✏ Venture + Lead + Prosper

Leadership is an investment — of time, humility, sacrifice, and money. And although the pursuit to become a respected and effective leader is never-ending, the return on this investment far outweighs the journey. It’s the person willing to play the long game who will experience the reward.

This is my journey to earn the trust of hard-working, ambitious, courageous, and humble people who have either earned the role to lead, or aspire to it.

My encouragement is based on three simple outcomes: Venture + Lead + Prosper. When you reach for these three outcomes, you will find that many more amazing things occur in the process.

“HE WHO DOES NOT VENTURE HAS NO LUCK.” — proverb

For me, to VENTURE conjures up an exciting journey, one that may involve risk, but ends in a rewarding experience. For leaders, every day has you venturing to both familiar or unfamiliar places. With patience, knowledge and courage to set yourself apart, you will eventually thrive on venturing to those unfamiliar places that involve risk —strengthened by knowing that the path you take will set you apart.

MY ADVICE: Don’t ever let fear be your strategy . . . it never works. To venture will require you to trust your instincts and move outside your comfort zone. Be courageous, be vulnerable, and most of all, be a visionary.

“LEADERS BECOME GREAT NOT BECAUSE OF THEIR POWER, 

BUT BECAUSE OF THEIR ABILITY TO EMPOWER OTHERS.”

To LEAD is to initiate action, setting an example for others to follow. But don’t confuse “lead” and “power”. Too often, the perception is that those with the most power tend to lead. That may be true in some cases, but my goal is not to inspire the type of leadership that is based upon a position of power, but rather a position of empowerment. In order for you to achieve anything in a leadership role, you have to inspire those around you.

The buy-in is critical, but more important than the buy-in is the respect for your vision and personal example.

MY ADVICE: Lead by trusting and empowering those around you.

“THERE IS NO WAY TO PROSPERITY; PROSPERITY IS THE WAY.”

To PROSPER is to flourish, or be successful. Do not correlate prosperity with financial success when discussing leadership, but instead, focus on having balance. Consistently enjoy what you do every day, and change the lives and circumstances for the better all around you. That, my friends, is true success.

Allow your passion to flourish; if it were easy, everybody would do it. Leaders aren’t born, they are made.

MY ADVICE: Act with integrity, create a legacy by inspiring others, and you will prosper.

Above all, remember this: success is a journey, not a destination.