American’s Resilient Optimism

I was reading an interesting article from Reuters that was about a Pew Economic Mobility Project survey. The survey found that Americans still widely believe in the “American Dream” as success determined by one’s own effort and not external factors or birthrights.

The nationwide survey of 2,119 adults found that:

• 79 percent said it is still possible to get ahead in the current economy;
• 72 percent said they believed they will personally be better off 10 years from now;
• 74 percent said they were at least somewhat in control of their economic situation, but only 43 percent said that other people were in control;
• 71 percent said personal ambition was a more important determinant of success than external conditions.

The survey has a margin of error 3.4%.

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The son of a Kansan mother and Nigerian father, President-elect Obama became the first African-American editor of the Harvard Law Review. After gaining experience and ties to the Chicago community, he first ran for State Senator and quickly climbed the political later from two terms in the Illinois State Senate, one term in the US Senate, and now President of the United States.

He is often quoted for his statements on this Union, while far from perfect, is often perfected; like the evolution where it’s not the fittest who survive, but rather the best, brightest, and of highest character who thrive.

Even in the midst of an economic recession, where there is more than enough news touted to make anyone question just how bad it may get. Still there is the glimmer of hope, the light of possibility, and shinning beacon for all to see. Today we may struggle through the mire of financial woes. Tomorrow, on January 20th, 2009, we will rise to champion the American dream to not be limited to some based on color or creed, but to all who put their mind to succeed.

You can do it if you put your mind to it. YES WE CAN!!!

***Updated January 20th at 12:04pm EST***

Well, there it is – Barack Obama is now the 44th President of the United States of America.

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Quote for Leaders from Charles C. Noble:
“You must have long term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short term failures.”

On this site, I’ve written before that dreams can come true through the implementation of incremental goals. For the sake of consistency, relate dreams as long-term goals and it starts to make sense. I’m not talking about dreams like winning the lottery, but rather realistic dreams like building a successful, multinational company – something that can be accomplished with effort, ingenuity, planning, and, then, a little good luck. Remember, of course, the famous quote from Louis Pasteur, “Chance favors the prepared mind.” While in order to win the lottery, you have to prepare by buying a lottery ticket and/or selecting your numbers, the bulk of the event is locked in chance. Where chance is an additional factor, not the primary factor, preparedness can be the difference.

Too often, while working along the path of incremental goals, some of those goals may be failures, but it doesn’t have to cause the big picture to be a failure.

J.K. Rowling 

Last year, J.K. Rowling gave a commencement address at Harvard. In her speech, she said, “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.” This is a woman who was a single mother, reliant upon welfare benefits, who went from poverty to wealth through creating the Harry Potter books. Harry Potter is now is a multibillion dollar brand and J.K. Rowling is very wealthy in her own right. The initial story was written at time when J.K. Rowling’s mother had died after a ten-year battle with multiple sclerosis, when she had dealt with a divorce from the father of her child, and suffered through her own battle with clinical depression and thoughts of suicide (the source of influence for the Dementors characters – the soulless creature who suck happiness from its victims). For J.K. Rowling, she found her success by knowing that failure was merely part of the journey to success, not the destination.

Dreams can come true through the implementation of incremental goals. Long-term goals are the focus to move beyond short-term failures.

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There is a commonly reference proverb that states:
“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.”

This is used to encourage you to set goals and aim for success. The idea is to not focus on how you are going to do something or what road you will take, but rather focus on where you want to end up – your destination – to determine the route. Even if you don’t know the route to take, but know the destination then as you live your life the route becomes known – the opportunities arise.

First things first, set a goal – determine the success you want to achieve.

Many years ago, I was soldier stationed in Germany and while I was there, I met an older gentleman who was always willing to give me advice on any topic that I asked. He was a retired office and at the time worked for a Defense contractor. The best advice he gave me was to always do my best on what I am working on at the moment and let the details of what to do next work out for themselves.

Ever since I was a teenager, I was always looking toward the next things I wanted to do. When I was fifteen, I wanted to start working toward certain college degrees, but I wasn’t focusing very well on completing my high school diploma. I spent more time focusing on the topics that interested me, but didn’t give my best efforts in the general topics of high school. Of course, later in life, I learned how important the foundation of general knowledge is in working toward higher learning topics.

When I was in college, I remember taking an assessment to determine my learning style. I scored nearly even across all categories. What this indicated was that I was driven by the topics that interest me at the time that they interest me. I can delve into single topic and learn more about it in a short period of time, but when it comes to learning and studying specific topics as set by a University curriculum, at times, I didn’t have the interest, so I didn’t delve in to the same motivation as I focus on non-curriculum topics. Completing my degrees, while simple from my intellectual perspective, became difficult because of motivation and working on the topics as given to me rather than those I sought myself.

There is an un-sourced quote from former Secretary of State and General Colin Powell that I have always enjoyed:
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.”

In this one quote, Colin Powell breaks down a three-point process for success: Preparation, Hard work, and Learning from Failure.

1. Preparation – Set goals. Don’t focus your attention on all the details of how to achieve your goals, but focus primarily on the goals.
2. Work hard – In everything that you do, do it to the best of your abilities. The opportunities will come your way, but you need the foundation set in place in order for the opportunities to come.
3. Learn from Failure – This has been a common theme on this blog. Failures are not the problem, but rather one of the opportunities. How you respond to failure better determines success in the future than nearly anything else. How you respond to failure demonstrates your work ethic, your determination, your perspective, and your level of experience.

