Chapter One: Conviction, the Lifeblood for Winning
“If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life.” ~ Marcus Garvey
CONVICTION is the best force multiplier for experiencing gratification. How confident do you feel about your near-term situation, current possibilities, and financial resources invested in realizing abundance in the not-to-distant future? The alpha attribute of conviction is decisiveness. Imagine the struggle to discover a creative solution while being frustrated by a corralling setback weighing heavily on both shoulders. A situation such as this compels drawing upon the insightful information detailed in chapter one. Conviction 1) sparks genuine enthusiasm; 2) ignites imagination; 3) amplifies brain waves; 4) advances a practicable idea into a needed breakthrough; 5) filters fear, so that forward progress to purpose quickens; and 6) refines an initiative that matters and transforms it into a tangible benefit. Conviction helps a person deal with a setback, ascend from it, and thrive.
Conviction, the first aspect of the creativeness thesis, radiates actions into a torrent of energy for refining work activities or topping a personal best. Its Paralingual insight fortifies a holistic approach for realizing the most effective solution to a fateful predicament. An example is developing a novel vaccine that diminishes the risk of infection from a deadly virus by working with a person’s natural defenses to develop immunity.
The contextual content that enriches the Winning Uphill Battles (WUB) vision is deep-rooted with this triad of assertions: 1) improvement stirs a creative individual to unleash talent to ascend from the detriments of obscurity; 2) bundling core strengths with ingenuity facilitates a meticulous approach for exploring possibilities; and, 3) staying poised is crucial to winning a battle worth fighting.
Here’s proof. Edison’s uniqueness personified his brilliance. His steadfastness to transform the incandescent light bulb into massive tangible value for humanity empowered his giftedness to victory over extraordinary uphill battles. Pivotal learning gained from Edison’s portfolio of work is this: accord with one’s convictions is a treasured asset to cultivate. Envision millions of individuals resolved to do so every day. Imagine the wealth creation when a generation of people aims higher.
What’s curtailing you from promotion to a leadership role? Is your success echelon too low? After weighing replies to these pointed questions, ask yourself what actions require greater emphasis to create headway towards realizing an aspirational aim? Your response to these questions informs if a promise to act is real or not. Just as faith attacks opposition that hinders perseverance through a life-test like COVID-19, conviction solidifies each step along the path to a measurably higher level of prosperity. Nurturing a team for winning reshapes aspirants’ thinking and tailors their practices. This activity can produce an epiphany-like experience
Strategic Inputs for Bolstering Conviction
Seismic activities that uncover camouflaged opportunities and reveal mysteries that block ascension to an individual’s highest potential almost certainly will occur during the promising 2020 decade. Escalating threats to individuals doing monotonous tasks include artificial intelligence (AI) and programed robots. Both means will continue displacing stable jobs individuals are doing today. Given this premise, you can realize tangible benefits by engaging vigorous planning for reinventing yourself and aligning your career with the commerce that will fuel the 2020 decade and beyond. Entrepreneurs, merchants, purpose-driven industry leaders, and “street vendors” who know how to monetize creativeness will likely continue revolutionizing the global economy by steadily increasing productivity. Massive capital investments in game-changing technology will continue to slash overhead and streamline production and supply chain costs. Thus, staying relevant matters.
Investments in human capital that drive innovation utilize particular inputs to bring to fruition a unique and integrated product-service, like a digital wallet, that delivers exceptional value to its intended beneficiaries. Comparably, competency enrichment incorporates a tailored capabilities assessment that combines raw data, such as a S.W.O.T. (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) Analysis, probing alternatives, and personality traits. The output provides input for strategizing a well-conceived journey-map that provides a flexible timeline for use when progressing from an individual’s current situation to an attainable future state of relevancy. Activating this product-service synthesis for winning requires an aspirant to fortify conviction, demonstrate imagination, grasp ambiguity, and exert boldness. Navigating necessitates agility, keen focus, and endurance to contest challenges that disrupt progress or skirmishes that adversely influence the achievement of a future outcome or reaching a destination. An epiphany-like experience draws upon each of these actions.
Staying stuck in a futile thinking loop induces pain, frustration, or folly that postpones progress towards realizing a physically, mentally, and spiritually wholesome and financially affluent lifestyle. Foresight, however, initiates breakthrough solutions with sufficient propulsion for flourishing throughout the 2020 decade, which points to a favorable environment for a renaissance. I desire that each person reading this book will write and then put into modus operandi a game plan for journeying to discover their born-to-be purpose, defined here as actualizing one’s giftedness. Start by raising expectations followed by paying attention to the “still small voice” as you pursue a gratifying life. A noble endeavor that inspires a movement is a worthy cause that can materialize into an intriguing adventure that 1) broadens an individual’s perspective; 2) sharpens engagement proficiency; 3) rouses giftedness; 4) intensifies creativeness; and 5) expresses determination. These skills guide the initiative framing process and align vision with a mission to realize an intended outcome. Challenges that required leap-frogging obstacles during the stretch run of my SPR career taught that conviction energizes the initiative to strive and thrive when stakes are high. Fixing oneself first is the essence of confidence for winning.
Figure 1 - Conviction for Leadership Model©
Conviction for Leadership
The model shown as Figure 1 embodies a balanced distribution of confidence postures divided into six measurable segments. Each segment refers to a specific leadership demeanor ranging from reluctant to stand alone. Progressing from the far left (reluctant) to the far right (stand-alone) takes belief in self and persistent work. This leadership model brings awareness to one of the most reversible hindrances to significant personal achievement: apprehension. Leadership demeanor, command skills, and capacity to manage dynamic and unpredictable situations can be observed by team members and evaluated by the senior management team. The mean signifies the demarcation between learner and proven expertness. This peak infers conviction for leadership and readiness for extraordinary challenges. Thus, it is a sound position for increasing capacity. Segments to the right of the pivotal point defined as the mean characterize increasing self-confidence. The three segments left of the mean invite opportunity for enriching self-confidence, the lifeblood for winning. A tentative leader applying a proven approach will boost confidence to the composed stage rather quickly. Yet, winning each uphill battle to retain a leadership role, such as a managing director, will be an exhausting effort until a breakthrough in demeanor occurs, and commitment to a diversity of views and thoughts becomes evident. On the other hand, a reluctant modus operandi subdues confidence. At this stage, apprehension towards succeeding emits ambiguity, a vivid signal that leadership training or mentoring has yet to realize agreed-upon expectations. Take a few minutes to read the succinct definition for each confidence-building segment and contrast differences. You are welcome to personalize these baseline meanings to meet your interpretation. Keep in mind that aspiring leaders must go out of their way to learn, improve, and achieve.
Leaders shoulder challenges that learners and followers are ill-equipped to handle. Followers naturally prefer discreetness within the tentative segment of the Conviction for Leadership Model. This posture merits coaching investment when a learner’s personality and ambition point to sound expectations. Likewise, when insights gained from self-assessment convince you to put in writing a Competence Enhancement Plan (CEP) meant to shift emphasis from hindsight to purpose-driven, then poise must increase and be upheld. Motivating self to pursue leadership accountability or mature project management skillfulness through certification...