Red Bike Leader

rip the training wheels off your leadership

Archive for the ‘motivation’ Category

Surly / fail

by Ryan Russell | July 22nd, 2010 | Posted in communication, leadership, motivation

Become known as the ass, the grump, the NO guy. Let pessimism run deep in your soul. Always have a ‘critical eye’. See things as obstacles rather than natural challenges. Laugh little. ‘High-five’, never! Treat life and work as a robot… no good times or parties allowed. Appreciate few things and articulate your thanks seldom. Be known for your resistance rather than your support, advice, aid, insights or wisdom. While you’re at it, also find a way to include bitching, complaints, grumbles, negativity, resistance. frowns and anxiety into your repertoire . Hold on fast to all wrongs and resentments and failures for a really long time. Most of all, be sure to dwell on the little things.

It’s easy to notice these traits in others, but it is quite hard to identify our own patterns of surliness. Correct your course. Be the optimistic leader that people cheerfully line up with.

Can’t Shake It

by Ryan Russell | July 17th, 2010 | Posted in motivation

It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause. Who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.

- Theodore Roosevelt

Quit Early / fail

by Ryan Russell | July 7th, 2010 | Posted in leadership, motivation

Your opportunities to quit early are many. At the first sign of resistance. During the middle of the first hard ascent. When the comfort of the bed seems better than the early morning of sweat and hard work. As pain creeps in. Facing an unforeseen and ridiculous obstacle. When you are no longer favored to win. Early on you will run smack into  … Anxiety … Loneliness … Pain … Ridicule … Easier Paths … Being behind … Comfort … Conformity … Fatigue.

Don’t trade in your dreams, visions, goals and ambitions by quitting shortly after you have begun. What you are experiencing in those early tests is common to every leader. The resistance sharpens the leader. The pressure shapes you and prepares you for better things yet to come.

Lance Armstrong is a 7 time Tour de France champion (the undisputed, single hardest cycling competition in the world) because he doesn’t quite when things get hard, when others get ahead or when he experiences a set back. He steels himself with resolve, grit, determination. ‘I am done’ is not in his vocabulary when the prize is still out in front. Yesterday he blew out a tire and saw his rivals gain minutes on him in the month long race that is separated by mere seconds in the end. His response:

“Our chances took a knock today,” Armstrong said. “I’m not going home, we’ll stay in the race and keep trying.”

* A short series of failures you can make as a young leader.

Amped Right Now

by Ryan Russell | June 18th, 2010 | Posted in leadership, motivation

Several things inspire me regularly, but below is what is lighting my leadership fire right now. These things are better than a RedBull or morning Venti drip. What is it that fills your tank to keep your energy and your passion high? Do you know what it is that you need to do to bring out your best?

Young leaders. In the last week I have met with 4 different young leaders that have visions, dreams, ideas and plans that they are pursuing. I love to be a part of those conversations, adding what insights, tips, tricks and strategies I can to help see them succeed. Hopefully I will soon get to highlight some of them here. A few of them are from Launch501(c3).

Theodore Roosevelt. Historical biographies of great leaders flip my internal leadership switches to “on”. Some people read quotes for inspiration, others read scripture and others still read facebook. I read 300-600 pages manifests that posses keenness for detail and a knack for narrative that press into the depths of what made men and women of our past so extraordinary as leaders. They keep me up late working, inspire me to greater heights, activate my best ideas and challenge me to press beyond my current state of achievements.

Racing. Ever since undertaking my first endurance sport contest last year, I would say my addiction and competition levels have been steadily increasing. The thrill, the challenge, the race day adrenaline, the community and even the painful training and sacrifice have increased my personal energies and intensified my joy for life. My next venture of an unexpected acceptance to the half-ironman on July 18 in No. Cal. has me really going…

Abby Sunderland. I only wish I knew how to sail and had her courage.  She set out to be the youngest person ever to solo circumnavigate the globe @ age 16!  — Shit!, that is awesome. —   I don’t care that she failed and had to be rescued. She tried. She is capable. She is daring, brave, courageous… [fill in the blank]. Ignore the negative media about celebrity book deals, tv shows, pushy parents and product endorsements… that is our world now. Can’t wait till she tries again. Who wouldn’t hire this young, powerful leader?

Imperfect and No Replay

by Ryan Russell | June 7th, 2010 | Posted in communication, leadership, motivation

“It was the biggest call of my career,” an emotional Jim Joyce told reporters, “and I kicked it. I just cost that kid a perfect game.” - Jim Joyce, MLB Umpire

Life is full of imperfection and there is no replay. What makes for great people and great leadership is how you respond to the imperfections in life. It’s what happens next that defines you and your character.

Sports talk radio was alive last Thursday morning calling for the activation of ‘instant replay’ for close calls in situations such as the one that occurred on Wednesday where veteran Umpire Jim Joyce cost Armando Callaraga a perfect game with his errant call at the end of the game. [video] Major League Baseball kept the game intact, blown call and all… kinda like the real life situations we all live and lead in.

However, what is most astounding to me is not the call and the ensuing argument over the need for instant replace, but rather HOW Jim Joyce, Armando Gallaraga and also Jim Leland (the Tiger’s manager) handled the situation. Check out the audio of their reactions and a summary of the situation adeptly handled by Colin Cowherd.

Paper and Pause

by Ryan Russell | June 6th, 2010 | Posted in gtd, motivation, project management

The power of paper, pause, prayer and a simple process can give you clear direction for your day. These simple things done in 15 minutes or less can revolutionize your productivity, energy and outlook.

