You know your destination and you have a vision, but things change. How
do you know if you are still heading in the same direction? We call
this setting your compass. The 7 steps to reinvent yourself from a
leaver to a leader is a framework that puts you in control of your own
life in a creative way, using your own life experiences. With this, you
can become a creative force to reinvent yourself in your current
workplace. So the first things is for you to recognise your inner force –
your compass – that will be an inner guidance system of the L.O.S
(Leaders’ Operating System) that will help you stay on track as you move
towards your destination.
I often enjoy meeting up with some of
our leaders and see their eyes sparkling as we engage in the type of
training and workshops we run at TriExForces which in itself is a
combination of a travel and a training company. Our workshops trifecta
on Leading Oneself, Leading Others and Leading Organisation, which I
called the 3LOS. I personally take great pleasure in planning with my
team and designing those programmes and itineraries. As I live near the
sea and with Southampton being the main capital with one of my
businesses in the cruise industry, I often see cruise agents
advertising for a “cruise to nowhere”. Maybe you’ve been on one. The
journey is simple. Instead of the ship leaving for some adventurous or
exotic places, it goes out at sea and travels in circle, while the
passengers all enjoy some great shows, and activities onboard. A cruise
to nowhere may be a fun way to spend a few days, but it`s no way to
spend your life. The whole idea of cruising is to explore places and
experience new things.
The same applies to your own compass, and if you don’t set a compass,
you will be going on a cruise to nowhere. You will stay in the same
boring job, have the same annoying boss and unfortunately earn the same
wage until your job is disrupted and you become a leaver in transition.
Let’s face it, ten years on since the 2008 recession, many people’s
lives changed, but for most, life has either remained the same or got
worse. Living costs have gone up while wages have been stagnating. And
having had a close look at the last 10 years, earnings have lagged
behind prices of food, utilities and housing costs for most of the
decade since the start of the recession. In the public sector, a pay
freeze (from 2011) and pay cap (from 2013) kept wage rises below
inflation, while in the private sector wage growth has also been slow.
Unfortunately this behaviour also exists in the military. I have come
across service personnel who have been in the same rank for years and
have no intention of going anywhere. The military has a rank structure
second to none which has been in use for centuries, and tested by years
of wars and conflicts. It is designed for you to grow and not get
comfortable. You need to identify and set sail toward your destination.
In other words, you need to discover your dream, and you need to find
the time to discover your internal compass that will take you to your
dream. The whole secret of transitioning is to find out what is your
destiny and your passion and to make a plan to accomplish it. Then do
it
One of my heroes since I was 14 years old is the celebrity, Arnold
Schwarzenegger. His dream grew out of body building. He was the world’s
best body builder for six consecutive years. From boyhood, he had a
passion for studying the anatomy. He taught himself how to train, and
then he went to the USA to train as a professional, and became a movie
star due to his physique. He became known, liked and trusted as the
Governor of California from 2003 to 2011. He has an internal compass
that has set him for years as an Austrian-American actor, filmmaker,
businessman, investor, author, philanthropist, activist, politician, and
former professional bodybuilder and powerlifter.
Setting your
compass will help you understand how far you have to go and help you
identify where you are. The British Army has a huge rank structure from
Private to Warrant Officer class one. One is expected have reached the
top rank by the time they are about to retire, others do cross over to
the officer`s rank if they are ambitious enough and have set their
compass high enough. Will your compass help you to know how far you
need to go?
When I was 11 years old, we used to live in a city called Vacoas in
Mauritius, which is very green and in the high land. The back of our
house was surrounded by mountains and some hills with sugar cane
plantations leading from our land to the mountain. I somehow knew the
sea was behind those mountains and I wished you could just climb on top
of the house to see it. One school holiday I set off to go and see the
sea, which meant I was going to climb this mountain. No one knew about
it; not my friends nor my parents. Early that morning, I set off with a
bottle of water and after walking for one hour, I found myself at the
foot of this huge and colossal mountain called Trois Mammelles – French
for Three Peaks. There was no coming back: my dream was on the other
side of this mountain if I wanted to see the ocean.
Finding your
internal compass is not as hard as you think. It may even be staring
you in the face. Your compass is your master key and when you find it
you are on a journey. This is the premise of ‘Leavers to Leaders’.
So here are 7 steps to help you discover your internal compass from Leavers To Leaders:
1. Ask people who know you – you will be surprised how much others know about you.
2. Take time out to examine yourself. Steal one hour a week of your busy life to do this.
3. Read about the life of other people who may have had the same problem as you, and if possible, reach out to them.
4. Study your life so far. Go back as far as when you were 10 years old. What can you remember?
5. What is the one thing your colleagues, boss, friends and family say about you?
6. Face your fears and do it anyway. (read my blog on fear)
7. Remember the past is not an indication of your future.
Are ou ready to leave and start leading?
Find out in the following 14 questions and get a customised report.
I would like to hear your thoughts on the above, or how you
discovered your compass. Leave me a message below or connect with me
@SamuelTReddy on facebook & Twitter.
Samuel T. Reddy
Best selling Author of Leavers To Leaders.
Entrepreneur / Speaker /Advisor.
www.SamuelTReddy.com
SReddy@TriExForces.com
You can also get a copy of my book Leavers to Leaders on amazon.
