The leadership Law of Reflection says “Experience is not the best teacher; evaluated experience is the best teacher. Reflective thinking is needed to turn experience into insight.” We must consciously set aside time every day to reflect on the day’s experiences and allow the understanding and lessons of those experiences to catch up with us. We only receive lessons from the past when we take time to sit down and reflect on them.

I think it was Einstein who said, “Insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results.” Since 90% of what we do in life is habitual and we do it without thinking, reflection will help us develop the awareness for why we do it. We can only discover the reason for our habits (good and bad) and our current results if we take time to reflect on them. If we want to get different results, we have to do things differently.

As we look ahead to 2023, here is a process of reflection that I heard on a mentorship call that will help us get better results next year. 

Start with these 3 activities:

1. Ask yourself: What were the top 10 lessons that I learned this year? Think about successes, struggles and positive and negative events.

2. Do a photo review of the year from January to the present. Go through EVERY SINGLE PHOTO on your phone! This will jog your memory to think of more lessons. Be sure to celebrate all wins!! (Going through my photos was the most fun!) 

3. Review EVERY SINGLE DAY of your calendar from January to December and look for people, places or events and consider color coding them:

*Green – these events, places or people inspired, uplifted & motivated you (going forward you want to stack your calendar with these.)

*Yellow – neutral

*Red – Negativity happened – you do not want to habitually spend time with people or at events that drain you or have a negative impact. 

Ask yourself these questions when reflecting on your calendar: 

– What places did you go to this year?
– Which places did you love and what wins can I celebrate?
– Which places did you dislike (or even hate?)
– Where did you experience good energy, vibes & people?

As you go through the steps above, think about:
– the lessons you learned
– the things that made you cry
– the things that gave you exceeding joy

This  may take some time, but it will certainly give you insight into what you desire for next year and help you weed out some events, people or places that didn’t add value to your life.  

You will learn lessons from 2022 that you won’t have to repeat in 2023 because you took the time to grab insight from those lessons! 

Holiday blessings to you,

Jan 

Jan McDonald 
Maxwell Leadership Certified Team

To subscribe, here is the link
https://jan-mcdonald-llc.mykajabi.com/opt-in
 
www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/janmcdonald
https://www.linkedin.com/in/janmmcdonald

What does gratitude have to do with leadership? Think about it. Have you ever worked for a boss that wasn’t grateful for your contributions you made to your company? How did that make you feel?

Studies have shown that companies that “excel at employee recognition” are 12 times more likely to enjoy strong business results. Leaders who are grateful for and acknowledge employee contributions create a culture of gratefulness that trickles down through the whole organization.

Inc.’s Geoffrey James wrote “If you’re not exercising this emotional muscle, you’re probably setting yourself up for failure. I’m utterly convinced that the key to lifelong success is the regular exercise of a single emotional muscle: gratitude.” Research from the Harvard Business Review draws the same conclusions: appreciation matters.

While googling articles on gratitude, here are a few of the many benefits that I found about having an attitude of gratitude:

• Improves physiological and emotional health
• Opens the door to more relationships AND creates trust in relationships
• Improves self-esteem and increases mental strength
• Reduces pessimism and aggression

Try being grumpy and grateful at the same time. Personally, I have found that being grateful, even during hard times, makes those hard times “seem” easier to travel through.

This suggestion came from an article in Forbes. “A five-minute a day gratitude journal can increase your long-term well-being by more than 10 percent. That’s the same impact as doubling your income!” WOW!

Sometimes, it is just the simple things. Last Thursday, when I looked at my weather app and it said 31 degrees, I was instantly grateful for fleece-lined tights. It’s cold when I walk Truffle at 6:00 am. As I watched my neighbor scrape the frost off of his windshield, I was grateful for my garage!

 I’m grateful for my faith, family and my home. I love what I do and I appreciate my life bigtime. 

Being grateful not only benefits me, but it has a positive influence on those around me. AND leadership is influence.

How about you? I hope you take some time today to list those things that you are grateful for. 

Gratefully typed,

Jan

Jan McDonald
The John Maxwell Team
 

For a friend to subscribe, here is the link

https://jan-mcdonald-llc.mykajabi.com/opt-in

I turned the key in my ignition to go to the gym this morning and immediately heard Christmas music. I changed the radio channel a few times and those happy, jolly, holiday tunes were everywhere. My old reaction of being irritated popped up and I changed the channel to talk radio. Oh geesh, that was worse. 

