THANK YOURSELF - 30 JULY 2021

July 30 - DON’T FORGET TO THANK YOURSELF Part of the process of forgiving yourself you also have to learn and grow into thanking yourself. We have all been through a lot and no matter what it is, we have all come out on the other side. Wiser or not, the point is that here we still stand. Here you stand. Now is the time to thank yourself for what you have done, what you are doing and growing above and beyond any of your wildest expectations. Use that as a motivation to keep moving forward, to keep growing. REMEMBER: ACTION is ALWAYS greater than WORDS Get to work, David Guerra, MBA author of THE WALKING LEADER

WORK ON WHAT YOU CAN CHANGE - 29 July 2019

As you work on moving forward and away from what you have done wrong to yourself. Know that any future change begins and ends with you. What you are going to tolerate and what you will allow to trample all over you is based on what you allow. To make REAL, LASTING change in your life you have to work on what you can change. Typically, this kind of change is working on yourself. Real work and not self-serving proclamations. Remember YOUR words have NO VALUE unless you act. No matter what, working on creating a future that is NOT continuously bogged down in the past. REMEMBER: ACTION is ALWAYS greater than WORDS Get to work, David Guerra, MBA author of THE WALKING LEADER

Forgive Yourself - 28 July 2021

July 28 - FORGIVE YOURSELF Learn to forgive yourself for your own past transgressions. Do not worry about whether others choose to forgive you or not. You have to begin with yourself first and long before you should worry if that apology will ever come. COLD HARD TRUTH ALERT: It Is NOT Coming Work on moving forward and away from what you have done wrong to yourself. Then can you begin on working on creating a future that is NOT bogged down in the past. REMEMBER: ACTION is ALWAYS greater than WORDS Get to work, David Guerra, MBA author of THE WALKING LEADER

Take Time For Yourself - 27 July 2021

July 27 - TAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF As part of growing, learning, self-motivation, developing your self-respect is ensuring that you periodically take some time for yourself. This is not the “me time” for a mani-pedi or to see how many margaritas you can throw back in an hour then sleep half of the next day away. That is NOT taking time for yourself,, that is cheating yourself. Take the time for yourself and use it to rest, relax, recover, recuperate, reflect, refine and re-adjust your course. We all get off course but with taking the time to work on getting back on course then and only then are we growing because we are getting to know true inner self and not that jumbo-jumbo we tell people when we say things like “you don’t know me” or “you don’t decide for me” and while the answer may be TRUE, have you truthfully (without pulling any punches) ever asked and answered those questions about yourself? Probably not. That’s OK most people never do because they would rather put up a front than to go boldly forward in life without having to prove anything to anyone. So make the time and get to know yourself. I mean really get to know who you are, who you become and what makes you tick and why! REMEMBER: ACTION is ALWAYS greater than WORDS Get to work, David Guerra, MBA author of THE WALKING LEADER

HOW OTHERS RESPECT YOU (IF THEY CAN) - 26 July 2021

COLD, HARD TRUTH ALERT: YOU CANNOT CONTROL HOW OTHERS RESPECT YOU!

How you respect YOURSELF first will feed into how others will respect you. They will test your boundaries and if you cave, they will exploit your lack of SELF-RESPECT and thus THEY WILL NOT give you an ounce of respect.

Personally, there have been so many people that I have allowed in my life to disrespect me. Many of them were family members, some were complete strangers and others have been “friends”. It was not until I stepped up and took charge of my SELF-RESPECT that they were given their walking papers and they were gone. Seriously, no one needs all that negativity and toxicity in their lives.

Another cold hard truth is that I used taking charge of my SELF-RESPECT as a catalyst for CHANGE in my life and you can too. 

Learn to identify those toxic individuals that “demand” your respect. Those are usually the ones that the least need or want for your respect but they like “flexing” their perceived power. The ones demanding your respect are more than not hiding something. They want to keep you silent because you are “supposed to” respect these people because of their place in the family structure, workplace hierarchy, or because they have something that others perceive as worthy of respect such as money, power, status, or whatever others deem worthy.

Be better than that and them by respecting yourself first!

Set your boundaries and standards, then those that are “demanding” your respect will see you as not giving it to them until they respect you.

this is not a quid pro quo situation but when someone demands something what is being given in return? Where is the reciprocity when it comes to respect?

 However, those individuals will, more than likely, not waste their “precious” time giving you any sense or level of respect first. So off they go to find another individual with little to no Self-Respect / no Self-esteem.

