Are you challenging the status quo?

Are you communicating your vision for the future?

Are you creating a culture around your vision and getting others involved in that culture?

These are some of the questions and topics that Seth Godin discusses in the new book Tribes:  We Need You to Lead Us.  I have read the book, and it is a short, great read.

Kerry Hannon of USA Today had a great article today about the book so check it ou:

On the Internet, anyone can be a great leader…so hop to it.

This is true, but there is a caveat to this.  I have met people who are great leaders on the internet, but they are just not great leaders in person.  I watched one of my favorite internet leaders dis one of his “list subscribers of which he boasts 60,000″ on an elevator during a conference a few years ago, and I then saw him leave trash on the floor by his seat at the end of a presentation.  The leadership bubble around him went “pop” in less than 24 hours.

On the other hand, I do believe that Obama lead us on the internet during his campaign, and by all accounts, that leadership permeated the public campaign as well.

All in all, Tribes is a great read, so check it out.

Over the last two months, I have been reading and re-reading The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur by Mike Michalowicz (you too should read this book…it is a must for anyone who is in business.) In chapter 2, Mike talks about the wall of limiting beliefs and the profound impact they can have on our ability to break through our current plateau or to stay stuck in mediocrity.

In chapter 16 of EDGE! A Leadership Story, our protagonist, Mitchell James begins to come to grips with his own leadership and his lack of authenticity. His team has nailed him on the 360 Degree Feedback for not bringing his true leadership forward, and he knows that in order to break through the plateau and to begin to lead global change, he has to be willing to do things differently, including changing his beliefs and turning his doubts about his own authentic style upside down. If you have never tried on being truly authentic, it can be as scary as hell, and in EDGE!, our protagonist experiences both the exhilaration and the panic of finally becoming an authentic leader.

I believe that the first step in overcoming our old belief systems is to name them on paper…to write them out big and bold and to then show these beliefs to someone else. This one activity can release the choke hold of negative beliefs and can help you break through the plateau Michalowicz talks about in his groundbreaking book.

If you are reading this blog post today, I am going to challenge you to answer the following questions on paper and then talk to at least 3 people about what you wrote:

1) How are you currently living in a state of mediocrity, living as you have for decades?

2) What do you most doubt about yourself and why?

3) What is a dream you have given up on and why?

4) When you look at the world around you (your environment, the people in your life, the books you are reading,) what old beliefs are still smothering you?

5) What one change do you know you need to make in order to be more successful? What is holding you back from making that change?

6) What about your childhood, family or roots are a part of your story, and what are you doing to tell others about that story? If you are leaving this out of your story, what are you ashamed of or afraid to talk about?

If this post has resonated with you today, I invite you to check out The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur and EDGE! A Leadership Story and then send me an e-mail for a complimentary consultation. I would be honored to offer you 30 minutes to explore the above questions.

I have been reading The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, and I want to read you 3 paragraphs from the book on the topic of Immutable Laws. This is just a teeny tiny sliver of the great information in a book that I believe all business owners need given what is going on in our world today.

 

 Immutable Laws [6:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I wanted to drop in a quick post about one of the most insightful and clever books that just came out and was written by my friend Mike Michalowicz.

If you buy it, that is great, but that is NOT the intent of this post. I simply wanted to expose you to a concept and ‘movement’ that is all about helping young entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs achieve the next level. The link to the website is:

http://www.ToiletPaperEntrepreneur.com

I also will be interviewing Mike Michalowicz on Y-
Talk Radio tomorrow night. Be sure to tune in here.

The book that took 35 experts 18 months to create is now here! I am honored to have been asked to contribute a chapter on the Masterful Guerrilla Team.

Book Description: Let 35 World Class Guerrilla Marketing Coaches Teach You Their Time-tested Tactics and Strategies for Getting New Customers and Turning Them Into Your Most Enthusiastic Fans! Here is a taste of what you’re going to learn in Guerrilla Marketing on the Front Lines: * Dozens of new high impact strategies for reaching and acquiring new customers…even on a shoestring budget, * Cutting edge online tactics designed to cut through the clutter and dramatically increase your visibility and conversion rates, * The keys to developing high powered Guerrilla partnerships and affiliate programs that will leverage your time and actually make you money while you sleep. Are you ready to turn your own prospects into customers and then into raving fans who will buy from you again, and again, and again? Join us on the Front Lines and get ready to launch your own Guerrilla Marketing Attack!

Pick up a copy today from Amazon.com.