Andy Hickman is a professional speaker from Texas with a motivating and entertaining message. I had the opportunity to hear him present to a business group in Iowa yesterday. He made three points that I believe are worth passing on:
1) Your checkbook and calendar reveal what you value. He noted that a lot of people say they value family, yet their money and time goes into everything but family. He suggested that everyone conduct a personal audit of their checkbook (particularly with respect to discretionary spending) and their calendar. See if the information revealed is consistent with what you say is important. "If there is misalignment, then make a change," he said.
2) Encourage others. He reminded us that words matter a lot. People listen to what you are saying, even if they pretend they are not paying attention. You can make a huge impact on your environment at home or at work with the words you use. Build people up and you make a great environment; criticize unnecessarily and you dampen everyone's energy. "Since you have complete control over what you say, why not choose to say things that encourage others?" he asked.
3) Superficial qualities do not make a leader. Hickman noted that the world tries to tell us that you have to be extremely intelligent, good-looking, and have money in order to be a leader. But, in fact, the greatest leaders in history -- Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King, for example -- had none of these qualities. More importantly, their actions were consistent with their message and they encouraged others.
Hickman has written a book called "Stuff That Really Matters." Learn more at his web site (don't let the music startle you). Click on "online store" to get to the book.
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