I am Sorry This is Late...I Suck at Life

Hello Everyone,

I am sorry this is late, my entire summer is wrapping up in 2 days and I am overwhelmed. That being said, I suppose I should have done this a while ago so I am sorry. I guess I will do an extra rule since I am late.

Rule 1: It ain’t bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.
Rule 2: Get mad, then get over it.
---For me, 1 and 2 go hand in hand. I once was told that having the ability to consider worse case scenarios and use those to calm you down can be a very healthy defense mechanism. Example, you get turned down from the grad school of your dreams. In my mind, I usually freak out for a really long time, like 5 minutes, during which I think about everything that can go wrong as a result. Once I am done with that, I am able to thing more realistically(have it be morning) and get over it. Make sense?
Rule 4: It can be done.
---This rule sums up how I live my life. Anyone who has worked with me learns that I think big, and I don't discount any ideas potential until I get told no, several times. My signature on all emails is Deuteronomy 20, "When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you." This is a constant reminder that no matter how bad the odds look against you, it can be done.
Rule 8: Check small things.
---Leslie, Brian, and I just had a talk about the small things. I think in life often times we think of the big thematic details like, "What huge speaker can I get to come to my event?" and we forget the little things like is there going to be bottled water at our event for the volunteers, not that I have ever been guilty of this.
Rule 9: Share credit.
---I think for leadership this is the most important thing we can do. Yes, I am a sorry Cleveland sports fan and we were just abandoned by Lebron. Unfortunately for him, he always said he did not have a supporting cast and this is why he didn't succeed. Today, one of the other players on the team came out in an interview and said how he was upset LBJ acted like he didn't have help and said, "He didn't do it alone". Acting like you accomplished everythign on your own alienates people and causes breaks in groups.
Rule 11: Have a vision. Be demanding.
---What greater advice to an aspiring leader. Don't just have a vision, but demand it to fulfillment. I think HL used this so much last year. We wanted to pull off something big, so each of us continued to push it until we had somethign we were proud of.

All of these rules are pretty great. With all of them though, I think flexibility is a must, if you follow only one of the rules to death, you could very easily be breaking a few of the other ones. Just my thoughts. Sorry it is late.

-Matt