The Lifelong Learner
:: Do what you can, with what you have, where you are -Roosevelt ::
The Lifelong Learner
:: Do what you can, with what you have, where you are -Roosevelt ::
That’s a great quote. How true is that? I hear related quotes all the time. The bottom line is, you won’t know unless you try, and you’re going to miss all of the shots that you don’t make.
The definition of a great leader that you will read below, from Chris Widener, is just great. If you want to become a leader or want to know what a real leader does, READ THIS. I received it through his newsletter, Chris Widener’s Ezine (see below).
Character Traits of Extraordinary Leaders by Chris Widener
When people make a decision (either consciously or unconsciously) to follow your leadership, they do it primarily because of one of two things: Your Character or your Skills. They want to know if you are the kind of person they want to follow and if you have the skills to take them further. Yes, there are other variables but these are the bulk of the matter. This article will focus on the kind of character that causes people to follow your leadership.
1. Integrity. Integrity is that you do what you say you will. You are trust worthy. People can rely on you. You keep your promises. The one thing that will most keep people from following you is if they can’t know for sure if you will actually take them where you say you will. Are you known as a person of integrity? If so, you will become an Extraordinary Leader!
2. Optimistic. People don’t want to follow others who think the future is bad! They want to follow those who can see the future and let them know that there is a better place and that they can get them there! Do you see the cup as half empty? Then you are a pessimist. Do you see it as half full? Then you are an optimist. Do you see it as totally full – half air and half water? Then you are a Super Optimist! Are you known as an optimist? If so, you will become an Extraordinary Leader!
3. Embraces Change. Leaders are the ones who will see the need for change and willingly embrace it. Followers will at first desire to stay where they are. Leaders need to see the benefits of change and communicate them to followers. If you don’t change, you won’t grow! Are you known as a person who embraces change? If so, you will become an Extraordinary Leader!
4. Risk Taker. Whenever we try something new, we are taking a risk. That is part of growing though and it is imperative. Most people are risk averse. Not the leader! They calculate the risk and what is to be gained from taking the risk. Then they communicate that to the followers and away they go to a better tomorrow! Are you known as a person who is willing to take risks? If so, you will become an Extraordinary Leader!
5. Tenacious. The tendency of the follower is to quit when the going gets tough. Two or three tries and their motto becomes “If at first you don’t succeed, give up and try something else.” Not the leader! They know what good lies beyond this brick wall and they will go and get it. Then they will bring others with them! Are you known as a person who is tenacious? If so, you will become an Extraordinary Leader!
6. Catalytic. A leader is ultimately one who gets people going. They are able to move others out of their comfort zone and on toward the goal! They can raise the passion, enthusiasm and the ACTION of those who would follow. Are you known as a catalyst? If so, you will become an Extraordinary Leader!
7. Dedicated/Committed. Followers want people who are more devoted and committed than themselves. At the first sign of lack of commitment, followers scatter for the doors. If the leader sees the end and is bailing out, they better get out first. Followers follow those who will stick it out because they see the importance of the task and the goal. Are you known as a person who is committed and devoted to the goal? If so, you will become an Extraordinary Leader!
-Chris Widener
Do you have some of the qualities? Do you admire those qualites? Then you are or will be an Extraordinary Leader! Great stuff!
ReferenceChris Widener’s Ezine — Oct 2005 Issue
Do you want to become a better communicator? A better speaker? Do you want a guarantee with that as well? I’m serius. Join a Toastmasters club! You will become a better communicator, a better speaker, and a more confident person. That’s a given. I’ll tell you my story.
I joined the Fairleigh Early Birds Toastmasters in Rutherford, NJ a year a half ago. I was a chicken then: I did not want to speak in a group; I was afraid to speak; I had no eye contact. I was just a bad communicator. Since joining Toastmasters, I have become more confident, I am not afraid to speak, and I think I’m just a better communicator overall. I am not a great communicator (not yet 
), but comparing myself now and from a year ago, I see big improvement.
Since joining FEB TM, I have become more involved in the club. I am now the Vice President of Education — I schedule people to speak, evaluate, and for other roles. I have also set up a web presence for our club: website (with an integrated blog), a mailing list, and a new domain, feb-tm.org. So, as you can see, leadership roles are available as well.
At each Toastmasters meeting, each member gets a chance to speak. If you are not one of the three speakers, you participate in Table Topics. In Table Topics you are asked a question and you are given a minute to two to answer it. No preparation. Also, we have different roles at each meeting: timer, grammarian, wordmaster, general evaluator, evaluators, invocator, and table topics master. Each member gets a chance to have each role: a Toastmaster wears many hats.
Still not convinced? Guests are welcome at almost all of the clubs.
Want to see for yourself? Find a club near you. Go to Toastmasters.org and click Find a Club.
Fairleigh Early Birds Toastmasters meet in Rutherford, NJ (Bergen County) at the Rutherford Libary every Saturday from 9-11AM.
It’s a small investment in time (most clubs meet every two weeks for two hours) and money (most are around $30-40 every six months, FEB charges $33), but the results are guaranteed.
I believe that communication skills are the most important skills to have…
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It’s free now. I tried it, and it will be my secondary browser after Firefox. I like it. Here are some good things that I like about Opera: 1) It looks great. 2) It feels fast. 3) It remembers the tabs that you closed your browser with. 4) It’s standards compliant (I think). 5) It remembers passwords for almost all of the sites (Firefox does not always do it).
Take a look and try it for yourself. Just remember, it was not free until today. Competition is good — for all!
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We visited 4 places in 7 days…
Barcelona. The greatest city I’ve ever been to. You can say New York has it all. But Barcelona has more — at least it seems like. It has a beach within walking distance, great food, great night-life, and an amazing city center. I don’t know what else you can ask for. What’s more, it’s a very tourist friendly city: you can practically walk and reach all destinations. 
Valencia. Beautiful but boring. We went there for the beach. Very disappointed.
Ibiza. Are you single? Then you have to visit Ibiza. It’s the biggest party place on the planet. Period. Very nice beaches. Beautiful girls — with nice boobs (oh, yeah, I was in heaven for a couple of days . Girls, because you can hardly notice any older people. I’d love to go back.
Majorca. Coming from Ibiza, a little disappointed. It’s like you add 15-20 years to the average age of the people. It feels like you’re in another country. Germany? But for families, it’s great. Very beautiful.
4 places in 7 days. Not bad. But overall, we liked Greece better last year. Something was missing.
This is the best definition of wealth I heard.
The Definition Of WealthBy: Brian TracyIf you want to be wealthy, you must understand what wealth is. Here is the best definition of wealth you will ever find. Wealth is “Cash flow from other sources.”
Make Your Money Work For YouWhat this means is that, you are not wealthy just because you earn a lot of money. You are only wealthy when your money works for you. To become wealthy, your main job is to acquire money and then put it to work making more money for you.
Add Value ContinuallyThe key to creating wealth is simple. It is called “adding value.” Successful people are those who are always looking for ways to add value in some way to a person, a company, a product or a service.
