The Book of Mistakes- A “MUST READ” on leadership!

I was a part of a group that reviewed the pre-released copy of “The Book of Mistakes” by Skip Prichard. I have to tell you I was swamped at the time, and wasn’t sure I would have the time. I’m so glad I made time! It’s one of the best books on leadership I’ve ever read. I’m going to offer you the same notes I offered back then, regarding the pivotal points and powerful truths that I gleaned from it! Enjoy, and then click the link above and go buy the book!

Notes from Book of Mistakes

• The beginning is when you have more questions than answers. Readiness is when your desire is stronger than your distraction.
• Knowledge arrives in loud bursts, but wisdom only speaks in silence. Acceptance of the new is possible only with space from the old. If you don’t take time to discard the unnecessary, you will have no room for what matters.
• Often we are on a journey long before our conscious minds realize it.

Mistake # 1-  Working on someone else’s dreams.

• A life choreographed by someone else is not your finest performance.
• The clearer your purpose, the faster it will be attained. A clear purpose attracts people, ideas and resources to its cause.
• Be the hero of your story, not a minor character in someone else’s.
• It’s so important you take the time to determine who you want to become, not just what you want to do.
• I wonder when most of us start following someone else’s dream?

Mistake #2- Allowing someone else to define your value.

• Regret is the result of any action pulling against our heart’s purpose.
• A life well lived is a life true to who you are.
• Let nothing come between you and your purpose.
• Know your inherent value.
• Enormous power is possible when you give permission to be true to yourself.

Mistake #3- Accepting Excuses

• Behind every excuse is a door to greatness.
• When we learn to overcome the excuses that are preventing our progress, we begin an almost magical process of growth.
• If we put the energy and creativity into our goals that we put in creating excuses, we would achieve anything we set our minds to.
• A person who doesn’t make excuses isn’t afraid of accountability. In fact, they thrive on it.
• A big part of not accepting excuses is changing your self-talk.
• If you want to take your life back, take your thoughts back.

Mistake #4- Surrounding yourself with the wrong people

• Who you are around determines where you go.
• Painful as it is, it’s important to remember that, with kindness, we need to remove those who are dragging us down and find those who will pull us up.
• Don’t spend more time picking out your clothes than picking out your friends.

Mistake #5- Staying in your comfort zone.

• We fight against the pull of mediocrity. Mediocrity is the end result of too much comfort. All growth requires discomfort.
• The journey to success requires both risk and failure.
• Success is the result of consistently and purposely doing the uncomfortable.
• You have to be willing to try new things.
• Our thoughts can empower or imprison. They empower when we try something new, and they imprison when we et them convince us to stay comfortable.

Mistake #6- Allowing temporary setbacks to become permanent failures.

• Excuses are the weeds that choke progress.
• Setbacks are the seeds that sprout opportunity.
• Don’t let current circumstances define your destiny, whether good or bad.
• Your thoughts control your destiny.

Mistake #7- Blending in instead of standing out.

• Success is when you’re filed with ambition and peace in equal measure at the same time.
• When the right opportunity presents itself, nothing will stop me from it.
• Successful people are always pushing, always learning, always doing something new.
• A temporary setback is only a setup for a permanent step forward.
• Greatness always stands out.
• Standing out is as simple as consistently outperforming expectations.
• Great leaders resist the pull of the normal and push through to the extraordinary.
• Authenticity is the result of standing out.

Mistake #8- Thinking that there is a fixed and limited amount of success available.

• If your life was a canvas, would you be pleased with what you are creating?
• Anything we repeatedly imagine with intensity becomes reality.
• There is unlimited possibility in the universe. There’s no limit to your potential.
• Be motivated, no intimidated, by another’s success.
• Successful people look at others on the same path and show the way, encouraging them to reach higher.
• Turn jealously and envy into curiosity.
• These lessons, what not to do, are often just as important as what to do.

Mistake #9- Believing you have all the time in the world.

• Each of us is given so many days to make a difference.  We know it, but deep down we don’t seem to believe it.
• I’ve learned that it’s important to think about both those things: on the one hand, live each day as if it’s your last and, on the other, as if it’s your first.
• Whether you will fulfill your purpose depends on what you do with the present.
• When we realize the value of time, we respect it.
• Time demands respect.
• Our time may be limited, but our impact continues beyond us through love.
• A beautiful life is one played on the strings of our purpose.
• Your purpose is the compass pointing the way for you to use time wisely.

The next group of truths I gleaned were from a series of “laws” he describes. Check these out!

First Law- The Law Of Desire

Desire is a spring overflowing to fill your life with goodness. All opportunity, all achievement, all power is activated first with a burning desire.

Desire the noble; think high thoughts; feast on the abundance of possibility. Guard against wasting your desire on the insignificant and small.

               Only when your desire is great enough does it activate the winds of achievement to propel you to the impossible. Do not proceed without picturing your desires achieved fully. Your desire sets the course of your destiny.

               Desire prevents others from limiting or labeling you unfairly. Desire pushes your thoughts to a new level, one higher than you think is possible. Let your desire burn within to fuel your success.

Second Law- The Law Of Gratitude

Gratitude is the fertilizer for the bounty of success, the enabler of the harvest. A grateful spirit magnetizes people, ideas, and opportunity.

With a grateful heart one is able to receive blessings that pass over those who are bitter. Uplifted hands of gratitude have no expectation and yet are filled joyfully with abundance.

Inside a thankful person is love and an overflow of joy. One may unlock the mystery inside with a continually thankful attitude. Those who drink richly from the cup of thankfulness find themselves refreshed and their cup refilled. Count your daily blessings until your years are rich.

On its wings, gratitude lifts those in despair onto winds of plenty to fly above life’s pains into the everlasting place of abundance. Speak gratitude to others and you fuel the mysterious power of the spirt.

Third Law- The Law Of Belief

The Almighty created you with purpose. Believe in yourself. What seems impossible and implausible is the only the enemy of your potential.

Develop an unshakeable, unwavering, unbendable faith in your ability. Your destiny will expand as your belief expands. There are really no limits to what is possible for you.

Allow your beliefs to soar like an eagle. You cannot rise higher than your own beliefs. Most importantly, when you are able, help instill belief in others. This is the most important task of all—for once belief multiplies, nothing shall be impossible.

Epilogue

• Your choices can become the wings of success or the bars imprisoning you in a life of mediocrity.
• Allow your positive thoughts to clear the invisible strings tying you to a life of less.
• Live a life that matters, a life of light and love and hope.

Finally, soak up these powerful

“NINE SECRETS TO CREATING A SUCCESSFUL FUTURE“!

1. Live your own dream.
2. Recognize your inherent value.
3. Reject excuses.
4. Surround yourself with the right people.
5. Explore outside your comfort zone.
6. Move forward through challenges with determination and purpose.
7. Stand out.
8. Act boldly with the knowledge that your potential for success is unlimited.
9. Pursue your goals with urgency.

Now go buy the book, and buy an extra copy to give away!