This week I finished the book Launching Leaders by Steven A. Hitz. If you are looking to better yourself, then you should read this book. Whether you are looking to become an entrepreneur or not, this book has some great ideas on finding yourself. If you are interested in getting the book, you can find it on Amazon here.
Launching Leaders by Steven Hitz
One thing I really enjoyed reading was towards the end of the book, entitled Effective Communication and the Power of Storytelling. I loved the list he had referring to a good story. If you think about it, you'll realize that every good story has a main character that people either love, hate, or can relate to. Then of course there is the drama, the anticipation, the uncertainty of what's going to happen. Each story has a part where the main character does something empowering that turns out to be amazing. And of course, there is always the emotional ties that make us want to "awe," "ooh," or giggle about something. Yep, every story has all of these in it. For instance, let's talk about the movie Tangled. You know, the one about Rapunzel.
Super cute main character. People fall in love with her, then feel sorry for her. Then the craziness of her kidnapping and the anticipation of someone finding her! Of course, she chooses to leave the tower to experience things on her own which makes her character empowering. And you can't have a sweet story like this without someone falling in love so of course we love the emotional ties in it. It's no wonder this movie is my husband's favorite Disney movie. (Shh, don't tell him I told you!)
Ok, let's move on. One thing I had to do for one of my assignments was deconstruct my biggest fear (of starting a business). It was actually harder than I thought. A lot of emotions came up. Of course, I would love to open another Zumba Studio someday. But there is so much happening there, we don't have time for that story! But I realized some of my fears where attainable. Communication was a big answer to it. If I were to ever start a business again, I would make sure I had the full support of my family.
This week we also had to come up with our own Code of Conduct. In this code of conduct we had to make three "I will never" statements and three "I will always" statements. Then, later this week we wrote a Life Plan Core Value Statement. So, we now have a Code of Conduct and a Core Value Statement for ourselves. It was kind of deep, sitting there thinking of what my core values are. One thing that helped me find mine was a tip I found in the book. It said to find a quiet, serene place where I could sit and ponder (kind of meditate) about who I wanted to be versus who I am now. What is the difference? What is it that I like about the person I wanted to be? What did she have that I didn't. It, too, was a bit emotional for me. I really liked her! How can I become that person? Well, that is how I wrote my Core Value Statement. I challenge all of you who reads this to come up with your own Core Value Statement. It is inspiring. I know who I want to be and now I know how to get there. And, if you feel so inspired, I would recommend making those "I" statements mentioned above too. It's a bit easier but well worth it!
