What is it that makes some people great leaders while others remain followers? What magic do they have that others don’t? What special blessing gives them the power to bring significant change? 

Practically, all of us come to this world with our own reserve of magic. Unfortunately, not everyone can unleash it, and there lies the difference. Many people are immensely talented in this world. 

The question is, how do they utilize the talent to reap favorable and sustainable returns?

What makes some people stand out?

The leaders possessed some unique traits. They adopted unconventional approaches and practices. Extraordinary individuals are ordinary individuals with extraordinary outlooks and ways of life. 

They do things differently with their positive attitude and critical thinking abilities. They don’t let events control them. Instead, they control the events to take things forward. They don’t blame circumstances. 

Instead, they work with what they have with an optimistic mindset. They make things fall into place. Succinctly, they make things happen to excel as extraordinary achievers and leaders.

There is a pattern of unique practices and habits that converts ordinary individuals into extraordinary individuals and extraordinary individuals into inspiring individuals. 

By understanding this pattern and applying the practices effectively, you can unlock your hidden potential to achieve more.

The power to become big is within you!

We are all blessed with huge potential. The magic lies in unlocking our potential. Most people waste their precious time by thinking about their unpleasant past which cannot be changed and worrying about their future which cannot be predicted. 

What we have now is the present. Hence, we must make use of the present to let loose our hidden potential to achieve amazing success in life.

Great leaders are great learners. They also help build the next generation of leaders, so their model is replicated by multiple heads. Hence, you must grow as a leader first, and eventually groom others as leaders. 

Most people think that they cannot become leaders, when in fact, everybody is a leader. The mother who leads at home; the father who takes responsibility; and the janitor who delivers his goods with excellence is a leader. 

Leaders are the ones who lead from the front by taking responsibility. They spread fame during success and take blame during failures.

Believe in yourself

Here are some popular tools and techniques:

• When you want to become big, you must believe in your abilities. Realize your hidden potential as everybody is born a genius, and nobody is born stupid.
• Think that you are a champion. Tell yourself that you have great powers within you. 
• Meet people who know about your special skills and are inspired by you. Let them inspire you back by restoring your self-belief. 
• Be a continuous learner and take feedback constantly to grow in life. As long as you love and learn, you are young. The day you stop loving people and learning things, you become old. 
• Lead from the front. Take responsibility for things that you are a part of. Lead from the front. 
• Any task, big or small, involves personally making things happen instead of waiting for others to take charge.
• The intention of doing things matters more than the designation that is authorized to do things. Give your best to develop the identity of a leader, whatever your position in the hierarchy.
• Make work simpler. Research well so you know the origin of the problem. Work towards eradicating the problem instead of merely following orders.
• Make a plan, and act according to it. Review the plan and action at regular intervals vis-à-vis the results.
• Know what you want and how you want it. Focus on making it happen.
• Develop the attitude. A positive, correct, and strong attitude is critical to excel in life. 
• A leader doesn’t necessarily need others to tell him how good he is. He is self-motivated; hence happy and pleasant.
• Pull yourself to the level where success doesn’t make you too happy or failure doesn’t make you fall. Read about other achievers, spend time with nice people, and develop a constructive hobby ― know how to detach and when. 
• Contribute your best, irrespective of what you receive in return. Even if there is negative reinforcement and you receive sarcasm or criticism, your contribution, if you are committed, should not suffer. Emphasize excellence. 
• If you feel something will lead to a wrong practice or set the wrong precedence which will be harmful in the long run, voice it out instead of keeping it to yourself and complaining in isolation. Your concern will be appreciated.
• Balance your personal, professional, and social life. Divide your goals into three categories ― personal, professional, and social. Set these goals based on your passion and principles. So, how can one go about setting these goals in life? 

“The self-discovery of your inherent leadership potential and an understanding of who you are and what you are meant to be are the keys to fulfilling your purpose from existence as a leader.” — Myles Munroe

• Ask yourself what you want to achieve in your personal life. Find out your strengths and weaknesses, and set your personal goals based on your interests and strengths. 
• If you are fond of reading, set your goal as to how many books you want to complete in a year and what you must gain. 
• Identify the careers and people you are passionate about, and set your professional goals accordingly. 
• Discover who would you want to be like, in your professional set-up. Must be someone you admire. Observe him and understand what is it that interests you so much. Write down those traits and how he exercises them. Make a note of how you can develop those traits, given your strengths and limitations. Follow that.
• Emphasize means, not ends. 
• You can’t change the people, a system, or a society in one go. But by doing the right things, and by setting the right examples, you can inspire others to follow you. Results will eventually come to you. 
• Work for satisfaction, not for recognition. Remember, satisfaction is the end product while recognition is the by-product. 
• Minimize boredom by finding new ways to accomplish the same tasks. This will enhance your efficiency. For example, if you are in sales, try to introduce different sales pitches as per the personality of the client instead of parroting the same things spoken by everyone.
• Be zealous about what you do. Don’t worry about setbacks. Try to ask questions so you never hit the market with confusion in mind. Knowledge and zeal show and those naturally culminate in favorable results.
• Think out of the box to achieve success in your personal, professional, and social life.
• Keep people before profit. 
• The relationships you create are your biggest assets. Always prioritize them.
• Feel the company of people who appreciate you for what you are. Make them happy. Make them feel special. Help them to dream and achieve big. The network of relationships you create will help you achieve your dreams. 
• Pamper them, listen to them, and empathize with them. Make them come to you when they need emotional support. Spread smiles and positivity.
• If you approach people with selfish interests and forget them later, you will only attain short-term achievements. 
• Time is money. Whether you are rich or poor, you are blessed with time. Make use of it wisely. You have only one life. Hence, use your time judiciously to provide meaning to your life.
• Cut down on the time you spend endlessly browsing social media or watching television. 
• Don’t waste time bickering with people at the slightest of disagreements. Don’t engage in loose talks. Winning an argument would not fetch you any prize. Gossiping will show you in poor light. Put that time to better use.

Now that you have applied the above pointers, you will have probably realized the difference between being. You will be taken a lot more seriously than before, and your life has already started changing. Now we can delve deeper to inspect how we can take your training further. 

As you have armed yourself with the above pointers, the homework is already done. 

All we need to do now is to ignite your spark.