Presentation by Elizabeth H. Cottrell to the Women’s Leadership Symposium, Shenandoah County Chamber of Commerce on Friday, November 19, 2021
Presentation download – Click Here
Other Downloads referenced in presentation:
Goal-planning worksheets in Microsoft Word
Goal-planning worksheets in PDF
Resources about leadership and personal development:
Books
Allen, James. As A Man Thinketh– the classic about how our thoughts shape our character and our accomplishments in life. “The choice is yours: either master your thoughts and create the life you want; or remain mired in negativity, frustration, and failure.”
Chapman, Gary. The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts.
Gilbert, Elizabeth. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear – I reviewed this book HERE.
Hill, Napoleon. Think and Grow Rich – this is still a class for those who want to achieve.
McKeown, Greg. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. Marvelous strategies for focusing on what’s really important for us in today’s culture of information overload.
Osler, William. A Way of Life: An address delivered to Yale students in 1913. This book is out of print, but the Amazon link I’ve provided takes you to a Kindle version. From there, you can find used copies from other booksellers. I’ve written about its life lessons HERE.
Pink, Daniel. The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need. This is a career guide written in the form of a comic book. His main points are:
- There is no plan.
- Think strengths, not weaknesses.
- It’s not about you.
- Persistence trumps talent.
- Make excellent mistakes.
- Leave an imprint
Rath, Tom.Strengths Finder 2.0 – designed to help people uncover their talents. The book includes an access code to get your own assessment.
Rubin, Gretchen. Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits–to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life. A fascinating look at what it takes to make and break habits. The answer is: it depends on your own personality. I’ve reviewed this book HERE.
Rubin, Gretchen. The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How To Make Your Life Better (and Other People’s Lives Better Too).
Sandburg, Sheryl. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
Zuckerberg, Randi. Pick Three: You Can Have It All (Just Not Every Day)
Articles
Boogaard, Kat. “3 Myths About Success You Need to Stop Believing.” Inc.
https://www.inc.com/kat-boogaard/are-you-thinking-about-success-all-wrong.html
Chernoff, Angel. “5 Popular Myths About Success that Need to be Ignored.” Marc & Angel Hack Life blog.
http://www.marcandangel.com/2016/09/07/5-popular-myths-about-success-that-need-to-be-ignored/
Denver, Chris. “7 Surprising Myths About Success.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-deaver/7-surprising-myths-about-success_b_6836138.html
Seppala, Emma. “Don’s Fall For These Six Myths of Success—Do This Instead.” Forbes Leadership Forum.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2016/01/15/dont-fall-for-these-six-myths-of-success-do-this-instead/#463d7c0c4e1e
Tracey, Brian. “5 Common Myths About Success.” Brian Tracy International.
https://www.briantracy.com/blog/personal-success/common-success-myths/
Magazines
Entrepreneur – if you’re inclined to be an entrepreneur instead of an employee for someone else, this publication is chock full of information and resources.
O: The Oprah Magazine – more for women, but the columns by Martha Beck and Elizabeth Gilbert and others are among the best sources of self-help wisdom for anyone I’ve ever read.
Success Magazine– be careful not to compare yourself to the featured personalities, but you can learn from their experience and mistakes.
Websites & Blogs
Art of Nonconformity by Chris Guillebeau. Great blog and he has also authored some terrific books, including Born for This: How to Find the Work You Were Meant to Do and The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future. His podcast “Sidehustle School” is terrific for getting ideas about making money on the side.
BrianTracy.com – Brian Tracy is a motivational speaker and author with great content on leadership, goal-setting, and achievement. His audiobook, The Psychology of Achievement is a classic.
Change Your Thoughts; Change Your Life by Steve Aitchison – some powerful free ebooks and content dedicated to changing the thoughts and beliefs that hold us back.
Everyday Power by Jeff Moore – this blog is a treasure trove of mindset, inspiration, and motivation articles to fuel your success. The site is a curriculum resource for many schools across the country. Jeff Moore’s TEDx talk on what he calls “personal innovation” is HERE.
Live Bold and Bloom by Barrie Davenport – great book reviews and inspiration for great living.
Make It Happen: For a better you and a better world by Arvind Devalia – when you subscribe, you get a free ebook called “Make it Happen For yourself and the World.” He also wrote Get the Life You Love and live it: Change your life for the better – forever.
MichaelHyatt.com by Michael Hyatt – his free newsletter provides great tips for life, leadership, and productivity. You can get it free scrolling to the bottom of his home page and subscribing.
Think Simple Now by Tina Su -real-life issues from simple living to creativity.
Zen Habits – by Leo Babauta – about simplicity, productivity, and enjoying life.
Personality tests
Many of these tests have more in-depth versions that cost money, but if you want some insights into your personality, here are some good free ones:
- Enneagram Type Indicator: http://www.9types.com/rheti/index.php
- Nettle, Daniel – Personality test “What makes you the way you are”: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/mar/07/personality-test
- Rubin, Gretchen – The Four Tendencies Quiz that measures how you tend to react to inner and outer expectations: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/3163256/Gretchen-Rubin-s-Quiz-The-Four-Tendencies-Fall2016
Inspirational quotations about leadership and achievement
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman
“I was once afraid of people saying, “Who does she think she is?” Now I have the courage to stand and say, ‘This is who I am.’” – Oprah Winfrey
“There is only one you for all time. Fearlessly be yourself.”– Anonymous
“You will make a lousy anybody else, but you will be the best ‘you’ in existence.” – Zig Ziglar
“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.” – Carl Jung
“No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it.” –Andrew Carnegie
“Done is better than perfect.” –Sheryl Sandberg
“What you do has far greater impact than what you say.” –Steven Covey
“Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others.” –Robert Louis Stevenson
“The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.” –Jim Rohn
“Forget about the fast lane. If you really want to fly, just harness your power to your passion.” –Oprah Winfrey
“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” –Edith Wharton
“The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” –Ayn Rand
“Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.” –Sam Walton
“To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.” –Eleanor Roosevelt
“Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.” – Sigmund Freud
“Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.” – Hardy D. Jackson
“Accept everything about yourself–I mean everything, You are you and that is the beginning and the end–no apologies, no regrets.” -Clark Moustakas
“Be what you are. This is the first step towards becoming better than you are.” – J. C. Hare & A. W. Hare
“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” -Dr. Suess
“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” – Maya Angelou
“By your own soul, learn to live
And if men thwart you take no heed.
If men hate you have no care.
Sing your song, dream your dream,
Hope your hope and pray your prayer.” – Parkenham Beatty
What are some of YOUR best resources for being an excellent CEO of Yourself, Inc.? Tell me what they are and why by sending an email to Elizabeth or use the contact form on this blog.
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