Kris de Leon's Blog

Having self-discipline is powerful to help you accomplish anything you desire. With self-discipline, you can control your emotions, actions, thoughts, words and personal direction. Some people seem to be naturally self-controlled and some seem to have no self-control at all. Others seem to constantly struggle with self-discipline.

Discipline is learning to say “no” to our primitive uncontrolled cravings and selfish destructive desires. We learn to develop this discipline when you can distinguish the difference between what is actually needed and what is really necessary.

It is more difficult today, than in any other time in history, to exert self-discipline because of our ability to get almost anything we want with a push of a button or swipe of a credit card. We are also constantly bombarded with advertising that enhances our cravings for things.

An important step to gaining self-control is to identify the areas where we are out of control. Work on self-denial in the areas you want to change. Deny your self a certain pleasure each day. Then begin to start small with little victories each day, like eating one less snack or watching one less television show.

Developing new routines is a key to self discipline. People who have routines tend to be more disciplined and accomplish more. If you are one of those people who have trouble with routines, try adding just one at a time. Keep it simple. Work on the things that are most important first. Evaluate yourself regularly to see how you are doing. Reward yourself for keeping at it. Once it becomes a habit, it is much easier to maintain.

Of course, routines can be done to excess, so remember to give yourself a little healthy leeway in case the unexpected comes up.

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Who would forget the ever-famous line of Peter Parker’s grandfather, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Society often expects Spiderman, a comic book, TV, and movie superhero, to be responsible for saving his town, or even the world, in some instances, from evil because he has super powers.

From all the episodes he appeared in, he never let us down. With the power he possesses, he makes sure to be responsible in using it for the good of the people around him.

Leadership is not at all different from being superheroes. Yes, you may not have super powers like Superman and Spiderman, but you have the authority to lead other people towards success. This is so much greater and stronger since it is a power that can be used by real people in this real world.

Hence, being a leader requires great sense of responsibility, the second quality a successful leader should attain.

The power to lead your people towards aiming your vision comes with responsibilities like making sure they are on the right direction, being aware of each and everyone’s tasks and mistakes, and putting them back on the right track when they get lost.

Who said it is easy to be a leader? Well, it is no. It comes with tons of responsibilities. True leaders are willing to accept them all.

There are instances where sometimes it makes us feel better to blame somebody or something else when something goes wrong in a task. However, good leaders should not be doing this.

A leader should take full responsibility of a task – not just before he accepts to take it, but also after it has been accomplished. As much as he is responsible for his team’s success, he should also be responsible for any failure. He represents the whole team so whatever happens to it, he is the one responsible.

Making excuses and blaming something or someone else for failed jobs is not a quality of a good leader. What he should do, instead, is to accept the fact that something went wrong with the organization, even if it is not his fault. It is normal to make mistakes. In fact, mistakes are opportunities to learn something better. As a leader, he must ensure that the team members learn from these mistakes and that these errors will not be repeated next time.

You may not have full control over other people and are not expected to have full control over their actions, but you have full control of your own reactions. Knowing what to do over unexpected and unpredictable situations will make you responsible, hence giving you the feeling of power.

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I hope you all got some kind of value from my series on the Goal Achieving Process. For those who joined the group recently, you can refer to my series of 4 articles on Goal Achieving on my blog
http://krisdeleon.com

I’m a believer that leaders lead by example, and that you should practice what you preach. I’m going to show you an example in real time how I’m applying what I just wrote in my series into my life.

By now, you should have received an invite to my event called “$7K in 7 Days Birthday Challenge for Charity” (http://bit.ly/fbafanevent). This is something I created recently, and I’ll show you step by step how I’m applying what I’ve written in my series of articles through this ambitious challenge.

5 Steps of the Goal Achieving Process

Step 1: Reflection and Evaluation
One of my desires in life is to become a philanthropist and set up a nonprofit in the next few years (I’ve set up my businesses to incorporate philanthropy)

Step 2: Dreaming Big Dreams
A big dream of mine is to find a cure for HIV/AIDS in my lifetime. I know a number of people affected by this, so I want to do something in my power to get there.

Step 3: Creating goal using S.M.A.R.T. formula

- Specific: $7K

- Measurable: I can track how much I’ve raised each day, and measure daily result against goal

- Attainable: At first, I thought this was beyond my capability because I’ve never raised more than $100 for a charity before. After researching, I came across a guy who raised close to $15K in 12 hours using Twitter last year (and he had probably just the same amount of experience I have)

- Realistic: It’s been done before by people with equal or less experience than me

- Time certain: Deadline by April 4 (7 days to my birthday)

Step 4: Implementation and Accountability
I’ve implemented by first creating a Facebook event page to raise awareness of this campaign, then follow through every day. I’ve done my research on people who successfully used social media to raise funds, and have borrowed some of their ideas.

I’ve asked a friend who I consider the “King of Fundraising”, since he does this for a living, to be my mentor and hold me accountable.

