Leading through the FIRE

I was listening to a podcast this morning about how America needs more leadership. The host of the podcast was all lit-up about the fact that Americans do not need more leadership, the individuals of this country need to be stronger leaders. I agree. You cannot wait for any political party to provide you or your family greater leadership. Leadership is an individual choice. Leadership is not always being the most popular of the most liked, sometimes leadership is making the tough decisions and holding people accountable. Leadership is knowing your why! Knowing your why is a big advantage in today’s economy. This is a new world and to succeed in it you have to be great. You can’t wait for others to make you great you have to get up and go get the things in life you want.

Once you decide to join this leadership movement you should know that there is a number of challenges that you are going to be faced with. You are going to have massive fires coming at you. These fires are real. Growing in your leadership is seeing these fires as opportunities to display your maturity.

I am often reminded of a story about a great conquer who took over the nation of GHOW. The nation of GHOW was full of strong leaders. In a far off land the great conquer of GWHAT was intelligently plotting his conquest of GHOW. In fact, the king of GWHAT was very smart. He was known for taking over nations, and employing the leadership of those nations in high levels within his army.

One day, the conquer attacked and took over GHOW. He separated the King of GHOW from his top three men. Well, these 3 leaders were the top leaders in all of the land of GHOW. The king of GWHAT knew this but just could not convert them to his army. The king tried a number of techniques to sway them to his point of view. His attempts to convince them included beautiful women, money, and lots of power.

The three men refused day after day to follow the king of GWHAT. One day the king of GWHAT became very mad and ordered the three men to be thrown into a fiery furnace. Right before the men were thrown into the fire, the king ordered the guards to increase the heat seven times. The king had the men bound together, and then thrown into the fiery furnace.

When the king looked into the furnace he could see four men walking around in the furnace, and they were unbound. The three men’s king was walking with them in the fire.

In our lives we are going to have fires but in those times are you showing your maturity? There are three things you can do as a leader when there are fires based on the story above.

1. Hold firm to your beliefs – Notice the men in the story did not turn to the king of GWHAT just because they knew about the fire. They did not cower to the king they remained firm in their beliefs.
2. Go for a walk – Walking relieves stress and gets the juices flowing. Going for a walk helps to stop and think before reacting. A walk is a great time to get away from the people and just spend time with yourself or maybe a mentor, or trusted friends.
3. Remain calm – Sometimes when the fires are hot the best thing to do is nothing. Let the fire die down. Panicking and working yourself up will only add to the fire.
4. Who is this fourth man in the fire – When you remain firm, go for a walk, and remain calm you gain this fourth man. It is though you become stronger with additional help.

Following these 3 techniques helps to make you a stronger leader. See there is opportunity in any fire. The opportunity to mature. What fires are you facing?

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Nathan Bush is a highly sought after speaker, writer, author and real estate investment professional. One of the most inspirational and motivational men of his time. He delivers a high impact, educational performance that has improved businesses bottom line. With over 10 years of experience in the real estate industry and asset management industry, his systems have generated millions of dollars in bottom line profits for thousands of sales professionals, leasing agents, property managers, & investors. 

Nathan is the Founder and President of Priority Investing, LLC. a National Consulting Practice impacting and changing lives across the United States. Nathan holds an MBA with an emphasis in accounting from Keller Graduate School of Management and a B.A in Nonprofit Management from Lindenwood University.  In addition to his degrees, he holds a Missouri real estate license and a National Apartment Leasing Professional (NALP) certification. He is currently a member of SCORE which is a nonprofit organization that serves to mentor start-up and growing businesses. Lastly, Nathan wrote the book Leadership Coaching as a Strategy for Employee Development and has been a guest speaker and facilitator at national conferences on the topics of leadership. 

For More information: www.nathanbushmba.com