1st, get a sheet of paper.
Divide the paper into 2 columns
Left half = list the things that are stressing you out; your right now life challenges & problems.
Right side = list out items that you need to get done; personal, work, spiritual, for others
Bounce back and forth between the 2 sides.
Check your email for work (work only!) that needs to get on your list.

[pause... right now!]
- pray (if you do that).
- slow your mind.
- process what is truly important for today.

Take a 2nd sheet of paper.
Make an ACTION LIST for TODAY only from your first list.
# the items in priority order.
Don’t exceed putting 2 really big things on your list.
Start at the top and just get going on them NOW!

Rinse & repeat for tomorrow.
Try this for 5 days.
Stay focused when you work — don’t do things that aren’t on the list.
HOLD email and calls for your last hour of the day UNLESS they are related to the list.

What’s Left Behind

by Ryan Russell | June 2nd, 2010 | Posted in leadership, motivation

You can live your life so sheltered that when you’re old and gray, all that you can claim is to have lived long enough to have become old. That’s not my way. - Ed Viesturs; 1st American to climb all 14 of the world’s tallest peaks.

Ed spent 8 years in college and then a few more in practice to be an established veterinarian. He jumped ship to pursue his love for high altitude summit climbing and eventually became the first American to summit the world’s 14 highest mountain peaks all without the aid of bottled oxygen. Many of us have found ourselves wondering if we could leave our current place behind in an effort to chase our dream. You can! You are capable of the same creative processes and leadership required to pursue your dreams and your purpose. But, you will have to leave other things behind.

Wipe It Off

by Ryan Russell | May 26th, 2010 | Posted in leadership, motivation

People are bound to say crap about you… that is the nature of people and also the nature of leadership.
You need to figure out when to let the crap stick or when to wipe it off.

Identify the 2-5 leadership voices that count the most to you and your development. Let them speak into difficult problems, even if you don’t always agree with what you hear. Be willing to give them a full account of your hardest scenarios. Likewise give them full access to the scenarios if needed or when you can. Count on these people to ask you hard questions and challenge your growth. Listen to them and let their guidance shape your life.

Honor, or at least respect, people who have an issue and come to you in person and are willing to speak frankly. Those rare, but open discourses can typically result in good to fair resolutions if you are willing to listen and be open to growing. Learn to slough off and ignore the rest.

As for the people who have the crap to say….
Ignore spineless, behind-your-back conversations. Don’t worry about half-told truths. Delete the all-too-easily volleyed emails, text messages and twitter updates. (You know that person wouldn’t say directly to you what they have written with their new found technology enhanced courage.) Your leadership and your character will always prove itself out in the end.

Life is far too easily consumed with dissections of emotionally charged situations, frustrations, disappointments and disagreements. Do your best as you make your leadership calls. Trust your experience. Admit and learn from your short comings. Keep moving on.

23 Point Coaching

by Ryan Russell | May 10th, 2010 | Posted in leadership, motivation

[disclaimer] I am a big Phoenix Suns fan. [end of disclaimer]
Hang with me even if you are not a Suns fan or a spectator of the NBA.
This past Friday night was a great game between the Suns and the Spurs. But just as good as the outcome was for the Suns (winning 110 to 96) it was an incredible performance by their second year, back-up point guard, Goran Dragic. If you are skeptical, check out his stat line and then grab some locally flavored recap by Dan Bickley.

While Goran was en route to putting up 23 points in the fourth quarter, ESPN replayed some ‘wired’ feeds from the Suns huddle. His coach, Alvin Gentry, was captured telling him, “It’s ok. You are going to make mistakes. I need you to stay aggressive. Go out there and stay aggressive.” Unbelievable. Play-off basketball. A must win situation. The Spurs are the most hated opponent of the Suns and Alvin Gentry sends out his back-up point guard into the battle and leaves him in the entire forth quarter as the kid gets unbelievably hot.

Now, you have to ask yourself this question… Did Goran get hot because he was lucky that night to have his best game when it was most needed? Or, did his coach and his team infuse him with the confidence to get hot through their belief in him and his ability? If you read the accounts and heard the audio, you would be inclined to suggest that the coaching, challenge and encouragement of his team lead him to be able to do his best at the most important moment.

File this under teamwork, motivation and encouragement. Practice it in your places of influence.

—-
By the way, the single coolest thing around this story, was barely shown on TV.  Goran’s entire team, lead by the starters, were anxiously standing on the sidelines waiting for the final buzzer. As soon as the game ended, they swarmed and hugged him like high school kids who had just won the state title. It was an impressive picture of a true team.

Launch Day1

by Ryan Russell | May 3rd, 2010 | Posted in leadership, motivation

Last night kicked off our our first Launch501c3 conference. Intending this to be a small but hungry group of non-profit adventurers, we have about 35 passion driven new idea holders held up here in Las Vegas to Launch! their non-profit organizations. One of the attenders, Crystal Renaud is featured today in a NY Times article for her efforts and gave a little love to the conference.

Our aim for this 3 day gathering is to help each of these new initiatives by sharing practical processed, enabling ideas, developing these young organizations, giving insights from our past failures and most importantly, inspire a next wave of positive change in our world. The social entrepreneurs in attendance have wide ranging ideas on issues from homelessness to inspiring artists to use their platforms for change to sex addictions to unique water treatment solutions for unmet challenges in Africa. I will be sure to highlight a few of the unique initiatives here as we go.