I’ve provided some information from other sources labeled as ‘Guest Posts’ and while they do provide information, I realize they do not have the same flare or quality as when I write.  As such, I’ve thought about leadership extensively and would like to expound on it.  Here is a picture of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw.  Shaw is famous for his leading of the 54th Massachusetts, a regiment of African-American soldiers who fought in the Civil War for the Union.

The 1989 the movie, ‘Glory’, is an enlightening and inspiring portrayel of Colonel Shaw and his dealings with his men.  Colonel Shaw was the leader of this regiment.  He was in charge.  Watch the movie Glory and see if you can see how Colonel Shaw was a leader.  He did what was right, even if it was unpopular, he was firm, kind when he needed to be, understanding of his weaknesses, and eventually, won the respect of all that were part of the regiment.  Colonel Shaw is a wonderful example of a good leader.  There are many others in history and today that are examples of people with leadership.  There are some main qualities of leadership that I would like to speak on today:

Qualities of a good leader

A good leader is intelligent, educated, confident, inspiring, selfless, and understanding (among many more other good qualities).  Without these qualities, a person is bereft of the necessary skills which are essential in leading others in an effective manner.

Intelligent

A good leader must be smart.  They must understand the area in which they are trying to lead.  If owning a business, the leader must be well versed in business operations and able to make intelligent decisions without guessing.  A leader of a basketball team must understand the game of basketball, as well as their own team and the opponents team.  A good leader is able to make sound decisions with positive results.

Educated

Education is essential for good leadership.  Experience must be part of this education.  If you are working for someone leading a business and they are young, inexperienced, and not quite sure what they are doing, you can bet that they are not cut out to lead that business.  You can tell if someone is educated by asking them questions related to what they are leading.  If they are unable to answer a majority of the questions or even know where to look for the answers, this should tell you that their leadership is questionable in the area they are leading.

Confident

A good leader is confident in their abilities.  This means the leader is smart and capable.  They may have their doubts like anyone else, but they never let these doubts surface in front of the people they are leading.  They make decisions and stick with them.  A poor leader will be hesitent, and unsure.  Confidence comes from experience, education, and intelligence.  Watch for those who are leading and see how confident they are.

Inspiring

Being inspiring is crucial for good leadership.  If the people being led do not feel that their leader is worth following, then the leader is next to useless.  Inspiring people can be done in many ways.  A rallying speech, gatherings with those being led where the people’s efforts are rewarded, or other worthwhile events.  Being upfront and honest, but steadfast in goals and objectives is also a way to inspire.  A good leader will spend time with the people he/she is leading.  The leader will ‘be in the trenches’ with those being led.  The people will see this and it is inspiring to see a leader doing the ‘dirty work’ that the followers are doing.

Selfless

A good leader sacrifices and does more than what is required.  A good leader will spend extra time with those being led making sure they are able to accomplish what it is they are doing in the best possible way.  Larry Bird, a former NBA basketball player was an excellent leader.  He would show up to practice early, leave practice late, and spent much extra time perfecting his game.  Good leaders will be seen often doing this.  If your leaders are never around to be seen, or are not spending the time helping you, you can bet that they are not qualified to lead.

Understanding

A good leader must understand those being led.  Across the board, people have a multitude of personalities.  A good leader is able to blend these personalities for the best possible result.  Sometimes morale gets low and the leader has to spend time with the people to make sure things are in order.  A good leader knows the personalities of those being led.  The leader can adapt his approach to what people need.  Some people need direct correction and admonishment.  Others require a much more subtle approach.  Good leaders have the power of discernment and are able to handle different types of people.

Qualities of followers

As a leader has qualities, so does a follower.  When I say follower, what I mean is someone who is not cut out to be a leader.  There are a good many people with wonderful qualities that are excellent followers.  But for purposes of this article, followers are people who are not qualified to lead.  Followers generally do not have the main characteristics required to be a good leader.  They lack in people skills or creativity.  Or they just do not want to shoulder responsibility.

Final thoughts

Being a good leader requires sacrifice and many good qualities.  Make sure to look for these good qualities in the people who you consider to be leaders.  This can be your teachers, managers, owners of the company you work for, or anyone who is taking a role in leading people.  If you desire to be a leader, first look to refine yourself before you start trying to lead others.

There are many things in life that we want or that we would like to change.  Maybe you are unhappy with your career, your weight, or the relationships you are having.  Maybe you would like to write a book or start your own business.  There are many people in this situation.  It is a goal of mine to help the many people facing these situatinos and as such, I want to share how you can have the confidence to at least try.

