You can start today. 

You can be a leader right now.

Stop waiting for the title.

Stop waiting for more money.

We are all waiting for YOU.

 

YOU GO FIRST.

Pick your own damn self.  Want to be a leader? Start acting like one right now.  Whatever position you're in, whatever company, whatever location - it does not matter.  Be the best at you and your job.  Show us that you can, on a consistent, every day kinda thing, show up and do good work. Your mere presence inspires greatness.  

Be the type of person people want to actually work with.  Be the ultimate "yes man."  Help, serve, give, love, work, do.  When you do all those things I just listed, leadership will come for you.

You see, we are a society that seeks out the doers, the go-getters, the people that make it rain.  When you become so good at your job that others can't ignore you, something magical starts to happen…you start getting more handed to you.  

“Can you help me with this project?”

“Can you attend a meeting with me?”

“Thanks for diving in and doing more.”

And so it begins, you have become so good at what you do that you are now what I call a 1%’er.    And now people are looking to you for help, guidance, and inspiration.

Leadership is something you grow into.  You become someone worth following.  

BECAUSE….you showed the way. 

You proved that you were worth following by your work ethic, your care, your servant attitude, and hopefully your love. 

 

On an incredibly basic level, leadership looks like this:

1. You show up early.
2. You do your job really f****ing well.
3. You do more than asked.
4. You help all those around you.  You could care less what department they are in.
5. You love yourself, your job, and your company.  
6. You are incredibly grateful you have a job, because you get a chance to contribute to something.  
7. You don’t pollute the day with your endless list of personal crap.
8. You inspire others to be like you.
9. You read, watch, learn, and grow everyday.
10. You work hard.  
11. You understand that you will get paid your worth.  You know that you will earn what you deserve - sooner or later. 
12. You actually bring your brain to work and plan on using it all damn day.
13. Vacations and personal days are for people who hate their jobs.  Sure, you take them, but the only thing you need a break from is the chance to step away and look at your current way of doing things - a chance to recharge, refresh, and come back better. You come back ready to conquer new ideas and give more. 

You must do and then become before you can have.

Most people are walking around saying, "I want a growth plan laid out for me, I want to make more money, I want a fancy title….I want, I want, I want, I want."  You sound like that kid from Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory.

Well, you know what the world wants?

It wants you to go first.  Lead right now.

You don’t have to tell every company you interview with that you want a title, more pay, a set growth plan.  You just need to get to work, to start doing.  

Leadership will come for you, that I can promise.  

Learn everything you can from where you are right now, then go get more knowledge.  Keep learning, growing, trying until you are right where you want to be.  

Let me guess... You have a crappy boss (notice I didn’t say leader)?  Stop complaining about him/her and be the leader you wish you had.  Maybe your actions will inspire your boss.  They will definitely help others around you, and along the way you will realize that the only thing or person that affects your career, your life, or your decisions is YOU.  Not your boss, not a company or a position.  The only thing holding you back is you.  OUCH.  Someone had to say it.

Stop wishing for better.  Don’t quit your current job until you have poured 100% of yourself into it. Take this as a personal challenge that if you are currently waiting to be tapped, waiting for a better position, more money, or a fancy title, you sill STOP wishing and get to work on yourself.

What are you currently known for?  If you asked your current boss, your team, your clients or customers - what would they say?  How would they describe you?  Is that good news?

  

Pick what best describes the current state of your career:

• One Speed. Auto pilot.  You do just enough not to get fired.  You tell everyone you know that your job sucks, your boss is the devil and you secretly hope your company goes bankrupt or secretly catches on fire so you don’t have to go to work tomorrow.

• Wishing and Praying.  You think hope is a real strategy. You do nothing more than what is asked and you definitely don’t ask for more.  You skip all training opportunities.  You are the one that never reads the books that are given out by the company.  You just keep wishing you will either hit the lottery or praying that by some grace of God, your manager will move to Kansas and you’ll get a promotion.

• The Doer. The Hustler.  You are currently working really hard on you and your job.  You say yes.  You inspire others. You know who you are.  You know that all of this will pay off. It’s just a matter of time.  They would cry if you left. You are a leader and don’t need a title to prove it.  The money is coming.  

Be the hustler, be the go to person, be the yes man.  

Lead from where you are. Right here. Right now.

We can hardly wait.

Start leading today. We need you.

 

Want to share the list with your co-workers, friends, team? The downloadable version is available here. Ready to dive in & commit to becoming the leader your team needs? Time to start reading! You Go First is now available in print and on Amazon kindle.