Welcome to the Deploy Yourself Newsletter. Every two weeks I share what impactful leadership looks like to show you how powerful you are. I also share the most insightful lessons and stories I encountered in the last two weeks. You can also read this issue online.
Hey,
We are much more powerful than we think we are. I talked about the power of your mind and your emotions in the last two newsletters, and language is the subject of today’s e-mail.
The Power Of Your Language
Words, and thus language, is the technology that has made humans the most powerful species on the planet. Alone, a human being is a puny creature that cannot stand its ground against most animals. However, as a team, it is a completely different ball game. Our ability to communicate effectively is what has led to all the progress we have made.
Language does more than just help in describing and communicating. Language creates our world. The way we use language shapes how we view the world. It impacts every action we take, and hence every result we produce.
Every result that you have in your life started as a conversation – either with yourself or with someone else. And every result that you do not have in your life is also because of a missing conversation. Read that again, because that’s how powerful it is.
The path to any result that you desire in the future is paved with a series of conversations. Ask yourself – If there is a result that you want but do not currently have, what might be the missing conversations?
Reply to this email right now if it sparked something for you, or if you want to know more…
Articles and Stories Which Have Fascinated Me
One
Abraham Lincoln’s – Success or Failure?
Abraham Lincoln is still regarded as one of the greatest American leaders, and his legacy lives on today. Today, in the 21st century, it is easy to remember him as the “most successful” President and to reflect on all his achievements. Yet many people are unaware of what it took for him to reach there.
Here is how Abraham Lincoln’s road to be elected the President of the US looked like. Can you count the failures?
- 1816: His family was forced out of their home. He had to work to support them.
- 1818: His mother died.
- 1831: Failed in business.
- 1832: Ran for state legislature – lost.
- 1832: Also lost his job – wanted to go to law school but couldn’t get in.
- 1833: Borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business and by the end of the year he was bankrupt. He spent the next 17 years of his life paying off this debt.
- 1834: Ran for state legislature again – won.
- 1835: Was engaged to be married, sweetheart died and his heart was broken.
- 1836: Had a total nervous breakdown and was in bed for six months.
- 1838: Sought to become speaker of the state legislature – defeated.
- 1840: Sought to become elector – defeated.
- 1843: Ran for Congress – lost.
- 1846: Ran for Congress again – this time he won – went to Washington and did a good job.
- 1848: Ran for re-election to Congress – lost.
- 1849 Sought the job of land officer in his home state – rejected.
- 1854: Ran for Senate of the United States – lost.
- 1856: Sought the Vice-Presidential nomination at his party’s national convention – got less than 100 votes.
- 1858: Ran for U.S. Senate again – again he lost.
- 1860: Elected president of the United States.
Two
Never Sacrifice Happiness For Achievement
Happiness and achievement are two different things. No doubt we need goals to challenge us, to inspire us, and take action, but we need not be happy only on the successful completion of the goal. Happiness is more of a choice rather than an outcome. When we are doing small daily tasks towards a bigger goal or a milestone, we can be happy and enjoy our best in each of these tasks, no matter how small they may be.
Remember gold needs to go through a furnace before it starts to glow and shine. A diamond is nothing but carbon. It has to withstand enormous pressure for many many years before it becomes a diamond. Similarly, for any commendable achievement, everybody has to make some sacrifices, do some tasks which we don’t like, or sometimes we have to just hope and wait for the results of our efforts. All this is ‘part of the game‘.
So start living NOW. Enjoy what you are doing. This is the only moment you will ever have. This is the moment to celebrate. Courage is not the absence of fear, it is knowing that it is there and still dreaming to be bigger than your fear. I will end with a simple but very powerful quote –
“Have the courage to live. Anyone can die.”
An article from my old blog which I wrote over 10 years ago
That’s it for now. If you have any questions, just hit reply. All the best,
Sumit
(Twitter) @SumitGupta
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