(I know you don’t talk about this every day, but guys please stay with me on this one)

Conversely, to love you, is to know who you are and what you stand for! Do you know you? For many people this is a scary proposition. I’m talking about really knowing you. What your personal interests are. What you are afraid of. And what really motivates you and I’m talking about at the core of your being.

In this series I’m covering The 4 Pillars of Success:

1. Self Awareness
2. Ingenuity
3. Love
4. Heroism

In my last blog I introduced Pillar #2, Ingenuity. The first componet I covered was the value of Indifference; now let’s talk about the importance of the contemplation to attain Love

You can’t give what you don’t have!

Have you ever worked for that boss who was so miserable with his life that he made it hard for you to love your job, your boss, life in general? It almost seems that he wants everyone else to be a miserable as he is!

People want to be around other people that inspire, motivate and challenge them. No one wants to work for a demanding tyrant who only wants you to work harder for his benefit only. Demonstrating that you truly care and love your employees will raise their productivity beyond your expectations! In order to give love though, you must first accept and love yourself. Then that love radiates outwardly to other people. At the end of the day you want your employees to want to work for you, because they know you are working for them.

If you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything.

In order to establish your personal “moral compass,” you need to establish your “Nonnegotiables!”

My wife and I have been blessed with three children. They are all in college now, but at a very young age we began to instill into them the value of establishing their “Personal Nonnegotiables.” Your Personal Nonnegotiables apply in every part of your life, personally, morally and professionally. I would tell my kids “a person is defined by the company they keep.” So when they started establishing friendships and dating, I would ask them to be sure to define their nonnegotiables, as it relates to friendships and dating. Unless you know you, you cannot establish and define your Nonnegotiables.

Now let’s take that concept to a professional level. If your Nonnegotiables don’t match up with the company you’re working for, find another job! Life’s to short to compromise your value system for a paycheck. If you’ve ever had a job that you truly loved, you’ll never want to work at another job no matter how much money you make. Like the story goes, what if you obtained the world, and in the process you lost your soul; what really did you gain? Find your Nonnegotiables and don’t ever compromise.

It’s impossible to attain excellence without Ingenuity.

Ingenuity is the process of solving the obstacles or problems you face with an issue, project or circumstance. And without Love, you will not do what ever it takes to accomplish your goals, or that seemly impossible goal. And the same goes for your employees. If they know you don’t love them, they will ONLY do enough to get away with what is expected of them in an 8-hour day – and do no more!

Only the great leaders understand the key component love has within the human relationship and the value it plays in the work place. Look at any great company and try to figure out why they are great. It’s generally a combination of many things, but I assure the common thread with any great company, team or effort is the Love the people have for one another.

Ok guys, next time we’ll talk about football….