Rather than plug in my playlist, I decided to process my reaction, because I thought I had dealt with that negative reaction already.  The holidays become emotionally charged after my divorce in 1986. I would get the kids half the holiday and then they would go with their dad the other half. He lived in California and I lived in Medford, Oregon. That meant putting them on a plane alone or, weather permitting, drive to Redding to make the trade, which was halfway.  It was sad and stressful to say the least. 

Then there was the gift-giving. Every grandparent, parent, biological and step, seemed to want to buy the kids’ love. You could barely walk around the Christmas tree for the gifts. It was so…commercial.  I participated in the “love-buying” because I felt guilty.

Then I remembered I wasn’t that person anymore. I had changed and was no longer a “holiday hater.”

I changed my thinking some time ago, because I learned that The Reason for the season is not about presents, me, Christmas trees and decorations. The season is about the Greatest Gift of all, Jesus, the God who came to earth as a baby. He gave up his deity so He could have a relationship with us. Christmas doesn’t revolve around me, darn it, it’s His birthday. 

As I drove to the gym in silence, I thought of my friends who are experiencing the holidays this year without a loved one who has recently passed away. There are those who have recently split from a significant relationship and are alone this year.  I probably can’t count those who are like I was and have to share their kids with others.  Oh, and there are those who can’t afford Christmas this year because of inflation or lack of a job. 

Yes, I am too blessed to be whining. AND the choice is mine. I can whine about the holidays or I can choose joy.

Remember, where your focus goes, there your energy flows. AND what we resist, persists, and even grows. The choice is ours. 

My tips for happiness in this holiday season:

1. Allow yourself to feel and accept your feelings. 
2. Decide to think grateful thoughts.
3. Share that joy by reaching out to others.
4. Go on a hike and enjoy God’s beautiful creation.
5. Invite those who are alone over for coffee, pie, dinner, a movie, etc.
6. This is my favorite–ask Jesus to “catch your heart” and give those difficult emotions to Him. 

I know this isn’t always easy because my old reactions pop up from within sometimes, too. Since our reactions are learned behavior, we can unlearn and learn other responses in their place. I love that about life. I don’t have to stay the same–I can change and become that person that I dream about. 

If you need someone to chat with, I’m just an email away!

Holiday blessings to you,

Jan 

Jan McDonald 
The John Maxwell Team 
 

For a friend to subscribe, here is the link
https://jan-mcdonald-llc.mykajabi.com/opt-in
 
www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/janmcdonald
https://www.linkedin.com/in/janmmcdonald

As leaders we have a responsibility to make our environment one that is conducive to success. We must create a climate in which potential leaders can thrive. We have a choice. We can be a thermometer or a thermostat. A thermometer is passive, it just measures how hot or cold the environment is. A thermostat determines what the environment will be.

One of the most popular fish for an aquarium is a shark. Not only do they look way cool in your aquarium, but they don’t ever outgrow the size of your fishbowl. If you catch a small shark and confine it, it will stay a size that is proportionate to their environment. A shark can be fully mature at 6 inches long. Turn them loose into the ocean and they will grow to full size.
The same is true of potential leaders—confining environments ensure that they stay small and underdeveloped.

Here are some ways to create a environment where team members can thrive:

1. Create a speak up environment. In a speak up environment, comments are welcomed, participation is encouraged, good ideas are encouraged. We listen to new ideas without judgement. When I did that as a CEO, I received some fabulous ideas to implement that helped grow our organization. 

2. Problems are viewed as possibilities and opportunities. If we are gifted with the sight to see a problem, we will have a solution. There is always a solution…in fact there’s always more than one solution. We don’t think “can I?” we think “how can I?”

Problems are normally viewed as negative, but if we change our attitudes—WOW! We can weaken emotional responses, stay calm and keep our eyes open to solutions. Yes, a positive attitude allows us to see many solutions because we have not stifled our creativity. Creating this climate for growth allows most problems to be solved by our teams. Only the most difficult come up to the leaders.

3. Failures are viewed as “learns.”  I was always surprised at what my teams would attempt because I embraced failure. Failure and success totally go together. All of these things were considered epic fails to begin with :

• Post-it notes
• Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team 
• Bubble wrap was invented to be textured wall paper. (hahaha! can you imagine that?)
• Wheaties was bran porridge spilled on a stove top. When it dried, it became flakes and was tastier than the porridge.

Failure is part of the process of success…if we learn from those “failures.”  (You can use these ideas in your families, as well!)

This list is not exhaustive and I’m sure you can think of more ways. When you create an environment where people can thrive, everyone can be their best and desire to give their best. That is a great environment in which to work.

(This is an excerpt from a workshop that I facilitate “Developing the Leaders Around You.)

