Today's Leadership Insight - An Important Lesson From a Morning Jog

August 11th, 2009

Over the past couple months, and even some time before that, I've been putting a lot of emphasis on building my business and developing my leadership skills by any means necessary. Today, for example, I'm attending a "Get Motivated" Conference here in Pittsburgh, where speakers such as Zig Ziglar, Rudy Giuliani, Colin Powell, Terry Bradshaw, and Steelers safety Troy Polamalu will discuss a wide variety of topics including commitment, dedication, motivation, and championship thinking.

ADVICE: When opportunities like this present themselves, take advantage.

But as I was saying, over that time, a lot of my focus has been on development, and not on my physical well-being. I have let myself go and have caused damage to one of my greatest assets: my body.

But, whatever it is, I own it. It's mine. I decided that things will continue to stay the same, or get worse, if I don't take action and hold myself accountable for getting results in this area of my life as well.

I was on a conference call with the great John Jackson and he discussed how much more focused and energized he feels after partaking in a morning workout. Because I have tremendous respect for all John's lessons, I decided to test his theory.

And JJ...again, spot-on.

My mind is more focused and alert, and I simply feel better. So...this is something I've decided to stick to because it's simply another way to improve and develop myself.

This morning, I took a jog and pushed myself as hard as I could. This is when I realized something: my legs are still not under me. As I pressed on, I started thinking about how this relates to business and leadership.

Expecting to hone your leadership skills and grow your business in a matter of days is as foolish a thought as me thinking I can take one or two jogs and be back in tip-top condition.

It's a daily process. It's ongoing. It takes constant effort, just like anything else. If you think of anything you've earned in your life, chances are you made significant improvements as you put more effort towards reaching a desired level of success.

Today, treat your business efforts with the same level of respect. Realize that an hour's worth of work will merit an hour's worth of results. If that's the time you have to dedicate to your business today, so be it. But don't expect earth-shattering results right off the bat.

Remember, everything you do is a process. If you truly believe, every goal you have is worth working for. Keep your attention set on what you can do today, and let the pieces fall into place for tomorrow.