The author of this week’s article is Matt Sabljak, President of SRH Marketing, a well-known branding and production agency (see http://www.srhmarketing.com/our-team/). He writes us to help share his ideas about the power of new connections. This piece is also co-authored by our Chief Marketing Officer Raphael Hernandez. Share, comment, and invite others to MilitaryMentors!
Photo by israel palacio on Unsplash
Do you want to be a better Leader and Mentor? If so, consider Drawing 10,000 Doodles and Making 10,000 Connections
10,000! Cripes, that’s a big number.
It seems like an insurmountable task—maybe even impossible.
Now consider drawing one doodle per day… Not so bad, eh?
Now consider making an exponential number of connections each day of 2016, with a people whose worldview and mental model could potentially be just like yours… or maybe even different. Think about the possibilities for growth each of these new connections will potentially have in inspiring you to be a better leader and a better mentor.
If you draw one doodle per day for the next 27 years, you will draw 10,000 doodles in that time. It’ll take a while, but it could be done. Now imagine the possibilities when you make multiple connections each day. Take it to the next step and couple them with your existing connections. Step it up one more level by leveraging the incredible technologies available to us today, such as the community of practice found at www.militarymentors.org. The possibilities here are endless.
Think about the competitive advantage you will have when these exponential connections support the development of your character; improve your ability to communicate more effectively and efficiently with others; and be part of a community of practice that’s also completely focused on developing self and others. The possibilities we have to make this happen simply would not have been possible just a couple of years ago. 10,000 connections are that much easier. Of course we’re exaggerating a bit, but the old adage of shooting for the stars and ending up on the moon definitely applies.
If you draw every day as suggested here when it comes to doodling you will be a doodler, proper. When it comes to investing in connections and development with the same mindset via Post-Industrial Leadership, you will be a more effective leader, follower and mentor. We want you to be a 21st Century Leader who is well on the way to achieving what Senge refers to as “Personal Mastery,” which is a worthy life-long quest.
Whether you are drawing doodles in 2016 or expanding your worldview and network in the service of the communities that matter to you personally and professionally, in the end, you could trace it all back to the very first doodle or the first connection you made. We absolutely encourage you to use the web technology not previously available to other leaders at www.militarymentors.org… it all starts at some ‘beginning moment’. We tend to dramatize the big moments and so-called ‘life-changing decisions’ because they’re easier to point at and say things like, “that’s where it all began” or “that’s where it all went wrong.” In analyzing or glorifying these moments we obscure the underlying source that makes them possible: the things we do every day… the exponential connections we make every day.
Every big moment is a culmination of the millions that preceded it.
Every big decision is dependent on the millions of little ones before and after it.
If we believe in any kind of destiny, it’s follows that we predestine our luck by the way we manage the tiny parts of our lives that we can control:
• The first thing we do when we sit down to work every day. • Why and what we share with others via social media and the connections we make proactively or passively. • The words we share with the people in our lives we interact with virtually or in person each day. • Many other choices, like to squeeze out another thank you note to someone who helped you in the recent past or to chat with someone who is struggling to lead ethically and responsibly.
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” That’s the great writer Annie Dillard. It’s easy to get excited by the prospect of the New Year. It’s a new beginning—a fresh chance to do more meaningful work, to break destructive habits, to become the people we want to be. That’s the promise we try to embody through our resolutions.
The trick is: as leaders and mentors, we must bring optimism and passion to every day. Help find this optimism and passion at www.militarymentors.org.
Cheers to New Beginnings and Starting New Connections in 2016!
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