Step 5: Repeat process
I’ll evaluate my progress daily and make changes where necessary.

http://bit.ly/fbafanevent

I will keep you updated, but I would like to ask you for some help with this (as you can’t do anything alone), and you need a Mastermind group (hence why I created this group). I’d be grateful if you can help in any way, whether it be monetary contribution, creating buzz, promoting this event, advice, or simply RSVP “Attending” and post positive comments to show moral support. Whether or not you believe in my cause, I’d be grateful for any kind of help. Click here for details: http://bit.ly/fbafanevent

As of this writing, while 168 people RSVPed “Not Attending” against 20 who wrote “Attending”, I’m not going to let this discourage me. My vision by the end of April 4 is to write the following status update “Thank you everyone! Kris exceeded the $7K in 7 Days Birthday Challenge for Charity”.

Kind regards,
Kris

702-475-5733
Skype: krisdeleon
krisdeleon78@gmail.com

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My mentor taught me that by working in success cycles, you will stay in the game for the long haul. Just like nature works in seasons, there are also success cycles. There is a time to learn, a time to produce, a time to harvest and reap the rewards, and a time to rest. Most people live busy lives and try to squeeze in as many activities in the day as possible. We start the day working on one project, and then we get side tracked to do something else. A few hours later, we jump back into the same project we started with, but somehow lose the momentum and rhythm to do it. We try to multitask as much as possible. I’m not saying that we should stop multi-tasking, but sometimes we need to step back and perhaps focus on one thing at a time. We should learn how to work in success cycles.

You can get better results and quality output if you just focus on one activity and stay with it for a sustained period of time. This is like athletes who reach peak performance and stay “in the zone” for quite a long time. They do so by creating a success cycle. My mentor suggested to structure goals around a 90 day time frame. Within those 90 days, break it down into three 30 day cycles.

Here is one success cycle example – let’s say your main goal is to become more proficient in social media marketing in the next 90 days. Break that success cycle down by focusing on each of three platforms of social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In. You could spend the first 30 days mastering the basics of Facebook marketing. Spend the next 30 days learning Twitter and how to properly use that tool for marketing. Finally, spend the last 30 days understanding how to use Linked In. Try not to get distracted by learning all three platforms at the same time. You will lose concentration, feel overwhelmed, and risk burning out. However, by focusing on one platform within a 30 day block, you will feel less overwhelmed and master the concepts more quickly. Mastery of the basics and how to use each medium well will lead to better results in the long run.

Once you achieve your quarterly goal through focused effort, make sure to complete the success cycle by including a rest period before you start with pursuing your next quarterly goal. The human body can only push for so long without breaking down or burning out. While some of us think we can work like a machine, we do not have super hero powers, so we start to wear down and became mentally and emotionally exhausted. You cannot keep such an intense focus for long periods of time without proper recovery.

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I have always wondered what was the secret of success, and it all made sense after listening to Earl Nightingale’s recording of the Strangest Secret. I’d like to share the main points of what he discussed, and encourage you to apply the secret of success in your life.

Nightingale discussed that out of 100 people that start off around the age of 25 and retire at 65, only one person will be rich, four will be financially independent, 5 will still continue to work, and 54 will be broke. He raises an interesting point – if all of them started off in similar circumstances, why did only 5% become successful? The reason for this disparity is that only 5% understood and applied the secret of success.

Before revealing the secret of success, Earl Nightingale provided the best definition of success I have heard. Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal. If a person is working hard towards a predetermined goal, he is a success. If he is not working towards that goal, he is a failure. Nightingale points out that the opposite of courage is not cowardice, but conformity. Most people believe that life is shaped by circumstance, and they end up following everyone else. When someone is asked, “Why do you work?” He or she often replies, “Because I have to” or “Because everyone else is doing it.” Most people simply have no idea of the answer to this question. Those who are successful, however, know that they are progressing towards a worthy ideal. They have a purpose, and know exactly why they work. For example, if a school teacher loves what he is doing and knows he has a purpose to educate people, then he is a success. Success is someone who is doing a predetermined job, because he decided to do it deliberately.

So what is the secret of success? Why do so many people work hard without achieving anything, while others seem to be working with minimal effort, but seem to get everything? Do they have the golden touch? The answer is that they know and apply the secret of success – We become what we think about. Nightingale notes that this is the one thing that scholars throughout the ages agree upon. Let me repeat, we become what we think about. If you think in negative terms all the time, you get negative results. If you think in positive terms, you achieve positive results. If you think about nothing, you become nothing. Napoleon Hill said it best in his book Think and Grow Rich, “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.”

People who apply the secret of success look for the circumstances they want. If they can’t find them, they create them. If you want to achieve great heights of success, make sure to plant a goal in your mind. Plant the seed, and then take action by working towards that goal. What you think now will determine your future. The mind is like a field – whatever you plant in it, it returns anything that you plant. Now that you know the secret of success, make sure to apply it and join the ranks of the top 5%.

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