Believe in Yourself

I am amazed at how many people I talk to that say they cannot do something, even if that something is a dream or deep desire of their heart.  This really eats at me.  It as if people purposely shackle themselves with chains and prevent themselves from achieving what they desire.  Don’t let yourself do this.  Listen to yourself.  Are you constantly telling yourself that you cannot do something because you don’t know how?  Are you defeating yourself before you even try?  If you are going to get defeated, let someone else defeat you, not yourself!

I speak about believing in yourself on my website at drjerm.com.  I could write many articles on believing in yourself and I probably will.  Believing in yourself is actually very simple.  Just make the choice that you will believe in yourself, even if you are unsure of your situation.  Then take actions to further your education and knowledge, as well as being proactive in pursuing those things you want the most.  That’s it!  It’s that simple.  If you want to believe in yourself, take these simple steps!

Remove Things That Are In the Way

I mention many of the things that prevent us from achieving what we are capable of on my website.  These include TV, games, laziness, and more.  I know that many people like to come home from work and lounge around.  This is something I’ve talked about many times, but I feel I can never talk about it too much.  The main thing stopping people from being more than just regular day job employees is what they do with their spare time.

Think for a moment about what you spend your time doing.  If you are in front of the TV or playing games on the computer or console most of your time, this should be a clue to you that you need to cut back and start spending time on pursuing your dreams.  Many people I know who are unsatisfied with their pay at their job spend their time not improving their skills or going after their dreams and passions.  Is it any wonder that you wake up the next day with the same job making you unhappy when you are doing nothing about it?

Stay on Course

Once you begin to remove things that are in the way, a long, slow, and steady course must be followed.  You may try many times and fail.  But I guarantee that you will see success over a period of time.  You will start exercising, eating food that is good for you, and getting in relationships with people who seeks to uplift and inspire you.  These simple things are easy to succeed at if you first start improving yourself.

Then you can try more advanced things like pursuing a business opportunity, developing a new skill, or just working on projects that you find interesting.  Over time, you will morph into a powerful and skilled person who is going after their dreams.  It first takes a choice, and once that choice is made, it takes a daily commitment.  My drjerm website is a few months old now and I’ve kept at it.  Some days I do not want to.  Either way, I am putting in a consistent effort and I enjoy what I do, whether I see success or not.

Never Give Up

Once you’ve been trying things for a while, you will have the confidence to try more and more things.  You will stop being concerned about failing.  You will change from a reactive lifestlye to a proactive lifestyle which will allow you to be in control of your own destiny.  The natural course that will occur for you by living like this will produce a better life for you and those you are close to.

Times will get tough, we are never free from challenges or hardships.  We are mortal and live in an imperfect world.  My twin brother and his wife just had a baby and their baby girl has been at a special hospital for the first week.  She has some problems with her digestive system and will always have to deal with this for the rest of her life.  This and other problems affect us.  I has a stomach virus for the past couple days.  It wasn’t pleasent.  But we must move forward no matter the hardship and keep our eyes on what we desire most, regardless of our physical state of being.

Maintain a determination and focus on what you want the most and over time, this will become your normal mindset.  I know this sounds simple.  But many of us have our focus on just getting by each day, getting our pay check, and rinsing and repeating this cycle.  If you truly are looking to better yourself, and have the confidence to at least try, you must change your priorities and start doing some things that are outside your normal routine.  I know you can do it!

Enjoy the Ride

Last but not least, enjoy the journey you have here on earth.  This is a unique opportunity for you to interact with others, to share your talents, and to improve yourself.  Hardships will come.  I had to deal with being ‘burned’ by business partners a couple weeks ago.  I am still dealing with it.  I was very angry and my blog entries previously about it all show that anger.  After a few days I realized being that angry wasn’t going to do any good.  Instead I recognize the situation and am moving forward to try and make things positive.

Nevertheless, I am still going to keep those blog entries because they are important to show that yes, even drjerm can get rattled, but learns from things just like everyone else.  Seek to enjoy your life and the people around you.  If you do not enjoy what you are doing or the people you are around, seek to change your focus and your situations and relationships will in turn change.  I know with effort and faith, you can make things happen and enjoy life!

Hello everyone, as I am writing, I have a special announcement to make.  I am going to show you that regular folks like you and I can do things that are extraordinary.  And by doing so, we shift from the ordinary to the extraordinary.  I realize I need credibility.  I’ve been open and honest about my life, my feelings, challenges I’ve faced, and who I am on my ‘About Me‘ pages both here on my blog and on my website at drjerm.com.  But that is not enough.  To all of you reading my blog, I have a quest that I am now embarking on.  And that quest is this:

I Am Going to Interview ‘The Rock’ Dwayne Johnson and post the interview on my website for all of you to read and watch!

