The bridge from doubt to courage must be crossed

The bridge from doubt to courage must be crossed



It’s the bridge we all need to cross, whether we are writers or leaders. The first steps are the hardest; those that make you vulnerable, and humble, and willing to admit that you need to walk together with others.

These are the very experiences that allow us to make a difference in this world, and we need leaders who will do that.

So start crossing that bridge. Open your heart, ask for and accept other’s help. Let them know that you are human, that you can’t lead alone. Invite their opinions, ideas, and criticisms with equal enthusiasm.

What’s stopping you from taking that first step? If you open up enough to realize that leading others is just a slice of the life you’ve been meant to live along with others, you’ll make it to the other side of that bridge with grace. The world awaits your strong, courageous leadership.

10 Common communication Mistakes

Mistake 6: Not Preparing Thoroughly Poorly-prepared presentations, reports, or emails frustrate your audience and, over time, damage your reputation. This is why it's essential to prepare and plan your communications carefully. -

Mistake 7: Using a "One-Size-Fits-All" Approach to Communication If you use a "one-size-fits-all" approach to communication, you may overlook people's different personalities, needs, and expectations. In fact, your communications need to address those differences as much as possible. -

Mistake 8: Not Keeping an Open Mind When Meeting New People Today's workplace is a melting pot of ethnicities, religions, ages, sexual orientations, and viewpoints. These differences create a rich tapestry of experiences and opinions that greatly enhance our lives. However, it can be tempting to stereotype new colleagues or clients, or to make assumptions about them based on just a few pieces of information. This is especially true if you haven't had much time to get to know them well. -

Mistake 9: Assuming That Your Message has Been Understood Always take time to check that people have understood your message. For example, when you send out an email, you could encourage people to respond with questions, or to reply if they haven't understood part of your message -

Mistake 10: Accidentally Violating Others' Privacy Have you ever forwarded a sensitive email to the wrong person, or sent an incorrect attachment? These kinds of errors can cause serious commercial problems, violate people's privacy, and lead to embarrassment and confusion. To avoid these problems, write sensitive messages before you select the recipient, and then double check their email address. If your email program automatically fills in email addresses, you could switch this feature off, so that you must consciously choose the right recipient. -

10 Common Communication Mistakes

Mistake 1: Not Editing Your Work Mistakes with spelling, tone, and grammar make you look careless. That's why it's essential to check all of your communications before you send them.

Mistake 2: Delivering Bad News by Email-  Written communication channels don't allow you to soften difficult messages with nonverbal cues (such as body language), and they don't allow you to deal immediately with intense emotions. -

Mistake 3: Avoiding Difficult Conversations At some point, you will need to give negative feedback. It's tempting to try to avoid these conversations, but this can cause further problems – in particular, you may let small problems grow into big ones. -

Mistake 4: Not Being Assertive Assertiveness is about stating what you need, while considering the wants and needs of others. You may not always get your way when you're assertive, but you stand a better chance of getting it, or of reaching a compromise, because you've been clear about your needs. Use our Bite-Sized Training session on Assertiveness Skills to identify your needs, and to practice assertive communication. -

Mistake 5: Reacting, not Responding Have you ever shouted at a colleague in frustration, or sent a terse reply to an email, without thinking your point through? If so, you're likely to have reacted emotionally, instead of responding calmly -

More tomorrow

Life's lessons

Some of my best lessons come from real life experiences and/or observations.

This weekend my family and I went out for pizza and a play on Sunday.
We discovered this great little brick oven pizza restaurant in Matunuck R.I. , right near the ocean and the theatre.

The young man that made the pizza and stoked the oven was somewhere in his mid- twenty's. We sat outside on the picnic table and as the family held conversations I was facing the young man and was watching him get the oven ready and then make the pizzas. He brought them over to the table one at a time, we tried four or five different kinds. He was very polite and the pizza was outstanding.

Before we left I went inside to pay the bill and when I came out I went up to the young man and asked him his name., Mike he said. I told him that we all enjoyed each pizza and went to give him a $10.00 tip.
He pulled away and said I can't accept that and I said sure you can , you did a great job. He said I will take it and go inside and put it in our tip bowl. When he came out I said that he was very good and that he made good pizza and he said " thanks I take pride in what I do".

Now here was a young man in his middle twenty's that was working in front of a hot brick oven and for the most part it appeared to me that he had very little supervision and one, he refused to take the tip for himself- he could of very easily put the money in his pocket for himself but he did the right thing he put it in the tip bowl for all to share.
And Two he took pride in what he did and it showed. It may look like just a pizza job to most but he took pride in his work.

Wonderful lessons... ( and great pizza! )

Football Hall of Fame Coach Bill Parcells

Some quotes from Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcels...


I think confrontation is healthy, because it clears the air very quickly.


When you don't know that you don't know, it's a lot different than when you do know that you don't know.

If you have fun, fine. It's not all life and death.

Nowadays, if you are afraid of confrontation, you are not going to do very well.

I just try to do the best job I possibly can - put the blinders on, go to work and be the best you can possibly be. Once you have done everything that you possibly can - you've put forth your greatest effort - then I can live with whatever's next.

I can't live my life worrying about something that might never happen.

 Don't worry about it. It's just a bunch of guys with an odd-shaped ball.


I was fighting every windmill, especially when I was in college.

20 things succesful people always do

20 things successful people always do.

1. Tell the truth.
2. Demand the truth.
3. Act in the best interest of their organization.
4. Get results through others.
5. Celebrate the success of others.
6. Challenge the status quo.
7. Press into the future while honoring the past.
8. Try.
9. Receive criticism gracefully.
10. Learn.
11. Inspire.
12. Improve.
13. Encourage.
14. Listen more than speak.
15. Take responsibility.
16. Show gratitude.
17. Pursue clarity and specificity.
18. Engage in self-reflection.
19. Act in alignment with who they are.
20. Rest.

Some things customers love

Return phone calls promptly. Since so many people don’t return calls, you automatically look good when you do.

 Do what you say you are going to do

Do things when you say you’re going to do them.

Underpromise and overdeliver.

 Be accessible.

 Be credible, establish that trust right away.

 Appearance counts. Perception is reality, and the reality is that people do judge a book by its cover. Show empathy.

 Remember the best customers are your currents ones.

 If you make a mistake, it’s not enough to say, “I’m sorry.”

 Promote customers’ products and services. By getting business for your clients, you ensure you will have a customer for life.

Do things for the customer’s convenience not yours.

The easier you can make it for your customer to do business with you, the more business you will have.

 Determine all the ways you can eliminate the hassle factor.

 Only by knowing your customers’ wants and needs can you successfully grow your business and be totally customer-oriented.

 No matter what your customer needs, try to find it for them — even if it has nothing to do with your side of the business.

 Shower customers with kindness.

Speak your customers’ language. If you use jargon your customers can’t understand, they won’t use you.

 Have a great attitude.

Treat your employees well. If they are treated poorly, there is a good chance your customers will also get poor service.

 Give your customer what they want, when they want it and how they want it.

 Give back to your best customers.

 Don’t show an attitude of indifference to your customers.