Leadership influence and character Archives - Page 5 of 14

A person of value

May 7, 2019 by Zero Dean

One adds far more value to their life by contributing something of value to other people’s lives than they do by seeking to benefit only their own.

Collect value by contributing value.

“Try not to become a [person] of success. Rather become a [person] of value.” — Albert Einstein

Related:

Originally Published on: Jul 17, 2015 @ 16:34

Success isn’t just about accomplishment

May 4, 2019 by Zero Dean

Success isn’t just about accomplishment. It’s also about how the things you do in your life motivate & inspire others to do something motivating & inspiring in theirs.

It’s about helping people. It’s about adding value to other people’s lives. It’s about making a positive difference, no matter how small.

Success has a lot more to do with what isn’t immediately visible than it does with trophies, awards, wealth, or material things.

Related:

Originally Published on: Aug 15, 2013 @ 06:23

Dear Internet, please stop disrespecting creators

April 12, 2019 by Zero Dean

Dear Internet,

You can benefit from sharing people’s work without disrespecting the people who created it.

In case you’ve never thought about it, people who crop off creator’s names & watermarks and then share their work because they like it do a tremendous disservice to the people who created it.

Zero Dean

Consequences of corruption

February 27, 2019 by Zero Dean

In case it wasn’t obvious, protecting a corrupt person from the consequences of their corruption is also corruption.

Corruption

February 27, 2019 by Zero Dean

Corruption: dishonest or fraudulent conduct

“With the obvious exception of the numerous people who worked among us that we no longer wish to associate with because they were caught for corruption, we’re not corrupt.” says the corrupt person working for a corrupt organization seeking to protect another corrupt person in that organization from being caught for corruption.

Rinse. Repeat.

One of a million vs one in a million

February 26, 2019 by Zero Dean

Yes, you can make a difference by being one of a million. But you might make more of a difference by being one in a million.

Conformity doesn’t lead to progress in the same way as being different and inspiring others to change does.

When the example you see others setting isn’t leading you to where you want to go, it’s time to stop following and start leading.

Don’t do what you don’t approve of

February 25, 2019 by Zero Dean

It often starts with rightly standing up against something you don’t approve of. But if you’re not careful, you begin to take on behaviors of your opponents and act in ways that you originally disapproved of.

Dammit, Zero. If only you could have found a better way to suggest that someone who was behaving badly act better than by pointing out that they weren’t setting a good example for the millions of people who follow them.

I mean, what if they actually see what you said about what they shared with millions of people? What if they’re embarrassed by it? What if they get angry with you for pointing out their bad behavior?

Or what if — just for a second — they think about what I actually said and — maybe, just maybe — it has the potential to get them to remember the type of person they want to be and actually change their approach and begin to set a better example for the MILLIONS of people who follow them?

I’ll take the possibility of unsettling someone for a moment any day for a chance at getting a person with a tremendous amount of influence to set a good example for millions of people.

It must be ok.

February 24, 2019 by Zero Dean

You saw someone standing up for something you believe in. And you didn’t like how they did it, but you saw other people cheer. So it must be OK.

So one day, while standing up for something you believe in, you go against your values by acting badly when you do it. But as badly as you act, those who agree with you still cheer. So it must be OK.

And while you were basking in the glow of being approved of by people willing to overlook your bad behavior because they agree with your message, someone else was watching and thinking, “It must be OK.”

The messenger matters

February 24, 2019 by Zero Dean

If the person representing your opinion or desired way of life is exhibiting signs of bad behavior when they do it, you can be certain that the majority of people the message is intended for will focus on the bad behavior and ignore the message.

You can cheer on the champions of your cause all you want, but if they’re not setting a good example when they represent your ideas, they’re doing more to ensure that your cause or organization will be perceived badly than they are in changing anyone’s mind.

Those who represent you aren’t doing you any favors if they’re not setting a good example when they do it. And if they’re communicating your ideas in a way that your opposition isn’t receptive to, you can be almost certain that the bad behavior is what they see, not the ideas.

Just because you agree with the message being shared doesn’t mean you should tolerate or ignore the bad behavior of the person conveying it.

More hate is not the answer

December 28, 2020February 23, 2019 by Zero Dean

Just a reminder that not everyone you connect with is working with the same level of awareness or maturity or mindset. And certainly, no two people are working from the same set of life experiences.

Some people you encounter online seem to have such high standards that it would be nearly impossible to meet them, and yet their own personal standards are so low that the only enjoyment they get is in trying to exert their dominance over others or make other people feel bad. Some of the people you encounter beat their wives or their children. Some of them solicit prostitutes in their private life while preaching the sanctity of marriage in their public one. Some of them have weapons caches and manifestos. And some of those same people are planning what will become the next mass shooting.

Some of the people you encounter put themselves to sleep with alcohol every night. And some of them want to preach to you about how to live your life and tell you why your ideas about anything they disagree with are wrong. Some of the people you encounter will tell you who or what you should respect while simultaneously having no respect for themselves or others. Some of the people you encounter believe that the world would be better off if anyone with an opposing opinion, different skin color, or different religion didn’t exist. And even some who claim to worship a loving God are the same people who don’t hesitate to wish death upon those who don’t live their lives the same way they do.

Some of these people demand that you respect their opinion or their way of life while at no time showing any respect for your own. They will hurl insults, make threats, and say derogatory things while extolling upon the reasons why their desired way of life is better than yours.

And as much as all of these things may want you to return hate with hate, it isn’t the answer. Because hate isn’t going to solve our problems. And we can all find far better ways to deal with life’s issues than attempting to use hate as a means to fix problems and get what we want.

It should go without saying, but there are alternatives to getting angry, being hateful, and wanting to see other people suffer because they don’t believe the same things that you do. And those alternatives are likely are a far better reflection of the person you truly want to be than the person you are when you are trying to hurt people.

Your insults, no matter how witty, aren’t doing anything to advance your cause. And your nasty remarks aren’t doing you any favors either.

Your hate isn’t helping.

You can be almost certain that the path to a better future doesn’t involve saying things to other people that if other people said them to you, you’d accuse them of behaving badly.

We can do better. More hate is not the answer.

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