You can click the link to The Rock above to find out who he is.  You can also see examples of him on the Drjerm website for ‘positive energy‘ and ‘staying healthy‘.  The Rock is a terrific example of someone who has the qualities to achieve success in this life.

Take a moment and read what I have written here a few times.  Let it sink in.  This is not some random thing I am doing.  I’ve talked about ‘The Rock’ on drjerm.com on several occasions.  He shows many of the characteristics that I seek to instill in my readers, such as confidence, charisma, enthusiasm, and success in life.  Because of that, I am going to make an interview with him happen.

So you may be asking, how in the blue [expletive] am I going to make this happen?  I am glad if you are asking this, because I am asking this.  I have done no research yet on how to meet The Rock.  But to show that I am smart and understanding enough of the magnitude of the situation, I am able to compile a list of facts, challenges, and questions to tackle this bold undertaking:

• I am smart, intelligent, confident, and focused.
• When do you plan on making this whole meet The Rock thing happen?
• I am not some fan making a website with dreams and wishes of meeting The Rock.  I am someone who is resourceful and smart enough to make it happen.
• Meeting The Rock will be very challenging and difficult, but very worth it.
• The Rock is very busy, it is likely even getting a few hours with him will require a well in advance warning.
• Why would The Rock want to spend his time meeting and talking with me?  He can probably get paid thousands of dollars to meet with those who have money to pay him.
• The Rock likely has agents or public relations people that are the first line of contact for him.
• Where will I interview The Rock?  How will it all get setup and arranged?
• What will be the costs to interview The Rock?  Travel, filming, for his time, food, etc…
• What will I talk to The Rock about when I meet him?
• How will I get the attention of The Rock and get him so he WANTS me to interview him?
• How will I deal with the many challenges and obstacles that will be involved in interviewing The Rock?
• What about fear of not being able to make it happen? (I can already tell you the answer to this one - I am not afraid of failing.  I know I’m talented and smart.  I know I’ve got a good shot at this).
• How will interviewing The Rock make a difference?

So we have a list of things here off the top of my head, and there is likely much more to it.  I know that for my goal of using Drjerm.com as resource for me to be a life coach, to inspire and uplift people, and to help people see that they can make their dreams happen, that I need to really start making some things happen for evidence for all of you!

And it is with great excitement, challenge, and intruige, that I announce my undertaking to meet The Rock.  I know that there will be many obstacles.  I have to figure quite a few things out.  It will likely take some time before I make the progress I want to.  I will continue to write and inspire while I work on meeting The Rock.  As I get more details and work through it, I will document every last detail so that you can see from start to finish that I was able to make it happen.

Wish me luck.  As a life coach seeking to help people who are discouraged, not confident, or otherwise depressed, I will show you that with persistence and determination, that you can make your dreams come true!

Believe in Yourself.

Your belief in yourself is the level to which you think you can accomplish anything in your life. Your belief in yourself is the sum of all that you have experienced in life. It is your failures and achievements. Finally, it is the choice you make to either act, or to do nothing.

Your belief in yourself is the sum of your life experiences

Growing up as a young boy and teenager, I was occassionally made fun of and teased. I had crooked front teeth and was very shy. At that time in my life, my belief in myself was not very high. This caused me to be very passive and reactive to life. My belief in myself was not very high.

You may have had experiences in your life like this that take away your self belief. As I have grown older, I see now that my belief in myself is no longer based upon what other people think or say about me. Believing in yourself should be affected by one person only, you.

If you believe in yourself

If you trurly believe in yourself, then you will realize that your action really determines your belief. Are you taking the steps to become better at what you do? Are you educating yourself and striving for excellence? Or are you just getting by with the bare minimum life has to offer? You will find that if you are being proactive, that you have a high belief in yourself.

Gaining belief in yourself is a simple choice. The choice to weed out the negative thoughts that hold you back. The choice to make friends with those who will uplift and inspire you. The choice to seek after those things which will better yourself and those around you.

Failure and Achievement Should Not Affect Your Belief in Yourself

I may attempt 100 ideas that I have in my life and none of them may succeed. I may end up 90 years old, at the end of my life and look back at a slew of failures. If this happens, I will smile and know that I gave life my best effort and believe in myself. Who can really say what success is. Just by believing in yourself and seeking to make a difference, you will succeed. You do not have to make millions of dollars, all you have to do is try.

In the end, you have a choice to believe in yourself

Whether you have a head ache, are tired, excited, grumpy, energetic, sad, or happy, your belief in yourself can remain a constant if you choose. I am tired right now. There was a storm last night and I got only a few hours of sleep. It does not matter. My belief in myself is independent of external events. I realize I am talented and smart. I know with some simple decision making, that you can believe in yourself to.