Becoming your best 

The 12 principles of highly successful leaders 

1. Be true to character

Quote: "Our character is defined by what we do when we think no one is looking."

-Anonymous 

In order to become as successful person and leader you must be true to your character. This means that you must improve upon your character and work towards obtaining/adding new personal attributes for yourself. You can do this by practicing to be a better person when no one is around you. If you practice certain habits that can make you a good person, you will grow accustomed to performing those habits everyday, and in no time if will become apart of you and your character. Being true to your character will lead you to becoming a better person.

2. Use your imagination 

Quote: "Your imagination is a weapon of mass instruction. Use it"
-Anonymous

There is nothing in the world more powerful than your imagination. Your imagination has the power to do everything possible and more. Your imagination can also help you succeed in life as imagining yourself completing a goal or task can lead you to work towards that task. While imagining yourself failing at a certain task will lead you to failing that task. Which is why it is important to only imagine positive items. Imagining positive items will lead to success, while imagining negative items will lead to failure.

3. Apply the power of knowledge 

Quote: "Knowledge is of no value if you don't put it to use."
-Anton Chekov

It is important than you use and put your knowledge to great use in your life. You can do this by making smart and intelligent decisions. Your knowledge is also one of the most powerful things in the world. Your knowledge can help you figure out certain problems and can also help you become a better person. Ignoring your knowledge and not putting it to use will extremely hurt you as you will be more prone to making ignorant and negative choices. Knowledge is one of the great keys/powers in life and it should be used and incorporated in every aspect in your life.

4. Never give up

Quote: "Never give up. Stay focused. Stay positive. Stay strong."
-Anonymous

It is important that you never give up in life, and always strive for success. You should always maintain confidence and work to accomplish a goal or task. If you give up, you are not hurting anyone else more than yourself. Giving up will on one item will make you more prone to giving up in the future. Giving up will lower your confidence level and make you a more lazier person. It is important to carry out all the things you start because there is not better than that feeling of accomplishment you feel when you complete a certain task or goal, especially one that took an extended amount of time.

5. Find peace and balance

Quote: "If you cannot find peace within yourself you will never find it anywhere else."
-Marvin Gaye

One of the best things you could and should do is to find peace within yourself. This means that you should look for a position in your own life or mind where you are at peace and calm from everything going on. Doing this will be beneficial as it will be helpful in the future. Because in the future, if you are angry or annoyed at a certain item, you can go to that location in your mind or life which calms you down and help ensure that you do not do anything irrational. This will also help you become a more positive and peaceful person as it is keeping you away from any negative thought or actions which may happen in your state of anger/annoyance.

6. Live the Golden Rule 

Quotes: "We have committed the Golden Rule to memory: now let us commit it to life." 

-Edwin Markham 

Treat others as you would want to be treated. This is the golden rule. It is known all over the world, among many people. What it means is that you must treat people the same way you would like to be treated. So if would like to be treated with respect and honor, then you must treat people with respect and honor. The golden rule works both ways too. If you treat someone with disrespect and negligence, then they will treat you will disrespect and negligence. It is important that you follow this rule and do all you can do in order to follow it properly, as it will help you become a better person, and help you make many healthy relationships with others. 

7. Build and maintain trust

Quote: "Funny thing about trust: So many people want it... So little deserve it... And so few can maintain it."

-Adrian Rayshawn 

One of the best things you can have in life is someones trust. By having someones trust, it shows that you are a responsible, respectful, and courteous person. But in order to maintain those good qualities, you must maintain your trust. This means that once you gain someones trust, you should work to maintain that positive relationship you have with that person. In addition to this, you msut also work on not maintain any bad trusts/relationships with anyone. If you currently have a negative relationship with someone, you should work on improving that relationship and making it a more positive and better one.

8. Quick to listen, slow to wrath.

Quote:"One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say."

-Bryan H. McGill

One of the most important things you can do to someone is listen to them. You can listen closely to what they have to say, and everything they have to say. By doing that you are not only showing them that you are interested in what they're saying, but you are also showing that person that you respect them. In addition, listening to someone or something is an important item in preventing any conflicts from occurring. If you listen before you act, you can prevent many unnecessary conflicts. For instance, if someone accidentally spills their drink on you, it is best that you listen to what that person has to say (perhaps an apology) than immediately reacting and getting angry at that person.

9. Lead with a vision 

Quote: "When there is no vision, there is no hope."

-George Washington Carver 

It is important in life that you have some sort of vision or goal which drives you. If you do not have either of these items, then you are going nowhere in life. You will be a confused individual, as you will feel like you have no purpose in life. It is important to have some sort of vision or goal because it will drive you to try and accomplish that goal/vision, and once you accomplish that goal/vision you will feel a sense of admiration. A sense of admiration which will lead you to want to complete more goals/visions. Make sure to have a certain vision or goal in life as it will lead you to the pathway to success. 

10. Manage a plan

Quote: "A plan is only as good as those who see it through"

-Anonymous.

Before you can set out to accomplish a goal or vision, you must plan out what you are going to do. Planning is an important step and process because it will help determine whether you are going to complete that goal or not. It is vital that you not only set out a great plan, but follow through with that plan. If you create a plan, but do not follow through with that plan, then there was no purpose to creating that plan, and it only served as a waste of time. It is important that when and once you create or sketch out a plan, you do everything you can to follow that plan exactly and make sure you are accomplishing your goal.

11. Do what matters the most 

 Quote: " There is not enough time to do everything but there is enough time to do what matters most."

-Anonymous 

In order to help you find success in your future you should first work to accomplish the important matters in your everyday life first. This means that you should focus on big picture items which will have a positive effect on your life while avoiding items which will leave a negative impact on your life. For example, if you are stuck home one weekend deciding between whether you should study for your test or instead go out you should think about the future and think about which item will leave a greater and more postive impact on your life. In this case studying for your test and ensuring that you will get a good score on it will help you exponentially more than going out. 

12. Be accountable 

Quote: " It is not only what we do, but what we do not do that we must be accountable for." 

-John Baptiste Moliere 

In life you must take full responsibility for your action(s). This includes all actions, whether they are negative or positive. It is important tot be accountable for what you do because it can show that you are a trustworthy individual who refrain from lying. This is true even if you are held accountable for a negative deed. If you take full responsibility for that deed instead of neglecting it and refusing to be guilty for it, you can limit the punishment (if there is one) of your actions. For example, if you steal something from the store and the police to your door and asked if you stole from the store, you would recieve a lesser punishment if you tell them the truth that ig you were to lie and have them figure it out on their own. Hold yourself accountable for all your actions.