Fail or Succeed Quickly

 Bismillah.

Failing or (succeeding) quickly allows us to test hypothesis or potential solutions efficiently. I am a believer in executing on your vision or idea as quickly as possible so that you can either build on your idea and/or move on to your next contribution to the world. 

John Maxwell writes in his book, Failing Forward, "The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure."

John Maxwell also cites a Thomas Edison quote, "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

I haven't read the full book, Failing Forward, but Maxwell's main thesis to redefine how we look at failure and treat it as a stepping stone towards success.

notes from today matters by John Maxwell

 Bismillah.

I'm reading Today Matters 12 Daily Practices to guarantee tomorrow's success by John Maxwell with one of my teammates.

I listed some quotes from chapter one that resonating with me. In terms of reflection, John Maxwell’s main point is to take full advantage of today, don’t stress about what happened yesterday, and don’t push off something worthwhile to start tomorrow. 

Hope some of the notes below inspire you to make the best use of today. I’ll try to add more reflection in future posts IA.

"Real, sustainable change doesn't happen in a moment. It's a process."

"Growth comes from making decisions and following though on them."

"The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda...Successful people make right decision early and mange those decisions daily."

 "One today is worth two tomorrows; what I am to be, I am now becoming." Benjamin Franklin

Today can become a masterpiece

The only adequate preparation for tomorrow is the right use of today.

Today's Priorities give me Focus

Devoting a little of yourself to everything means committing a great deal of yourself to nothing." Michael LeBoef

Ralph Waldo Emerson advised, "Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life."

Priorities help us to choose wisely. Author Rober J. Mckain says, " The reason most goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first."

John Maxwell recommends asking yourself three questions when determining your priorities:

1. What is required of me?
2. What give the greatest return?
3. What gives me the greatest reward?

Today's Health Gives me strength

Successful people make the major decision in their life early and mange them daily.

Today's family gives me stability

Decide on your philosophy

1. Commitment to God
2. Continual growth
3. Common experiences
4. Confidence-- in God, Ourselves, and others
5. Contributions to Life

Today's thinking give me an Advantage

1. Big Picture Thinking
2. Focused Thinking
3. Creative Thinking
4. Realistic Thinking
5. Strategic Thinking
6. Possibility Thinking
7. Reflective Thinking
8. Questioning Popular Thinking
9. Shared Thinking
10. Unselfish Thinking
11. Bottom-Line Thinking

Today's Commitment Give me Tenacity:

Today's Finances Give Me Options

Today's Faith Give me Peace:

Self Evaluation 

1. Attitude: Choose and display the right attitude daily
2. Priorities: Determine and act on important priorities daily
3. Health: Know and follow health guidelines daily
4. Family: Communicate with and care for my family daily
5. Thinking: Practice and develop good thinking daily
6. Commitment; Make and keep properly commitments daily
7. Finances: Earn and properly manage finances daily
8. Faith: Deepen and live out my faith daily
9. Relationships: Initiate and invest in solid relationships daily
10. Generosity: Plan for and model generosity daily
11. Values: Embrace and practice good values daily
12. Growth: Desire and experience improvements daily. 

Some notes from 7 Habits from Highly Effective People- Stephen Covey

 Bismilah. 

I'm going to try and be consistent on this blog again. I listened to a talk from Seth Godin recently and he spoke of the benefits of writing/blogging every day.

I am currently reading a few books with my team members at Altenew. I will share some of the lessons/takeaways that are in my mind from two of the books today.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People- by Stephen Covey

Stephen Covey discusses the concept of P/PC balance. P stands for production of desired results and PC stands for production capability. He gives an example of a goose that lays golden eggs. Golden Egg in this example would be the P and the goose itself would be the PC. Covey makes the case to nurture both P and PC to be most effective. Focusing on just one of these concepts isn't optimal.

See below for Covey's own words:

Effectiveness lies in the balance. Excessive focus on P results in ruined health, worn-out machines, depleted bank accounts, and broken relationships. Too much focus on PC is like a person who runs three or fours hours a day, bragging about the extra ten years of life it creates, unaware he’s spending them running. Or a person endlessly going to school, never producing, living on other people’s golden eggs-- the eternal student syndrome

The P/PC concept instilled a stronger initiative in me to produce more results  (i.e. share my own golden eggs with the world). Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in reading and learning, and not spending enough time in executing and contributing to the world. I agree with Covey that there needs to be a balance between developing skills and achieving results. 

For those of you that are not aware of 7 Habits that Covey illustrates as fundamental are listed below:

1. Be Proactive
2. Begin with the End in Mind
3. Put First Thing First
4. Think Win-Win
5. Seek First to Understand Then to Be Understood
6. Synergize
7. Sharpen the Saw

The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader by John Maxwell 

Out of the 21 qualities of a leader highlighted by John Maxwell, the one on Vision probably made me reflect the most.  Maxwell discusses the importance of vision in guiding a leader and helping them provide a pathway for their team. 

On a personal note, I plan on outlining a vision statement for Altenew, my family and personally in the upcoming days. Let me know if you want to compare notes and if you want to hold each other accountable.

Hoping these thoughts sparked something in you to contribute a bit more today, inshAllah- NR