For over 25 years, I’ve been advising, teaching, coaching, and helping leaders use their roles, their brands and organizations, and their lives to enhance the thrive-ability of people including themselves. But, truth is, I know from personal experience this uncommon path for leading can at times feel daunting and lonely.
The media reveals countless examples of leaders who are cutthroat and undermining – damaging rather than uplifting. Yet we are also seeing a groundswell of modern-day leaders from all walks of life striving to bring out the highest and best in people and situations. These leaders do not claim to be perfect – not by a long shot – but they seem committed to evolving our priorities from income alone to responsible impact, from profit to planet, from wealth to wellbeing. Without even knowing so, they are helping give rise to a new set of values for leading such as wholeness, compassion, rejuvenation, and wisdom.
To stay fueled on this sometimes challenging journey, here is an inoculation of ten quotes from this growing breed of leaders. Your prescription for thriving? Read – no, FULLY CONSUME – at least one daily for the best results. Better yet, share one of these quotes – or one of your own – with someone you want to inspire and support. The more you embrace this path of leading, the more you help others – and the world – do the same.
- “Imagine how our culture, how our lives, will change when we begin valuing go-givers as much as we value go-getters.” Arianna Huffington, Editor-In-Chief, The Huffington Post, and Author, Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder
- “When you help, educate, heal, or nurture other people, your days become more and more meaningful, and you enrich the quality of your hours.” – Max Strom, Yoga Teacher and Author, There Is No App For Happiness: How To Avoid A Near-Life Experience
- “Leadership is not just about giving energy … it’s unleashing other people’s energy.” – Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever
- “We have to make wellbeing of everyone a top priority. We have to give everyone the opportunity to enjoy the fruits of modernity, or else we don’t get to enjoy them ourselves. It’s the Bodhisattva vow: nobody gets enlightened until everybody gets enlightened.” – Jeff Salzman, Author, The Daily Evolver and Co-Founder, CareerTrack Training
- “Power isn’t control at all – power is strength, and giving that strength to others. A leader isn’t someone who forces others to make him stronger; a leader is someone willing to give his strength to others that they may have the strength to stand on their own.” – Beth Revis, Science Fiction Author, Across The Universe
- “What is success? It is being able to go to bed each night with your soul at peace.” – Paulo Coehlo, Author, The Alchemist
- “True leadership is about creating a domain in which we continually learn and become more capable of participating in our unfolding future.” – Joseph Jaworski, Chairman, Generon International and Global Leadership Initiative
- “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” – Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu
- “Whether you know it or not, your leadership depends entirely on whether you dare to give birth to yourself.” – Pino Bethencourt Gallagher, Director, IWF Leadership Foundation
- “If you have a vaccine or an antidote that people can benefit from, you’re not going to want to keep it to yourself. You’re going to want to spread that wisdom or whatever to as many people as you can, so everyone will benefit from it.” – will.i.am, Musician
Image: Shutterstock photo 4429480
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