Coach Dan Foster

Last week I interviewed executive coach and author Steve Scanlon, of Building Champions for my Leading With Purpose blog series. We discussed his new book, Reality and Hope. Steve is an exceptional coach and writer that has spent over 11,000 hours coaching sales professionals, small business owners, and business leaders to be more purposeful and intentional in how they live their life and run their business.

I first met Rob Morris through my coach, Barry Engelman, of Building Champions. Rob is an owner/operator for the successful quick service restaurant chain, Chick-fil-A, Inc. Rob has worked for Chick-fil-A, Inc. since he was a junior in high school. He has risen through the ranks of the organization and currently owns two franchises in West Palm Beach, Florida. Over the past seventeen years Rob has led his life and employees with purpose. In my interview with Rob we discuss his coaching leadership style, the importance of clearly defined values for your organization, the challenges facing leaders today, and what he is doing to stay at the top of his game as a leader.

The more I experience in business and in life the more I am convinced the best leaders use their talents and gifts to serve others. An engaged leader that is able to identify and address the needs of those around them will be more effective and influential than those that do not. Strong leaders don’t avoid people’s troubles; they jump right in and ask, “How can I help?”

Best selling author, Seth Godin, has been inspiring me and challenging me with his book Linchpin. It has spoken more to my heart and head than any other book on corporate culture, leadership, and personal success. In this short video Godin covers a variety of topics that I think speak to the heart of entrepreneurs, workers, and leaders today. If you’ve not discovered Seth yet, and feel that there needs to be a revolution in the way customers, managers, leaders, and workers relate and achieve success, I encourage you to watch this short video and buy the book Linchpin.

I believe two of the most difficult disciplines in life are being patient and persistent. We want success right away. We want to achieve our goals on our timeline. Instant gratification is the strongest conviction and temptation in our culture today. Life sometimes has a different agenda. Unexpected obstacles show up in our pathway to achieving our goals or living our purpose. When this happens we are left with a choice. We either give up or patiently persist.

When you read those words and examine the two choices, you might think, well that’s easy, just keep pressing on and moving towards your goal. Like many things in life though, that is easier said than done. Fighting through the discouragement that comes from seeing your vision so clearly but just not being able to grab hold of it can take its toll on your emotions, personal relationships, self-confidence and focus.

So how does one patiently persist when obstacles arise between you and your vision for success?