I hope this added value, 

Jan

Jan McDonald
The John Maxwell Team
 

For a friend to subscribe, here is the link

https://jan-mcdonald-llc.mykajabi.com/opt-in

www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/janmcdonald

https://www.linkedin.com/in/janmmcdonald

I love fall. It’s one of the most beautiful and mysterious seasons. We can look at the exact same kind of trees all in a row and some of the leaves have turned and some haven’t. How does that happen? The reds and the golds of the leaves that are changing and falling are just spectacular! The trees are letting go of this year’s leaves so they can sleep and refuel for next year’s growth. The vineyards turn an amazing shade of brown from the frost. The hops have been harvested and it’s time to pull the annual flowers and chop back some of the perennials.

Fall is a time of change, a time for nature to let go of the old and begin to prepare for the new. We sold our favorite home in 2019 and you know we looked at fifty houses to buy. I never thought that I would find something that I loved as much as our old home. I cried the day I cleaned the old home so the new owner could move in.

I wasn’t sure how I felt when we moved into this new home. “Can I live here with the same joy that I experienced  in the other house?” was the question that I asked myself while sitting in the midst of many unpacked boxes.  I had to erase that thought from my mind, because it was my choice to choose that same joy…or not.  I could choose that same pleasure in this home that I felt before. And that took letting go.

I needed to let go of the old and embrace the new and I decided to do that.

My question to you is, what are you hanging on to that needs to be shed so you can prepare to bring in the new?  What leaves are hanging on your tree that are bursting with the red and gold of letting go, so you can embrace the new?  What old thinking patterns need to change so that new you can spring forth?

One night, after we moved in to the new home, I was watching football. At the commercial break I got up and went to the kitchen to experience the sunset through the wisteria out my kitchen window. I looked out the sliding glass door into my park-like backyard. I stood in that bright kitchen and overwhelming joy welled up inside me. I realized that I love this home…and I love it more than I did the old one. Embracing the new chapter in our lives with excitement and anticipation told me that the decision to let go was a good one.

Need help letting go of some old to make room for the new?  I’m just an email away.

Contentedly typed,

Jan

Jan McDonald
The John Maxwell Team

Two Sundays ago, we left for vacation. We planned to tent camp the for 3 days and then go on to Bend to visit the grandkids. We hadn’t camped in awhile and we thought it would be enjoyable, fun and adventurous.

One of the adventurous parts was that we forgot the sleeping bags. Hahaha! We stopped at Walmart in Eugene to buy some sleeping bags and then drove to Harris Beach Campground in Brookings, Oregon. 

After hiking the familiar path to the beach and back, we built a campfire and began to reminisce many of the fun memories we made there.  We camped there all the time when the kids were little…a looooong time ago. 

And in that moment, we realized something:

Why haven’t we done this more? Why haven’t we taken the time to go on camping trips before?

Sometimes we don’t realize the value of moments like this until we’re in them – or worse, until they’ve passed.

Have you been there?

There are so many moments we miss because we get caught up in the hustle and noise of our everyday lives.

Don’t get me wrong. I love what I do and the people I serve on a daily basis, but there are simple refreshing moments like this that I’ve missed because I’ve simply put them off.

I have to keep reminding myself that if I want to make maximum impact in the lives of others and truly pour into others at a high level, I can’t pour from an empty cup.  My cup needs to be filled first.

And what better way to do that than on a camping trip alone with Dennis?

I want to encourage you: what is it that you need at this time? Is it a weekend away? Maybe just a whole day to yourself where you do nothing but relax and recharge? Is there a mentor or friend you need to call to encourage you? Is there a hike you’ve been wanting to take with your family?

Whatever it is, I encourage you to stop putting it off. Remember, your cup needs to be filled!

Fully refreshed, 

Jan

Jan McDonald
The John Maxwell Team

For a friend to subscribe, here is the link

https://jan-mcdonald-llc.mykajabi.com/opt-in

For more fun, follow me on facebook https://www.facebook.com/jan.m.mcdonald.7/

This is what one biographer said of Lincoln’s leadership style. John Maxwell said that Lincoln lived the The Law of Empowerment. Lincoln’s security in himself enabled him to give his power away.

Traditionally, we are not taught to empower others, are we? What two leadership games do we play as kids?  We played King of the Hill and Follow the Leader. What was the object of King of the Hill—knock people down so you can be the leader. In Follow the Leader—We do things we KNOW that followers can’t do to separate ourselves from them and make ourselves look more powerful. The problem with these games is that to win, somebody else has to lose. These games illustrate the opposite of raising up leaders.

