3 lessons I wish I learned earlier!
Written by: Mike “Piecez” Prosserman
There's so much to catch up on over the last 3 years! I figured I would start with 3 awesomely important things I learned to get this blog rolling before the long weekend!
1. Give when it feels right. In my life I always give when it feels right. Some of my most giving moments became my most strategic successes. The question to ask is did I give for the sake of getting something in return? Absolutely not! If you look more closely at the times where I gave shamelessly and got the most in return it was ALWAYS in the situations that did not seem like it would have a big carrot at the end.
It just felt right.
Example, one free show I did I was approached by an audience member who later became one of my most incredible mentors. He later got me to keynote a national sponsorship conference. The next year he got me a keynote at another conference. The Governor General of Canada happened to be speaking at this conference. The Governor General's office called me because his spouse Sharon Johnston was into youth causes and they saw my bio on the conference website. Her Excellency Sharon Johnston visited a UNITY program and loved it. She later brought her husband His Excellency, The Governor General of Canada to visit a UNITY program. He loved UNITY too. They both became patrons of UNITY after these visits. All a HUGE snowball from one free show I did 3 years ago.
Moral of the story, I give when it feels right. Not to get something in return.
2. Make decisions! This one sounds obvious but it's proven that most people avoid conflict and therefore do not make decisions that should be made (ie: me). Another common issue is that we wait until it's really obvious to everyone around us why we should make a certain decision. If you know for sure, then just make the damn decision.
Don't let things drag on, don't feel like you are being a nice person by not addressing real issues head on. Not making decisions creates major problems. Sometimes a painful decision today will save me many months of pain and regret. There were too many times in the past few years where I did not make a decision because I thought I was being nice but I really hurt everyone including UNITY.
3. Lead by example. We have all heard this before. However, why don't we actually do it? The ultimate leaders are addicted to their organizational goals. They work harder and smarter. Teams follow great work ethic. It is key to lead by example, make tough decisions and people respect your vision and become part of the movement. Take ownership of your role! Especially when something goes wrong you need to own it. Lead by example and those around you will take pride in their responsibilities and learn from their mistakes.
I figured 3 years deserves at least 3 lessons, but my journal is overflowing with ideas to share! I've learned a ton in the last few years from managing and growing UNITY to where it is now.
I'm so excited to finally be back in the blog! :)
Follow above to get the updates when future posts come out!