Ambition

Ambition... the "A" word

Quite problematic for some and natural for others...
It leads us to either put up our best performance or it challenges our essence.
Why is it so?
The answer is not that complicated... FEAR!
The greatest fear in this world is the fear of success. YES I said it, fear of success. Success requires commitment and discipline, orelse it is short-lived. And short-lived is failure, because behind the fear of success, there is the fear of failure after success.
This phenomena is common in the Performance Industry, how many of you can name a group that made a video for one good song and disapeared? Failure after success..

Then, the question is... Is surpassing the fear of success and confronting the fear of failure, the true meaning of Ambition? And I'm not talking about people who try thinking that they will fail.
Are you ambitious?

Fundamental differences

Lately, I have been confronted with different views of relationships.
Personally, the ideal in my opinion is a relationship with connection, sincere love and devotion.
However, some people believe that love becomes companionship, how sad no?
I wonder what most men think of relationships, are we a burden?

I've been told to accept it and move on, but to me it is impossible...
Is the main reason of divorse the fact that men don't believe in love or the fact that women naively believe in it regardless...?

This is so complex, right? I feel puzzled and confused by the complexity of relationships and people. Don't you?

Courage!

One attribute that every leader must have is courage!
Whether it is courage to say no or just to stand your ground, it is a must.
However, courage alone can have undesired side effects, such as loosing a job or a friend. That is why, I consider independence an asset for a leader wanting to be able to stand tall at any time.
This is good for everyone, if you don't save money or place your self in vulnerable situations (financially, legally or in relation to friends) then you take the risk to being force to go against your values.
Therefore, courage requires that we put ourselves in the bext possible situations in order to be able to exercise it.

Decline

It feels like leadership is about being great and perfect to other people's eyes.
But we all know that even leader have their bad days, but how do they manage to look so solid on a daily basis? We can only speculate abour this and it really depends on individual personalities.

My opinion is that a leader must have a balance in their live that allows for stability and furthermore they are so busy with ideas, life projects or other things that they don't have time to stop and wonder.
Also, the inspiration and passion always play a role in the consistence, since it is a driving force in someone life.

What is your tool to climb the mountain of obstacles that you will face? What is your passion or/and inspiration that keeps you rolling everyday?

Quotes

Tool for personal growth and success: Quotes 

You can't let other people tell you who you are. You have to decide that for yourself.

If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. -Dr. Maya Angelou

What do quotes do?

Inspire you to be go beyond what society expects of you;

 Bring a new perspective;

  Set values and goals in your life

   Empower you!

Why would you want to grow anyways?

Simply because society and the natural order is always changing and you don't want to be left behind. 

Old Brewery Mission

This is an example of community leadership in Montreal that is inspiring and worth sharing:

http://www.oldbrewerymission.ca/

If you don't know that organization already, it's not too late. Old Brwery Mission is focus on efficiently and humanly solutioning homelessness. Their slogan : soothing and solving.

They work with other existing organizations in order to prevent, resolve and solution the condition of homeless people in Montreal, by making the organization not only an emergency stop, but also a transition and social reintegration tool.

In our socially concious World, is it possible to be a leader without incorporating the greater good of the society into our daily work? In my opinion, in the close future, everyone including leaders will have to open their eyes to the condition of others in order to succeed.

So, if you have a few hours to share with great people, please contact the OBM to volunteer. Their team will appreciate your input and the community in which you live will be a better place.

Malcom Gladwell

The perfect leader to help implement and bring change is Malcom Gladwell, the author of four books, among which "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference” and  "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" and a writer for New Yorker magazine. Born in England, his family immigrated to Canada and now lives in New York. In his first book, "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference” addresses the power to influence social change for which he defines three rules: the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context. The Tipping Point refers to the idea that diseases (like social changes) are contagious and are passed on from one individual to another until they become an epidemic. Gladwell also makes the point that small changes can have a significant impact, but that real change happens in a hurry. 

Gladwell’s second book, "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" addresses the usefulness and stickiness of stereotypes in every individual’s life. He refers to the term “thin slicing”, which according to a number of sociological researches allows individuals to use mental short cuts to interpret a situation or event. 

Everyone interested in leadership and success should read him at least once!

The egg or the chicken

Is leadership innate, learned or dependent on situations?
What factors affect leadership effectiveness?
Which of these factors can be control?

In other words, how much of your destiny do you control?

In my opinion, our generation has control over almost all situations considering that we have access to information. Especially in Canada, where we have a good quality of people with an open mind and great values.

Big 5 Personality Dimensions

Conscientiousness
Extraversion - Introversion
Openess to experience
Emotional stability
Agreeableness

These features somewhat relate to EQ categories.
Working over a given period of time at these factors will contribute to success for yourself and for people around you.
What unconventional ways can we think of in order to work on them?

EQ

5 Components of Emotional Intelligence
Self-awareness : Being aware of and in touch with your own feelings and emotions
Self-regulation: Being able to manage various emotions and moods without denying or suppressing them
Self-Motivation : Being able to remain positive and optomistic
Empathy for Others : Being able to read others' emotions accurately and putting yourself in their place
Interpersonal and Social skills : Having the skills to build and maintain positive relationships with others

Which ones do you possess? Which ones do you need to work on?
Emotional intelligence is the first step to success, since it allows you to take the right path using the right tools in life. I like to think of it as goals for myself to be best at all these aspects of emotional IQ.
The question as to whether there is a limit to how much one can flex their nature in order to meet those requirements. The good thing is that it does cost anything to try.