To empower others, we have to have a strong sense of self-worth. Are we confident? Do we believe we have value? Are we willing to take risks? On a scale of 1-10—if we rate ourselves low—we must get busy on growing personally. Personal growth involves change. If you want to lead well, whether we like change or not, we must train ourselves to embrace change and to desire it.

Effective leaders actually become change agents.

We also need to have a strong belief in people.  This is not difficult if we have grown enough to attract the best people to our organization. We can then identify the leaders, build them up and give them resources to achieve. Our belief in them creates the ability for them to trust and believe in themselves. This, in turn, causes them to be comfortable taking on more responsibility—and they do.

Theodore Roosevelt said, “The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”

Empowerment is powerful. It not only grows our people, but it enlarges us as leaders. It makes us better and helps us achieve more than we could ourselves. Empowering others not only grows our organization, but makes it more effective.

So go ahead, give some of your power and authority away to those that are able to take it. Give it to those that you are developing as leaders in your organization. Once you experience the joy and organizational effectiveness of empowering others, you will have a hard time NOT giving your power away.

I learned this the hard way when I was the CEO of a non-profit. When I stopped growing my leadership skills, the organization stopped growing…period.  

We are either growing or dying, there’s no middle ground. 

The Law of the Lid is explained in the first chapter of John’s book, “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.”  Essentially, there is a lid on a person’s leadership ability and this lid determines his level of effectiveness. The lower a person’s ability to lead, the lower the lid on his leadership ability, and the lower his effectiveness. This is shown in the charts from the book below.

The chart on the left shows a competent or productive person without leadership skills. This person can work very hard to increase his or her dedication to success through sheer effort. Effectiveness may increase, say 25%. Let’s say that person’s leadership lid is at a level 4.
 
There’s another option. Let’s say that person worked really hard to increase his/her leadership skills to maybe a 7 and look what happens in the second chart. Leadership has a multiplying effect on effectiveness.

If the leader doesn’t grow, the organization doesn’t grow. Why do they fire the coach when the football team isn’t winning? If the coach were an extremely effective leader for the team, it would be winning more games.

A person’s impact is only a fraction of what it could be without leadership ability. Your ability to cast vision for your business…to get a team of like-minded people together…to unite those people behind a common vision…to get their goals in alignment with the team goals… to get the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus… is determined by how well you lead.

How is your organization growing? Think about your team for a moment–how can you tell they are like-minded ? What are you doing to grow?  Growing and implementing leadership principles in my life and in the organization resulted in immense expansion.  This might be a great goal for the rest of 2023–to increase your leadership skills and personal growth. It spills over into every area of your life and improves it. 

Right now, I’m looking for companies that want to grow.  I would enjoy facilitating a Lunch (or Breakfast) and Learn for your organization. Typically my Lunch and Learns average 30-45 minutes packed full of information, interaction, and an open question and answer session with the intent of creating a fun learning environment for building awareness. My goal is to have each of your team members walk away with at least one mind changing idea that will create a desire for motivation and self improvement.  
  

Let me help you expand your lid!

Niccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique.  He came out onto the stage one night for a concert hearing a huge round of applause.  He noticed that the violin in his hand was not his one-of-a-kind instrument, uniquely fashioned for him.  Embarrassed, he told the crowd that there had been some mistake and he didn’t have his own violin. He excused himself and hurried behind the curtain to grab that special violin. 

It was gone!  Someone had stolen his precious violin and left the second-hand one that he was holding in his hand.

He remained back of the curtain a moment, then came out before his audience and explained his predicament. Then he said, “Ladies and Gentlemen: I will show you that the music is not in the instrument, but in the soul.” And he played as he had never played before, and the music that poured forth from that old violin enraptured the audience! When he was finished, the thrilled audience gave him a standing ovation. 

“It is your mission, a tested and tried one, to walk
out on the stage of this world and reveal to all earth and Heaven that the music is not in conditions, not in the things, not in externals, but the music of life is in your own soul.”

Charles Richardson

Outside circumstances and conditions can have tremendous influence on our behavior and our results. When we empower those outside uncontrollable events to impact us negatively, we give away our own personal power.  How do we take back that power?  We take back that power by changing our thinking. We stop trying to manipulate and control those things/people that we can’t, and take responsibility for those things that we can. Whatever we think about grows…or my favorite axiom, “What we resist, persists.”  

We let go and tune in on the good. We sing our own song without comparing our melody to others.  We get grateful about our blessings and we do the best we can. We believe for the best. We imagine fabulous outcomes.  We look for the exceptional in everything and everybody. 

We know how to do this…we do the opposite all the time when we worry. The choice is ours.

