Learn it, Live it, Lead it

3 ways to lead others to their full potential

“A leader is someone who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way” — John C. Maxwell.

Learn it, Live it, Lead it.

If you have made it this far and you are still hanging with us, it means you know what we are talking about when we talk about the rules of mental training. Mental training requires an open mind, getting comfortable with discomfort, and acting your way into the feeling. You know that is what it takes. Knowing isn’t enough, you have to start living these rules on a daily basis. Your growth happens when you begin to apply the rules to your own life. The more reps you can get, the faster you will learn. Finally, if you are living the rules in your own life, you put yourself in a position to lead others. You cannot lead others until you have begun to practice these rules and philosophies in your own life. You don’t just read a book and become an expert. You need to apply and grow through your own practice. If you do that, then you can begin to lead others.

Actions Speak Louder than words: We already covered step one. The best way to lead the rules is to live the rules everyday. To apply the rules to every situation you find yourself in. The people around you should see you genuinely applying the rules and living them in your own life. Actions speak louder than words.

Create the Space: As a leader, the second thing you can do is create the space for others to live the principles. As a leader, you know something that others may not. You are living by principles that are helping you to succeed at a level that others wish to succeed at.

If you want to be a leader, then you need to meet people where they are and create the space for them to grow and learn. Challenge those around you (gently at first) with ideas that are different from their own and ask them to have an open mind.

Create a safe space for them to question assumptions and the status quo. Don’t get offended if they challenge your opinions and ideas. Instead, guide them to think through things themselves. This can be time consuming. The natural tendency is to want to tell people what to do. To pull them down the path. Instead, create the environment in a way that allows them to discover the path themselves.

Creating a safe space also allows them to get uncomfortable and still take action. They know they are going to be ok because you have told them they will be ok. As a leader, they look to you to determine success and failure. They look to you to determine if they are doing well or poorly. You have the power to push them outside of their comfort zone while also providing the safety they need to really go for it.

Call for Action: Finally, as a leader, you have to be about action. If you are living the training, and creating a safe space for those you are leading, you have to lead them into action. Again, actions may come slowly at first, but as they build trust in you as their leader, they will begin to move faster. If you can lead your teams into action with an open mind and the willingness to get uncomfortable, then you are leading the mental game.

The process isn’t always easy. There will be times when you will want to shortcut the process. Don’t do it! Those moments are tests of your own mental strength. Can you overcome your own feelings and allow the circumstances to play out how they need to? Can you trust the process even if the desired results haven’t shown up yet? If you can, the results will come. We aren’t wondering if this works, we have seen it work for ourselves and others that we have worked with.

Keep showing up. Keep putting in the work. You are learning, you are living, and whether you know it or not, you are always leading. Make sure you are leading in a way that helps those around you unlock their full potential.

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