Leadership


Leadership tip:

You always want the ball to be in your court.

I've always carried the misconception (as I'm sure many others have) that I needed to get the ball out of my court as soon as possible. I apologized constantly, any time I thought I had been too assertive or "babbly," as I used to say. I had no idea what to do in conversation and no clue how to run a business (bonus tip: those two things are linked).

My pattern was to say my piece as quickly as possible and then to shut up so I could stop embarrassing myself. I shoved the proverbial ball at whoever I was talking to as quickly as I could.

Lately I've been through a lot of personal and business development training for my small business.

I learned so much about doTERRA, but the most surprising things I learned were about myself.

I'm bigger than I thought, and I don't have to apologize for it. I have more to bring to the table than I thought, and if I don't show up, I do a disservice to myself and others.

As you can probably guess, this didn't just impact how I operated in my business, but it changed how I operate in every facet of my life.

As a student. As a teacher. As a daughter. As a friend. As a mentor. As a mentee. As a church member. As a follower of Jesus.

As a leader, which I am.

I have more to offer than quiet nods of agreement. I have a story worth telling. And this even impacts how I'll be handling this blog from here on out.

But back to the leadership tip ... yes. Keep the ball in your court. Don't look for excuses to be dependent on someone getting back to you. Ask if you can follow up with them. Set a time for this. And "someday" doesn't count. Being comfortable with responsibility like this is a huge step towards living intentionally.

Don't wait for someone to reach out to you first - ask if they're open to the next step, whatever that looks like for you. Learn the art of asking.

Don't wait for God to catch your attention - show up expectant for His presence and He will meet you there.

Don't daydream about the maybe-somedays - find steps you can take today.

Tomorrow doesn't count.

The ball's in your hands.

XOXO

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