It Pays To Plan Ahead

Whenever you’re in a situation where you desperately want something to occur, you’re setting yourself up to be taken advantage of.

“People who plan ahead will never be at the mercy of those who don’t.”
-Claude Hamilton

How many times have you sold an item for far less than you originally intended just because you needed the sale?
On the flip-side of things, you will always get the best deals out of people who desperately want to sell you something.

While we can’t plan the unexpected, there are many things that we have control over. The better prepared we are, the less likely we’ll be on the losing side of a given situation.

Leadership Exposure

The great thing about leadership positions is that it exposes you to your faults. Of course, you can only do your best but being in the spotlight will make you prone to criticism from those around you.

For a leader, a bad decision is better than no decisions at all. Followers lookup to you and, for many, they won't move until you tell them where to go (because they assume you know what you're doing and they don't like making mistakes or being in the spotlight themselves). If you ever make a mistake in the process, you can be sure someone will point it out to you.

There was a time when I believed people would fight for leadership positions. Today I realize that not many wants to be a leader let alone are qualified for it.
This was made evident to me when the company I work for was looking for someone to take on additional responsibilities for the social committee. It felt like people were on a death sentence more so than anything else.

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the perception that there is something far more important at stake."
-Robert Morrisette

I don't necessarily like to be in the spotlight but I have a burning desire to get things done and there's nobody around to take the bull by the horns - so I'll do it.