When you know where you want to get to, you can work out how you are going to get there.

Ever since I was a young boy, I have always wanted to do something that helped others. My Dad used to ask me, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” My answer to that was usually, “I don’t know.” He would often ask me if I wanted to be a doctor so that I would be in a job that helped people.

There wasn’t anybody throughout our family who was a doctor, so I didn’t have anybody to really inspire me into that job. My Dad was a telephone engineer, and then my brother became a mechanical engineer. So engineering was the industry I went into.

1. What Is Your Calling?

But I still had this calling to help others in some way. It wasn’t until 2019 when I started writing about leadership that I knew this was my way to help others, including you who is reading this article right now. This was my calling and is now what I call my life’s work.

When I started reading leadership books in 2009 and watched leadership gurus on YouTube giving inspirational speeches. I saw who I wanted to become. I saw and felt my purpose in life.

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But I knew at the time that I didn’t have anywhere near the right experience as a leader to write a book or give a speech. But I knew what I had to do to gain that experience.

I needed to grow myself in my leadership and my career first, so that’s what I did. Then in 2019 is when I decided I will start writing down my experiences and put them into a book. My goal was to help others, not to make a name for myself or build a brand or make lots of money.

But to try and motivate and inspire people to learn what I was sharing in my books and other materials and practice these leadership principles for themselves. Then hopefully they could do the same for the people they led at work and in their personal lives. By doing this I was fulfilling my “why.”

2. Character

If people started to develop their character in a more positive way, trying to be their best selves every day, finding their purpose and working towards it every day then I had achieved what I wanted.

That would make me successful because I had helped another person become successful in what they wanted for their own life. But I would never do this by trying to manipulate somebody to follow what I was sharing, I would motivate.

I would do my best to increase my influence in a positive way for others to follow because they wanted to, not because they had to.

It’s amazing how much you can do if you are always doing something. Since 2019, I have written almost every day of my life. There have been days I’ve missed due to illness or other priorities, but writing is something I have loved to do since 2019.

So, it has been six years since I started studying leadership every day and being deliberate on my own personal growth.

Over those last six years, a lot of amazing things have happened. Things that beforehand I would never have thought could happen, or even wanted to happen. It was when I started following other leaders, learning from them and then sharing what I was learning with others.

3. Purpose

I knew that my purpose was to help others to develop into highly effective leaders so that, they could do the same for others. If I can do this every day, then I know I am on the right path towards my success.

When I know I am working towards my “why” and my purpose every day, I am developing my character. As I deliberately work on my personal growth every day, my character is developing at the same time.

There are always new people every day who I can help, and there are always new people every day who they could help. Helping others to succeed will make us successful.

Since I started studying leadership, I have been able to practice the principles that I have been learning about.

I have seen where I have been going wrong and where I was going right, and I will be doing this for the rest of my life. Leadership is influence and influence is leadership, and I have learned that leadership is a lifelong education.

4. Influence

To increase your influence with another person, they must make the decision to follow you because they want to. It is impossible to lead and influence another person if they follow you because they have to.

This is the same principle in all walks of life, whether that be at work, at home with family or with friends.

The leadership principles I started to learn when I started to study them, and I am still learning about have led me to some amazing things that I never thought I would ever do.

DOWNLOAD MY FREE E-BOOK “INSPIRE YOUR PEOPLE”

I am the most creative I have ever been in my life, writing books, creating online courses, building a very popular blog and becoming a leadership coach. By applying these leadership principles into my life, they have led me to become successful.

But they have also taught me that I am not done with my success because I need to help others to become successful too.

The leadership principles you are learning about through this website, and my books will lead you to become more successful in your life too. They will teach you that your success is not all about you, and that by helping others will lead you to even greater success.

This is why my “why” and my purpose is to help develop you into a highly effective leader so that, you can help current and future leaders to develop into highly effective leaders. Being a highly effective leader is what it is all about when it comes to our success.

Throughout my life ever since I was a kid, I was surrounded by people who loved to help others. Then after studying leadership, I have learned that helping others is what I was born to do. By helping you and I am fulfilling the reason I am on this planet.

I welcome hearing how this post has influenced the way you think, the way you lead, or the results you have achieved because of what you’ve learned in it. Please feel free to share your thoughts with me by commenting below.

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All the best,

Tom (Lead, Grow, Influence)