As a leader, it is your mission to encourage others to grow their self-respect and not fall to their knees in submission when someone comes around DEMANDING RESPECT. It does not matter who that individual is and where they are in your life because RESPECT HAS TO BE GIVEN LONG BEFORE IT CAN BE DEMANDED. 

REMEMBER: ACTION is ALWAYS greater than WORDS

Get to work,

David Guerra, MBA

author of THE WALKING LEADER

SELF-RESPECT - 23 JULY 2021

Question: Who DESERVES the most RESPECT in YOUR LIFE? Answer: YOU! You do. You deserve the most respect. However, earning that respect begins with you. Yes, You! You have to have SELF-RESPECT long before you can respect others and most definitely long before others will even think about respecting you. I cannot stress this enough: YOU MUST ALWAYS RESPECT YOURSELF. If you want to succeed in life you must succeed in SELF-RESPECT. By setting and sticking to the standards and boundaries you set for yourself, you will find yourself in a better position to push yourself further and higher. All the while, it will make it easier to identify individuals that offer you no respect or used you to their advantage because they could clearly see you had no respect for yourself. Have Some Self-Respect and get to moving on and up! REMEMBER: ACTION is ALWAYS greater than WORDS Get to work, David Guerra, MBA author of THE WALKING LEADER

About Respecting Others - 22 JULY 2021

As I mentioned, RESPECT is a TWO-WAY street. You Get It and You Give It. However, as a leader you have to take the initiative and be the first one to give that respect to others. 

However, make it perfectly and clearly known to you that you can and must withdraw that respect when you are no longer being respected or disrespected. 

You CANNOT sacrifice your own self-respect because you are “supposed” respect someone when they do not deserve your respect or are abusing that respect because of the position they hold in the family hierarchy or on the company’s corporate ladder. 

REMEMBER: ACTION is ALWAYS greater than WORDS

Get to work,

David Guerra, MBA

author of THE WALKING LEADER

 

 = = = =

#change #SelfLeadership #respect

ABOUT RESPECT - 21 July 2021

Defined as "a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements" RESPECT is above all else a TWO-WAY street. You Get It and You Give It. Just as quickly as you give it, you can take it back. You can stop respecting someone after a lifetime of respect. RESPECT is a fickle being and is something not to be taken lightly.

This week we will talk about the different aspects of RESPECT and what we can and cannot do about it. However, there is something to think about: When we are told that we are "supposed to" respect someone or something, are we truly and freely giving that respect?

In that case, that thing we give is commonly known as PLATITUDES.

Question everything especially those things and individuals that "demand" to be respected. REMEMBER: ACTION is ALWAYS greater than WORDS

Get to work, David Guerra, MBA author of THE WALKING LEADER = = = = #change #SelfLeadership #respect

YOU DO HAVE CONTROL ON HOW OTHERS HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE - 19 Jul 21

YOU DO HAVE CONTROL ON HOW OTHERS HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE

As the main topic has been ACCOUNTABILITY, HOW TO HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE, HOLDING OTHERS ACCOUNTABLE but there is another side to that coin. OTHERS WILL HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE & YOU WILL HAVE VERY LITTLE TO NO CONTROL OVER HOW OR WHY THEY DO SO. 

Knowing that you cannot change people (their behavior) you can change people (move them out of your life) because of their negativity, how they choose to treat you, or whatever the reason. What that reason may be, you have the ability to control that aspect of any relationship. 

If it is not working out then YES, you can make that change. While you can try to motivate them, inspiring them but you cannot dictate to them because they ARE holding you to a standard that they have not shared with you.

People will hold you accountable for an action or words spoken that you have absolutely NO CLUE (BECAUSE WE DO NOT READ MINDS) what that standard or expectation may be. Yet, they will hold you to and then blame you for not meeting their expectations or standard. How is that fair? It is not fair.

Therefore, you can change people. Remember, you are only as good as you tolerate. Stop tolerating their negative behavior and they will soon find someone else who will ignorantly accept that kind of behavior in their lives. Stop feeding the negative and soon they will go find someone else to feed off of and drain them of their positive energy. 

Current and Future Leaders, it is your responsibility to make things right in your life first. If others do not like it, well that's on them. You can only control yourself, your actions, your words, and what you are willing to tolerate from others especially when they do NOT want to be held accountable but have absolutely no problem holding you to the perverted sense of what is accountability and what they expect of you all the while never communicating that expectation or standard.

Time to cast away the lines that have been holding you down and GOOD RIDDANCE!