Singing my own song, 

Jan

 P.S. If you can’t find the music in your soul, there are 2 unclaimed spots left in my new group coaching class. Click here, reserve your spot and find your song! https://www.jan-mcdonald.com/group

Jan McDonald
Maxwell Certified Leadership Team

For a friend to subscribe, here is the link:
https://jan-mcdonald-llc.mykajabi.com/opt-in

My dog, Truffle, is at Eva’s. It’s her favorite place besides home. I took her there because of the Water Follies in Tri-Cities this weekend. As I write this, I can hear the hydroplane boats in the distance. It’s the supersonic jets in the air show part that caused me to take her to Eva’s 35 miles away. 
 
During the last air show, Truffle and I spent the days in the closet because she was terrified. The supersonic jets shook the house and were incredibly loud. It was awful. She just sat there and shook. There was nothing I could do to alleviate her terror. It was worse than the 4th of July and New Years Eve.  I didn’t want to do that again and I know she didn’t either. 
 
Truffle is ten and a half years old. The fireworks and jets have never hurt her. You would think by now that she could tell herself, “Oh yeah, these may be loud, but they’ve never hurt me. I’ll be okay.” Then she could settle down. Nope. 
 
She doesn’t have a choice button. She can’t choose to change her thoughts or the emotions that go with them. This fear has been programmed somehow.  We just have to deal with it. 
 
There are “supersonic jets” that rear their ugly heads in my life, too. Most of the time, I crush them. There’s one…fear of financial insecurity (oh geesh, did I really type that out loud?) that can rise up AND if I am not careful, it causes anxiety and grumpiness. Every. Single. Time. 
 
Have I ever gone without anything?  Have I ever not had enough? Has God ever not provided?  NO!!! I’ve always had more than I could ask or imagine.
 
Still, when that fear shows up, if I don’t activate my choice button, I like to hide in the closet or under the bed or go to Eva’s, so to speak. 
 
 My choice button resides in that 1/4 second lag time between that subtle thought of financial insecurity and my response. I can entertain that fearful thought or choose to replace that lying fear with faith. I can choose to use the Sword of The Spirit to slash that negative BS (belief system) to smithereens.
 
I woke up with that sneaky little fear this morning. I took it to Badger (kind of like going to Eva’s) and left it out there on the mountain after hearing these Bible verses in my mind.
 
“Child, everything I have is yours. I am faithful…always.” The Sword always slashes fear to bits.
 
I’m so excited!!!! Because the times that this fear shows up are fewer and farther in between. Soon, I will habitually ignore it. So glad God gave me a choice button!! I can choose the truth of His Word over the BS in my mind!  Yay!!!!
 
Where are you using your choice button? What is a favorite verse that you like to camp on?

Choosing thoughts of abundance. 

Jan

Jan McDonald
Maxwell Leadership Certified Team

For a friend to subscribe: https://jan-mcdonald-llc.mykajabi.com/opt-in
 

www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/janmcdonald

https://www.linkedin.com/in/janmmcdonald

I was teaching a workshop Friday morning on Leadership, which included the topics of priorities, self-discipline and creative problem solving. 

In the problem solving section, I mentioned that we usually look at problems as negative and anxiety producing.

What if we changed our thinking and looked at problems as opportunities, as adventures to learn something new? That mindset takes away the negative emotions and the unproductive meaning we may add to the problem. When we do that, the flight or fight response is disabled, the blood rushes back from our extremities, and we then are able to think clearly.  Solutions can then abound.

I then asked the question, “When did you grow the most in your life, when times were easy and comfy, or during trials.”  Almost every person there said, “During the trials.” Some of those answers were accompanied by eye-rolling, “that’s-a-stupid-question” smirks, and hands thrown into the air in “whatever” mode. Yep, problems can be viewed as growth opportunities. Here’s a great story:                                             

One night a group of nomads were traveling down the road when they were surrounded by a great light, and they knew they were in the presence of celestial beings. With great anticipation they awaited a heavenly message of great importance to them. Finally a voice spoke:

“Gather as many pebbles as you can. Put them in your saddle bags. Travel a day’s journey and tomorrow night will find you glad and it will also find you sad.”

They were disappointed and angry at the message. They were given a menial task that made no sense. However, the brilliance of the visitor caused each one to go ahead and pick up a few pebbles and put them in their saddle bags.

They traveled a day’s journey and that night reached into their saddle bags. They discovered that every pebble had turned into a diamond. They were happy they had diamonds, but they were sad that they had not gathered more pebbles.

Problems can be pebbles or diamonds, depending on how we choose to see them. 

Shining my pebbles, 

Jan

Jan McDonald
Maxwell Leadership Certified Team

www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/janmcdonald