How to be a positive role model

Are you a good person? Not only kids and teenagers need a positive role model in their lives. We all need someone to look up to. Someone that inspires us to great achievements. Someone to set an example to live by, even if they don’t know about it (but even better if they do).

Anyone can be anyone’s inspiration.

This means that you are someone’s inspiration, whether you know it or not. Live your life being a positive role model, you never know who’s watching you.

How to be a great role modelYour own role model can be anyone – international celebrity or your neighbor. It doesn’t matter who it is or if you know them in person.

The source of my inspiration always changes, depending on where I am in life. My family members, Nelson Mandela, my mentor, my co-worker, or even people I’ve only met once, just to mention a few.

How to find your role model

…and what to do when you’ve found him/her:

  1. Figure out which special traits you want to develop yourself.
  2. Find those special traits in other people.
  3. Choose your role model, someone to look up to and be inspired by.
  4. Watch, learn and then apply in reality what you want to achieve. Ask your role model how they do it, they will be more than happy to help you.

What if someone choose YOU as a source of inspiration?

Walk your talk and act with credibility. Present an ethical image. Live up to your own high set standards.

See yourself through the eyes of others – how would your own source of inspiration describe you? Or your neighbor or your family? Of course it comes down to the expectations of others, but communicate clearly and live up to your promises and you will be that positive role model.

And I beg you, tell the truth. Be honest with yourself and others. Do the right thing, always. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically. No bullshit! …but use duct tape on your mouth when necessary.

Just listen more than you speak and treat everybody with respect and dignity. Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view, just like you’re asking people to look at things from your point of view.

Smile!

SMILE! Life is an amazing gift! You can be and do everything you want to. With the right amount of determination and hard work all your dreams are possible.

Help others to reach their dreams by being the person they can look up to and get the inspiration from. It will come back to you…karma is a powerful thing.

Link paycheck to purpose

Purpose is one of the most powerful motivators in the world. You want to have a purpose for doing things, a purpose for going to work and a purpose for living. Finding your purpose might be a difficult process, but there are quite a few people out there willing to help you along the way. Your manager should definitely be one of them.

Every single person on this planet has the ability to get excited and motivated about something. I believe, just like Robin Sharma, that we all have a deep inner need to be a part of something larger than ourselves. We want to feel that we are making some sort of contribution. Let it be to your family, at work or in the world.

A good leader “fans the flames of excitement” within the organization by continually showing the employees that the work they are doing is moving them closer to a compelling cause. The leader gives his/her followers reasons to get up in the morning feeling motivated to go to work and do the best they can do.

Most leaders have a vision of their company’s future. Of course they do. They wouldn’t be who and where they are if they didn’t. But having a vision is not enough. The vision must “excite the minds and touch the hearts” of the people in the organization. People will go far beyond the call of duty when their leader paints for them a future vision that is compelling and important.

Rather than constantly ordering people to work toward the future goals you have developed, why not give them a reason to do so? Show employees that you have their best interest in mind. Give your followers what they need and want. Create the motivation and inspiration needed for them to work with you towards the vision you have in your mind. Link paycheck to purpose – but realize that Paycheck means different things to different people.

Inspiration: Leadership Wisdom From The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma