What I learned from the REAL Success Program.

What I learned from the REAL Success Program.

          The relationship principle I have chosen is the second rule of relationships; Put energy into being likeable. Basically, in order to build and grow healthy relationships, you must put effort and energy into being a likeable person. It is important to remember that this is harder or easier for different people, and many people have to actively choose to try and be likeable, since they might not be that way right off the bat. This does not mean, however, that you must change how others perceive you in anything besides friendliness and how approachable you are. This is important because otherwise you would break the first law, which is to love and accept yourself for who you are. Very much like what is talked about in session 3, your likeability is a choice you make about your attitude. I chose this principle because it is in my opinion fundamental to success. We know that whenever something has to be done or achieved, there must be energy put into it, and this is the same here. Energy must be put in to get something in return. As John Maxwell says in relationship rule number six, “we must add value to people” and I think this must be done from the very first impression. This is relevant to me, because I am one of those people who must put in extra energy, because I am not as inclined to always be that way in the first place. I will apply this principal on group trips, mostly just by reminding myself to follow it often, and keeping it in the front of my mind. This principal will be especially relevant in less structured parts of the trips and even of my life. This is because those times are the best times, in my opinion, to socialize, and so I will focus much on it then.

          From the equipping session, I have chosen the law of Mount Everest, which is the second law of the two teamwork laws talked about in session 2. This law states that as the challenge escalates, the need for teamwork escalates. This principle means that just like climbing mount Everest, the higher you wish to go, or the greater deed you wish to accomplish, the more teamwork and support you will need. As John Maxwell says, “This law is about gathering and growing a team to do something big”. This means the team in question is not built out of thin air. The leadership law of the process, which states that leaders develop daily, not in a day, is very similar; we overestimate the event and underestimate the process of building a good team. There are three questions to ask yourself when trying to use the mount Everest law. Firstly, you must ask yourself what your dream is, so that you know what you are trying to accomplish and how big it is. Then, you must ask yourself who is on your team. You must assess where you are now, figuring out who you have to assist you in your dream and how well you work together. Now that you know both of these, you can ask yourself who your dream team would be, and how you can improve your team so that it can accomplish your dream. I chose a law as my nugget, because they are very concrete important statements about how success works. Since both of the laws given regarding teamwork and equipping were very similar, I chose this one because I could encompass a bit of both subjects with it. I also chose it because it is a smart, memorable metaphor, and I believe it is important to highlight, and for me to think about more. I think that sometimes I really need a reminder of it, so it is fairly relevant to me personally, since I am more likely to try and go it alone, or not properly equip my team. In future leadership activities, I will recognize the importance of the icebreaker and team-building activities when planning the leadership trip or event. During an event, even one I am not leading, I will not contribute to unhealthy conversation that might divide or break up the team.

          When looking at and listening to the attitude session, John maxwell’s third discovery about attitude stood out to me. It said that our attitude can turn our problems into blessings. This basically means that what’s more important than the situations we land in is our attitude towards them. For instance, sometimes when I am confronted with a very large or difficult task, it takes me a while to gripe or worry about that task. If I had chosen a better attitude towards it, I could use that time approaching it rationally and immediately, rather than putting it off, and something really good might come of it. Like Hugh Downs says, “A happy person is not a person with a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.” I chose this principal, because I don’t think there are many people around me who wouldn’t want a blessing or bit of happiness in their life. This is why it is important to educate people on how our attitude can make blessings in our life. I think that it is more important to focus on something we have control over, rather than something that is out of our control, and attitude is something we can control, so we should try. One way I can apply this principle in the future is by trying to surround myself with people who have healthy attitudes. This is because when surrounding people with attitudes that can turn problems into blessings, I can learn to do that myself.

         Finally, from the fourth session, which covered leadership, I have chosen the law of the lid. It states that leadership ability determines a person’s level of effectiveness. It is the first leadership law given in the booklet, and the first of John Maxwell’s 21 leadership laws. Like the name suggests, your leadership ability is the lid to which your level of effectiveness cannot surpass. This law, in my opinion, was meant to be further expanded by saying that the success of a group or organization cannot be greater than their leader’s ability to lead. Take, for example, America. Many people can agree that it is at a low point right now. Many, many people can also agree that President Trump is not adequate to lead, and so we see a connection there. Very similar to this concept but put in a different way is the third thing that John Maxwell says leaders do, which is to enable others to act. I chose this law because it raises an important point. This is that there should be significant effort put into developing good leaders, and always developing leaders to be the best they can be. It also validates the significance of this course, and of others like it. Sometimes I don’t think enough about developing my leadership abilities as much others do, so this is especially relevant to me. I will apply this to future leadership events and activities by working on how I can lead better before the events. I can also help people leading me to be better leaders, knowing the significant impact it will have.

If you would like to see the notes and brainstorming I made for this project, click here, and enter code _R3@L_

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