<strong>We are all leaders.  Everyone can lead.  In today’s economy, everyone must lead.</strong>

The status quo days are over.

It’s all about being connected, building relationships, and leading.

It doesn’t matter whether you work in a cubicle, in a field, in a retail store, or out of your home.

<strong>Leadership is a choice.</strong>

The hard part is deciding to lead. Doing something knowing you might fail requires courage, whatever that something is.

[caption id="attachment_7190" align="alignright" width="300"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-7190" src="http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Fotolia_36209243_XS-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /> Don't be afraid to take risks.[/caption]

Below are 3 things <a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/">Seth Godin</a> discusses in his book <a href="http://sethgodin.com/sg/books.asp">Poke The Box</a> that can help any leader. I highly recommend anyone in a leadership position read the book and then:

<strong>Start something</strong>
<ol>
	<li>Everyone has a passion.  Everyone can start something.  But everyone doesn’t start something.  It’s about having the courage to start something. Create your map and don’t wait for someone to give you one.</li>
	<li>“<em>Pick Yourself."</em>  Don’t wait for someone to choose you.  You have the ability to choose yourself.</li>
	<li>If your organization doesn’t let you speak up, speak up somewhere else.  Find a tribe or form a tribe.  Godin states that <em>not starting</em> is worse than being wrong.</li>
</ol>
<strong>Take the initiative</strong>
<ol>
	<li>Initiate change.  This creates power and ownership.  Don’t worry about getting credit; just make it happen.  You will be rewarded.</li>
	<li>You must be proactive. Find work worth doing and go do it.  It’s that simple.   No one is holding you back.  Do not be reactive.  Being late is not good in today’s economy.</li>
	<li>Start a blog, form a group, build a tribe (even if it’s small).  Instigate something.</li>
</ol>
<strong>Fail a lot</strong>
<ol>
	<li><strong>Nothing fails like success</strong>.   Every year organizations expect better results.  More sales, more profits, more, more, more.  That’s just how it is.  So, if you are successful, nothing will “<em>fail</em>” like success.</li>
	<li>The person who fails the most wins.  Don't be afraid of fear, face it, risk it.</li>
	<li>Learn how to sell and face rejection.  If you can sell, you will learn how to fail often.</li>
</ol>
<strong>If you look at history, most of the great success stories are a result of previous failures.</strong>

Godin must have failed at various times in his career.  Although he’s highly successful now, I’ve got to believe there were failures preceding his success.
<ul>
	<li>Steve Jobs was kicked out of the company he founded.</li>
	<li>Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.</li>
	<li>Great baseball hitters are only successful 30% of the time.</li>
</ul>
Fail a lot and you will be successful.  Persevere, grow, learn and be an agent of change.

<em><strong>What do you need to start?  Better yet, what do you need to start, finish and risk failing? </strong></em>
<h6><strong>Photo © Sergej Khackimullin - Fotolia.com
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