Attitude of Gratitude 3

Attitude of Gratitude 3
By Tommy Franks

An attitude of gratitude takes us higher in Leadership! William James said, “The greatest discovery of our generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes.” Our attitudes either project positive thoughts or negative ones. If we can believe that everything is possible, our attitudes will soar with new ideas, new thinking, and better self-control of our dynamic lives.

Some believe that “Attitude is a choice!” I do too!

We are where we are today because of the thoughts we have maintained up to this point. James Allen says, "A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts."

We cannot change our thoughts without changing our lives…either for good or for bad. As we immerse ourselves in positive thoughts, we will become the person we long to be. If we plant corn, we will get a harvest of corn. If we plant wheat, we will harvest wheat. As we plant positive seed thoughts into our minds, we will receive a harvest of positive solutions! Read on…

A good attitude, an attitude of gratitude, and good leadership go hand in hand! With a good attitude, leadership is the ability of one person to influence another. It has little to do with what you do, but it's a matter of who you are as an individual. In other words, finding out who you are...then becoming the person that you were made to be. There are people that do great things, but they are not leaders! It is the ability to find out where you are going and then inspire others to go with you.

Leadership is composed of leaders who are ordinary people who accept the responsibility of extraordinary circumstances and still bring forth and develop the potential in themselves and others through confidence, trust, and character. GREAT leaders desire to serve...Leadership is a by‑product of that servitude.

Billions of dollars are spent annually on "want‑a‑be" leaders. Many of them are complete nincompoops as far as leadership. Why? Because leadership courses can only teach skills, not character or vision. Leaders are made through character and vision. They are products of initiative, drive, wanting to serve mankind, trust, courage, and goals. Leaders are not born. They are developed, and many times through adversity, disappointment, the challenges of life, and a need to serve in order to make life easier for others.

A leader is an original...not a copy. Everyone can be a leader if he/she chooses to be. If it's to be, it's up to me!

Effective Leadership makes life increasingly more successful! Effective Leadership is not necessarily doing things right; however, it is doing the right thing. For example: Let's say, one day, I ask my son Thomas II to wash my car while I am away in the big city of Atlanta. However, he decides to mow the lawn instead. Upon my return, the lawn looks superb and beautiful. It is simply wonderful to gaze upon...freshly manicured; the sidewalk looks well trimmed; the plants and young trees look so good in the freshly mowed lawn. It took Thomas a lot of time to mow the lawn. He had done a good thing and he had done it right; nonetheless, he had not done the right thing. As his father, I had asked him to wash my car, not mow the lawn. My car still needed to be washed.

Another thing, the purpose of leadership is not followers, but to lead others into becoming leaders themselves. The ultimate goal of leadership is independence and the development of more leaders.

Everyone is born to lead; however, most people die without ever knowing what they were born to do, what their purpose in life was all about, without knowing who they were, and without knowing true victory and great accomplishments! WHY? They did not DARE to be themselves. They tried to be what others told them to be. They did not even attempt to achieve their goals...because they had none. They tried to be a copy and not an original!

A leader is above all things...himself. God created all of us to rule, govern, control, and influence the earth. We are not to dominate or control man. We are to control the earth, the animal kingdom, the elements, our environment... We are to assist others to reach their maximum potential. We are to inspire and influence others to take their place as leaders, especially in their homes, workplaces, church, community, etc. We were never created to be dominated but to govern and control our circumstances and destiny. We were created by design and by the Designer to lead.

Leadership is the ability to inspire others to heights that they have never known before, to be the best they can be, to reach their goals, destiny, their full potential, and to be pleased with themselves.

Leadership is not necessarily a title or position. Leadership is the ability to motivate, mobilize, move, and activate the gifts and talents within others. Leadership is a vision with purpose that generates passion for accomplishment. There is no room in a leader's life for "average" or "mediocrity". To be average has killed many good potential leaders.

Leadership means to inspire others. Inspiration is the direct opposite of intimidation, manipulation, or domination. To motivate another human being is one of the greatest achievements in life. Leaders will draw the best out of others and inspire them to maximize their true potential, talents, gifts, and abilities.

Everyone has the capacity, potential, and raw material to become a great leader by the design of the Creator. However, most people on Planet Earth will die with the leader trapped within them in the grave of a follower. Most people die without ever knowing who they really are! Why? Because most us are products of our environment, childhood, circumstances, and other influencing activities!

So, what is it that we need to do? We must have the courage to change. We must refuse mediocrity! We must develop our full potential. We must have a healthy positive attitude and an attitude of gratitude! We need to maximize our gifts and talents. We must not reject who we are… individuals of dignity, great worth, and priceless potential! We were created to win…NOT lose! We were created and born to lead!