REMEMBER: ACTION is ALWAYS greater than WORDS

Get to work,

David Guerra, MBA

author THE WALKING LEADER

Bias - Thursday- July 15, 2021

Today, I am talking about BIAS.

Everyone has bias. Every single person on this planet has bias towards or against something or someone. If you say you do not then I am calling you a damn liar! Seriously, we all do. However, to become the leader we always wanted to follow, we must learn to control that bias.

Current and Future Leaders, we must work long and hard to ensure that they can make decisions that impact individuals and/or the entire team without letting the biases creep in. To be a fair, equitable, just and authentic leader you must control those biases and not let them influence your decision making.

It may be difficult to do so at first, but those leaders that care about others before they care about what  is in it for themselves will see minimizing the bias as what must be done. 

Sadly, those individuals that would rather half-ass their way towards a "position of power" will see minimizing the bias as an option. An option they would rather not utilize.

Thus taking the high road means controlling and curtailing your bias and your position as a fair and impartial leader not be too far behind.

REMEMBER: ACTION is ALWAYS greater than WORDS

Get to work,

David Guerra, MBA

author THE WALKING LEADER

Holding Others Accountable - Wednesday - July 14, 2021

HOLDING OTHERS ACCOUNTABLE

Long before you even consider holding others accountable for their actions, you must be the leader that knows, understands, and will do everything within their power to make certain others know the standard, understand the standard, and also know that others are NOT mind readers.

Until you set the standard and lead by example with the standard then share that standard and set the expectations based on that standard. 

Failing to do all three, you cannot under any circumstance truly hold anyone accountable because you have failed to either:

1. Clearly define the set standard/expectation

2. Followed up to ensure that the standard/expectation is 100% understood

3. Know they are not mind readers and even if it means repeating #1 & #2 over and over again you will do so

COLD, HARD TRUTH ALERT: If for any reason you are NOT holding yourself accountable to the same standard/expectation you are setting for others please know you are WRONG!

Remember: ACTION IS ALWAYS GREATER THAN WORDS!

Get to work,

David Guerra, MBA

author THE WALKING LEADER

HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE - Tuesday - July 13, 2021

Today, a cold hard reality alert: PEOPLE WILL GO OUT OF THEIR WAY TO HOLD OTHER PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE LONG BEFORE THEY WILL ENTERTAIN THE IDEA OF HOLDING THEMSELVES ACCOUNTABLE.

As a current and future leader, that wants to become one of the great ones. Well, if you are NOT first holding yourself accountable you will never be a leader. You will never be someone that people will turn to. Actually, you will become some one that people will go out of their way to avoid.

You cannot be a true leader if you do not begin with yourself, FIRST. 

An individual that would rather hold others accountable but does not hold themselves accountable falls right smack in the middle of the "DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO" category. Being the definitive example of the "DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO" is actually the OPPOSITE of a Leader. 

You want to lead, you want to be the one people come to, you want to be the one that makes more leaders then you must act like it. You have no choice. As to be a leader, a genuine leader, then it begins with you. You cannot just open your mouth and say, 'today, I am a leader." It does not work that way. 

The only way for a leader to be a leader is to put in the work. The work is also non-stop, 24/7. There is no shirking of that responsibility.

Do not go trying to hold others accountable or push them to do what you "believe" they should be doing if you are NOT willing to do it first. Also, do not put it in your mind that because you are older or outlasted everyone else you are an "Automatic Leader" because let me be the first to tell you; there is NO SUCH THING.

So stop kidding yourself and others and get to work. Start putting in the work and make it happen. Start with yourself and then, maybe, you can start holding others accountable for their actions (or inactions). But do not, for one second, start to think that you can begin influencing the behavior, thoughts, words or actions of others if you are not prepared to it yourself. 

Get to work,

David Guerra, MBA

author THE WALKING LEADER.

P.S. I invite you to follow me on Twitter: @daveguerra • visit my website: www.daveguerra.com

P.P.S. To order your copy of Great To Follow: Amazon paperback / Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble paperback
To order your copy of The Walking Leader:  Amazon Paperback / Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble

ACCOUNTABILITY - Monday - July 12, 2021

July 12 - Today, I want to talk to you about ACCOUNTABILITY.

As you begin or continue on your self-leadership development journey, you will discover the one thing that will set you apart from the crowd: ACCOUNTABILITY

Accountability is defined as the "quality or state of being accountable; especially : an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions."

Throughout life there will always be varying degrees (or levels) of accountability and you will encounter them all. How others project their level of accountability IS a direct reflection on who they are as leaders and as followers. Who are the ones willing to call shenanigans and the ones that would rather stick their head in the sand than to go face-to-face with the reality of addressing what must be addressed.

