No Excuses Leadership

Make Long-Term Plans

The other day I found myself sitting in the living room watching a movie with my family.  There on two separate couches were my four kids, my wife and myself.  About 10 minutes into the movie tiny scenes began to appear in the hands of five out of six of us as we pulled out our phones.  The only reason there wasn’t 100% participation was because my youngest daughter is yet to own a phone.  As I looked around I felt a bit sick to my stomach.  Either our attention spans have become so short or our expectation to be entertained has reached such a premium that watching a movie as a family is no longer good enough.  With this as the case, I can't help but ask myself: How can any of us begin to make long-term plans/goals when we’re living in an instant gratification world?

To make long-term plans you have to hold a deeply rooted belief in the concept of having a “life’s work” or a “greater purpose” in your life.  People who do commit to such a purpose are always the ones who change the world the most.  Sure, someone might go viral for 24 hours because of a tweet they posted, but will that post carry them on to greatness for decades to come? When we are at our best as leaders, we are fueled by delayed, not instant gratification. When we are at our best as leaders we willingly roll the dice on the idea that there are better things to come if we stay the course.  When we are at our best and BOLDEST as leaders, we make long-term plans that add to our legacy.

TAKE ACTION

When you began your school year, what kind of a timeline did your goals fit into?  Did you make goals that were only good for a year, or did you have aspirations for results that were predicated on a commitment to multiple years of commitment towards them? 

BE BOLD

"Long-term consistency trumps short-term intensity."

- Bruce Lee -