People who nurture their mind, body and spirit on a daily basis, achieve more and live healthier, happier and more fulfilling lives.
Since 1987, I've travelled to more than 50 countries and worked with and studied thousands of leaders. Over those 13 years, I've used stories from my personal life and my travels to illustrate the leadership concepts and principles that I have found to be critical to the success of the many outstanding leaders and dynamic people I've met. Many people never see their dreams become realities because they don't have the information, inspiration or motivation to make them happen. If you want to begin building a stronger mind, body and spirit and learn the leadership and achievement principles that will help you to achieve an extraordinary life, I want to help you.
Bruce Rector
Return Thanks
No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks. St. Ambrose Thanking people is something that I learned to do at an early age. I recall as a young child whenever someone would give me a piece of candy, my parents would ask me, "And what do you tell them?" Of course, the correct answer was "thank you" and that polite response to any kind of gesture was so ingrained into my mind at an early age that I say those words today without even thinking.
This habit has carried over into my life as I have traveled internationally. One of the first things that I do when I visit a country is find out how to thank someone in the native language. I once shared with someone that I had traveled to over 50 countries. Their response was, "Wow! Do you speak any foreign languages?" "None fluently," I replied, "but I do know how to thank someone in 25 different languages." Thanking people is a powerful leadership skill as well as a way to be polite. Jeff Bezos, the founder and chief executive officer of the giant internet retailer Amazon.com once said: "I try to use Tuesdays and Thursdays to say thank you to people. I still don't do that nearly enough. It's a classic example of something that's never the most urgent thing to do. But it's actually very important, in a soft way, over a long period." Do you spend enough time each week thanking people? Would you thank more people, customers, clients, colleagues, and friends if you put aside a specific amount of time each week to do it? What kind of long term impact would thanking people more have on your business, your community, your career, your family and your quality of life? Thanking people is not only a kind gesture is also an effective leadership tool. The more you thank others, the more loyalty and effort they will give back to you. This week, make a list of people who do nice things for you on a daily basis that you haven't had the opportunity to thank recently. Then set aside specific time in your schedule to do nothing but thank people. Make showing your appreciation and gratitude a regular priority and you will soon see a positive effect in your own life as well as in the lives of others.