As a current and future leader, it serves you best to work on ACCOUNTABILITY (from a complete 360° degree perspective).

When it comes to prioritizing Accountability there is first how you hold yourself accountable. Then how you hold others accountable. Lastly, how others hold you accountable.

These three variations are non-negotiable and all of them must be mastered. However, make absolutely certain you begin with yourself long before you start to hold others accountable and/or questioning others that attempt to hold you accountable.

Join Me Tomorrow As We Continue Talking About Accountability.

REMEMBER: ACTION > WORDS

= = = =

Thank you,
David Guerra, MBA

author THE WALKING LEADER

P.S. I invite you to follow me on Twitter: @daveguerra • visit my website: www.daveguerra.com

P.P.S. To order your copy of Great To Follow: Amazon paperback / Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble paperback
To order your copy of The Walking Leader:  Amazon Paperback / Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble

SURROUNDING YOURSELF IN POSITIVITY - Friday - July 9 - 2021

SURROUNDING YOURSELF IN POSITIVITY.

As you work on your developing and growing your self-leadership you start to see the good and the bad around. Your mindset begins to change when it comes to easily identifying the good and the bad, the positive and the negative. Once you start doing that you recognize that the negativity has been what has been holding you back all this time.

Your growth and success as a human being relies on rising about the negativity in order to become a better human being, thus becoming a better leader, better father/mother, better mentor and so on. 

However, when it comes to shedding the negative and wrapping yourself in the positive it can become a daunting task. It should never be daunting. It should be easy to want to be better. No one would want you to be a failure, no one wants to not succeed. Well, maybe those few individuals who have resentment, fear, and anger and maybe a sense of entitlement as to why you and not them? Those are the ones that are bringing the negativity full force. Those are also the ones that will work overtime to bring you down. 

Sure some of them may put on a facade (a front) and say oh no not me, but true to their form the moment you are out of earshot they begin with the negativity. Then when confronted they inevitable response "Oh I was just kidding."

Were they?

Folks, that level of negativity and toxicity is what you should be mindful of not only today but for all the days of your life. Sadly, it may become a full time job just to eradicate those negative individuals from your life. And you may ask yourself what if that negativity comes from people close to me? My answer: So you are willing to NOT be a better human being, being a better parent, better spouse, better leader all because you do not want to hurt someone's feeling? I DON'T THINK SO!

COLD HARD TRUTH ALERT: That someone whose feelings you do not want to hurt has more than likely hurt you (for far too long). Where's the equity in that? Where is the accountability?

REMEMBER: ACTION is ALWAYS greater than WORDS Get to work, David Guerra, MBA author of THE WALKING LEADER

WHAT DO YOU DO TO SET A POSITIVE TONE FOR THE DAY?

Today, I want to talk to you about WHAT DO YOU DO TO SET A POSITIVE TONE FOR THE DAY?

Life is difficult enough without having to start the day in a negative manner. That is why being proactive and setting the day’s tone first thing in the morning is what will make all the difference. 

What are you doing to set that positive tone, everyday? 

You have to do it first thing because when you delay in setting that positivity the negativity will creep in, take over, and trying to set the positive tone will be all but impossible.

As part of your personal growth, self-leadership development, professional development it is crucial to get your mind wrapped in a sense of positivity, believe in positivity, and act on that positivity. It is imperative to have the day on your side. Do not fail yourself and keep the positivity of the day in your corner. 

Everyone, the success factor is exponentially high when you set the daily standard of making the positive a priority. 

Folks, that’s the only secret to winning the day and succeeding. Why is making positivity the daily standard such a secret? See, far too many people would rather let the friction of the day overpower them and ultimately rule them thus squashing all their dreams, hopes, ambitions, vision, mission and goals. Well Not You!

Most certainly, it involves work to make positivity a priority but as #work is a four-letter word those not wanting to succeed will NOT put in the work. They give up long before they start. Little do they know that in just 21 days they can create a habit of positivity and in 90 days they create a lifestyle of positivity & success. 

You can do it, you can make it happen all because I know you can and you know you can & will do it. 

REMEMBER: ACTION > WORDS

'Till Tomorrow, I Thank you,

Dave

P.S. I invite you to follow me on Twitter: @daveguerra • visit my website: www.daveguerra.com

P.P.S. To order your copy of Great To Follow: Amazon paperback / Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble paperback
To order your copy of The Walking Leader:  Amazon Paperback / Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble