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Be A Hawk

Guest post by: Michael Hume

Article Overview: Whatever your endeavor, from getting into shape to driving your business, you need to be smart in the way you use your personal resources of time, energy, and focus. So watch for your own opportunities - watch like a hawk - and be ready, when it's time, to seize them....

Be A Hawk

Inspirational Leaders Rise Above Adversity As the old song goes, I'm watching a hawk makin' lazy circles in the sky today. It's a thing of beauty, and part of what makes life in the American West so inspiring. But even more interesting than the lazy circles, to me, is the hawk's ability to hover, nearly motionless, in the sky. It simply points its beak into the howling desert wind, spreads its impressive wings, and rides the air like an expert surfer rides the ocean.

In the animal world, it's all about energy. Every sort of animal lives its life conserving energy, waiting (and looking) for an opportunity to replenish itself. Fish hang out in pools where the current is slow (or non-existent), saving their energy for the right moments to strike insects and refuel themselves. Cattle graze lazily all day long, maximizing food intake while minimizing the energy it takes to feed themselves. And the hawk uses the wind to help it hunt with a bare minimum of energy expense; the hawk I'm watching is letting the wind do all the work.

I like the metaphor for leadership. The wind, especially out here, is a harsh element. It can be tough to handle, and could represent adversity for the hawk. But the hawk rises above it, and in fact uses it to his own advantage, much like the most inspirational leaders will master the sort of attitude that helps them lead their teams through all sorts of challenges.

The best leaders not only rise above adversity personally, they are able to read trends well enough to guide the whole team through the obstacles to success. In some cases, they even use adversity to the team's advantage. Such leaders can help the team "conserve energy" by maximizing output while minimizing inputs... they guide through masterful prioritization aimed at positioning their team for success under any circumstances... they even value adversity for its ability to make the team develop strengths they wouldn't have needed if the going were easier.

My first boss was a newspaper owner whose business was always locked in mortal combat with a competing paper he called "Brand X." His novice teenaged apprentice (I) once asked him if he looked forward to the day we would finally put Brand X out of business. "Not really," he said, stroking his beard the way he sometimes did when his Sage Wisdom was about to spill forth. "They push us to be the best we can be. Competition challenges us, and makes us better."

Somewhere in the field below, the hawk knows there's at least one small critter that could be his next feast. He also knows he's not the only predator out looking for that meal on this day. So he has to employ every advantage to be a winner in the animal competition for energy. And so do you. Whatever your endeavor, from getting into shape to driving your business, you need to be smart in the way you use your personal resources of time, energy, and focus. So watch for your own opportunities - watch like a hawk - and be ready, when it's time, to seize them.

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Article Tags: entrepreneurship, health wealth and happiness, inspirational leadership, personal responsibility



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