a lot!

60 Years.

This month, I want to share some things that I've learned over the years by sharing some interpretations of some great quotes. I realize that nothing is really new, we just share ideas in new and fresh ways and it cycles around again and again. There is still much to learn from these ideas that have been around for a long time, so I'm going to share my top 4 quotes/ideas that I keep coming back to over and over again.

I've heard the message of saying NO from a few of my mentors: Jim Burns, Ron Cline & Guy Adams, just to name a few. I've heard this concept taught by John Maxwell, Patrick Lencioni and Michael Hyatt, also influencers in my life from a distance through their writing. The idea isn't new, but in my mind, this is what it looks like.

Every day I am forced to make decisions. This is a part of my leadership, a part of my daily routine, and these decisions keep coming at me. How I respond in these decisions impacts my life.

I learned early on that I can't say yes to everything. There's no way to do it, even though I tried.

So, from a large collection of voices over the years, I've learned to say NO to some things, even when they're really good things.

Think of the filters you use to make a decision, YES or NO? What are those filters?

DEEPER STILL:

There is a cost to saying no to good things:

  • You miss out on some relationships

  • You miss out on some fun activities

  • You miss out on opportunities

  • Other people think you're making a mistake

  • You are forced to let people down sometimes

  • You might not get asked a second time

There's a real cost to saying no, and you need to be aware of it.

However, when you learn to say NO because you're able to say YES to the right things, then this happens:

  • You are energized and excited about your yes

  • You are able to choose things that either use your unique gifts and skills to the fullest, or things that just make a bigger impact

  • You have "balance" in your life: margin, rest, space

  • You manage your schedule looking at not only your own capacity, but the capacity of those around you: your family, your friends, your co-workers

  • You are healthy and not living in chaos all the time

  • Others will learn what is most important to you and will lean into tha

This past week I said no to something that was really good. I hesitated, I stood back and looked at it, I tried to determine how to squeeze it in, and then I came to the honest realization that it wasn't in my best interest to force this opportunity, even though it was a good opportunity.

It's taken me almost 60 years to learn how to do this, and some of those lessons have been very painful.

Make both your NO and your YES count.

Thinks of one time in your life that you said YES to something you should have said NO to: How did it impact all the areas of your life?

 

Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:

Source: www.leadermundial.org