As 2008 becomes history and 2009 becomes the present, this is a new year with new opportunities – make the most of this year starting now.

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I recently was reminded of the “Pyramid of Success” from Coach John Wooden of which he developed a lecture and book by the same title. (To see the Pyramid of Success click here.) Coach Wooden was the first person enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach. He played for Purdue and coached for Indian State and UCLA.

From his father, Joshua, Coach Wooden had a Seven Point Creed from which he built his success in life.

His Seven Point Creed is:

1. Be true to yourself.
2. Make each day your masterpiece.
3. Help others.
4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
5. Make friendship a fine art.
6. Build a shelter against a rainy day.
7. Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.

How Coach John Wooden defines success:

“Success is peach of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.”

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A few days ago, I started reading the new book by Thomas Craughwell, Failures of the Presidents. Craughwell’s book covers stories from history that highlight that “Everyone makes mistakes, but when an American president blunders the result can be catastrophic” (front cover description). While I’ve only read the first couple of chapters, I started to think that an underlying problem was the sense of a need for decisive action. To many fall on the sword of black and white decisiveness while this world not only has many shades of gray, but the full spectrum of color.

Dale Carnegie, the author of the business book that after 70 years still is a top seller, How to Win Friends & Influence People, is quoted as saying, “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”

Presidents and national leaders are people of action, but leadership requires more than decisive action. It requires knowing that action comes in many forms and decisiveness can have painful consequences when it is wrong. Decisive action, when it is the right action, requires thorough planning and flawless execution.

We don’t live in a perfect world, so while the best laid plans may still result in failure, failure is a life lesson. Failures are the building blocks that every leader has had to work with. You may think that accomplishments are the building blocks of leaders, but in this world, most accomplishments only follow failures. I get concerned when people purport to have never made mistakes or have regrets. I find those to either be lying or ignorant.

While Presidents and other leaders must make decisions, decisive actions are the inflexible, hard-lined barriers of the points of no return. Once the first bomb is dropped, there is no taking it back; and countering that action is a war of many dead soldiers and many dead civilians in harm’s way. Decisions are the directions in the path through life.  When leaders make decisions they learn from the experience and with each decision confidence and capability improve.

Craughwell’s book, while at first may seem to be satirical or be a book bashing failed leaders; it is actually a book filled with stories of some of the greatest presidents who have ever lead the USA. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison all have chapters in Craughwell’s book, but all are directly responsible for the success of an infant country on the brink of a new chapter in world history.

In the end, I guess I’m writing this to encourage all leaders, the next president included, that while a failure may be in the cards, failure doesn’t have to define you. It matters what other actions you take as well – how you respond to failure.

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Sen. Joe Biden, the DNC nominee for Vice President, gave his acceptance speech on Wednesday night, August 27, 2008. Sen. Biden is an intriguing choice for VP as he was first elected to the Senate when he was merely 29 years old.

Sen. Biden started with a talk about his father, who died, and his mother who was in the audience on Wednesday. He talked about the values he was raised with and the wisdom of his mother. He also shared his view on failure. It is a quote from Sen. Biden that I want to share with you for it is the same perspective that I have written about so many times on this blog about leadership.

Quote about failure from Sen. Joe Biden:
“Failure, failure at some point in your life is inevitable, but giving up is unforgivable.”

To succeed in life, don’t be afraid to fail, all great leaders encounter failure at some point, but all great leaders know the importance and the value of enduring beyond the failure – never give up.

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The Personal Side

He was not well educated, nor did he come from a prominent family. Instead his formal education lasted merely 18 months, was self-taught, even passing the bar exam to become a lawyer, and an avid reading.

He lost his mother when he was merely 9 years old and had to overcome the death of his first sweetheart when he was 26.

Career Failures

This person failed in business when he was 21 years old. When he was 23, he was defeated in his first legislative election race. At 24, he again failed in business and suffered through a nervous breakdown by 27.

He lost two Congressional races when he was 34 and 36 and lost a US Senate race when he was 45. He failed in an effort to become the Vice President when he was 47 and lost another Senate bid the same year.

Success and Greatness

In spite of all of his failures, this person remained determined to succeed and never failed as a leader. You know him and every young person in the United States learns about his leadership at a very young age. Even around the entire world, he is known as a great leader and a shining example for national leadership.

I am writing about the sixteenth President of the United States – Abraham Lincoln.

Quote from Abraham Lincoln about failure:
“The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.”

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I want to share an idea that I have been dwelling on. It’s a simple formula or model for effective and successful leadership.

Successful Leadership = (Effective Communication + Articulate Vision + Influence + Action) (Ethics)

Effective Communication

3 Dynamics of Leadership

Articulate Vision

The Leaders Vision

Influence

Dr. Myles Monroe on Leadership and Influence

Action

Leadership and Action
Influence and Action

Ethics

Ethics is the multiplier for a very critical reason – anything multiplied by zero equals zero. Without ethics, nothing else amounts to much of anything.

The Relationship of Ethics and Leadership

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Quote about Success and Failure from Sir Winston Churchill:
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.”

Keep failures in perspective: failures happen and then there’s success – fail, persevere, learn, and then succeed.

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