Success Advice
The Honor Code: Unlocking the Key to Success and Fulfillment
As I look back over 2020, I think it is safe to say that this year has been anything but ordinary. Our lives have been interrupted and inconvenienced in so many ways. So many people have allowed this season to make them toxic and ungrateful. While I am not being insensitive to their experiences, I think we need to get rid of this cancel culture mentality and embrace an attitude of gratitude.
Personally, this has been the greatest year of my life. I have grown so much as a person, accomplished so many of my goals and I have seen dreams realized in my life. It has been my most productive year yet and I attribute a lot of that to having unbreakable focus. I believe that every human being on this planet desires to live an honorable life. However, most people do not have a clue what that looks like or how to do it. I want to share a few life strategies with you to help you master the honor code and unlock a life of success and fulfillment.
You must understand that there is an honor code
No, I am not talking about the honor code you heard about in school or in your industry. I am talking about the honor code of life. As someone that has trained and developed leaders around the world, one of the challenges I see in leadership today is the challenge to develop and deploy moral and ethical leaders.
The reason this has become so challenging is that we have so many leaders in positions of power that do not have a code. An honor code is a set of core values, life principles, and soul constitutions that govern how we think, choose, and behave. Essentially, it’s the principles and standards that govern how you live your life. So many people want to overlook it and move right into the highest realms of leadership and influence.
However, what we fail to understand is that if we do not live with a clear honor code, we will bring dishonor and reproach to leadership. As you are fulfilling your purpose and realizing your potential, make sure that you establish your honor code so that you can build your life on a strong foundation and demonstrate to the world what authentic leadership looks like.
“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.” – Socrates
Master harnessing the law of honor in your life
Over the years, I have had so many people ask me about the number one key to success. While I believe that mindset, intentions, vision, and strategy are all important factors, I believe that mastery of the law of honor has been one of the greatest contributors to my success. It states that whatever I honor will honor me and whatever I dishonor I will repel from my life.
The thing that concerns me about this generation is that we covet positions and crave power. Unfortunately, I have not seen many people that have mastered the law of honor. I believe that the key to succeeding and experiencing sustainable success is mastering that law. In other words, we should never emphasize the destination more than we do the development. I realize that my success is the product of those which I have chosen to honor in my life. I have honored my mentors, coaches, and advisors that have helped shape who I am today.
More importantly, I have honored the wisdom, lessons, and failures that produced growth and empowered me to become a person of excellence. In a generation that is obsessed with power and prestige, I want to take a moment and say that you must learn to honor the process. Honor is a law that will keep you humble, grounded, and constantly stretching your capacity for greatness in every area of your life.
Understand that your true power lies in your process
Some people have told me that it seems like my success was overnight. However, those that really know me understand that my success story has taken over three decades to write. In other words, it is easy to make assumptions about my journey when you have not taken my journey. Unless you have really followed my work over the years, then you do not know about the three times my business almost collapsed, all the failures I experienced along the way, the betrayal that I experienced in business, and the moments I felt like walking away.
People see me in magazines today and featured on television and assume that this has been an easy journey. However, I know that my true power is not in the platform that I have built or the wisdom that I share with people around the world. My true power is in the process that has made me who I am today. If you take away my process you essentially take away my power.
The process is the only authentic path to power and unleashing your greatest potential. So do not become so obsessed with the destination that you cannot stop to appreciate the journey. The lessons you learn along the journey are much more valuable than the excitement of reaching the destination.
Soul significance only comes from living an honorable life
While I could talk about honor forever, I wanted to share some valuable insights and life strategies to help you on your journey. A few months ago I celebrated another birthday. This birthday was different for me. I woke up with a renewed sense of purpose and passion. More importantly, I woke up with a new perspective and appreciation for the gift of life. I made a decision that this next era of my life is about reinvention. So I said goodbye to the old me and hello to the brand new me. It was one of the greatest decisions I ever made.