Why did you put your life on the line?

“Because, I love God… and I love my Marines, and that is where I was needed most.” That is all that my father said when my brother asked him why he led the charge. That is what he did at two very bloody battles, Iwo Jima and Saipan, when he didn’t need to. You see, our father was a Navy Chaplain and he wasn’t supposed to go to shore in the first wave. Heck, he didn’t even have a weapon.

Can you feel that same courage and bring it to your nonprofit organization with an extra dose of passion and purpose? Where are you needed most? What is it you would truly love? Are you willing to take on machine gun fire to achieve it? Thankfully, and because of our vets, you probably won’t ever have to take on machine gun fire.

You will, however, have to take on your own fears and even might have to step out of your comfort zone. Each time you are tempted to give up on your dream, ask yourself how important your dream is to you. If your answer is that this is where you are needed most and this is what you truly love, then step forward boldly, even in the face of fear – and with persistent commitment.

It takes courage and persistent action to lead the charge in an ever-changing environment with nonprofits today.

Keep your purpose in the forefront of your thoughts, and it will fuel your desire. Intensify your focus on what is most important in the moment related to achieving your ultimate goals. This, in turn, will power you to achieve your desired outcomes.

In Be A Beast, we say you should be like the crocodile which has outlived the dinosaurs. Crocodiles have learned to adapt to an ever-changing environment. We say the crocodile has learned the principles of RESPA.

Relax – enhances creativity, restores energy.

Evaluate – determine current reality.

Strategize – lay out an action plan.

Patience – reevaluate and adjust if necessary.

Act – simply do it and move with focused action.

RESPA is a great way to experience personal control through self-mastery. It enhances creativity and opens the door to your personal power and potential.

A person’s genius is only unlocked when they gain mastery of their mental focus and emotional resilience. Companies achieve greatness when their leaders and employees tap into their individual and collective genius.

All the BEAST to you.

Dave Austin, a former professional athlete, author of Be a Beast, and founder of Extreme Focus, is a mental performance coach. He uses game-ready visualizations to train athletes from youth leagues to professional athletes. His focused and productive principles translate exceptionally well for companies, entrepreneurs, and sales teams. daa@extremefocus.com

 
This article is reprinted from Vol. 3, No. 2, of Nonprofit Performance Magazine. Subscribe today!

Join our weekly Tuesday afternoon Nonprofit Exchange at 2 pm Eastern time.
 

The Nonprofit Exchange on Tuesdays at 2 pm ET has been quite beneficial for many participants and we have enjoyed sharing thoughts and tips for moving past the stuck places we all find in leading an organization to achieving its mission.

Learn more and access archives HERE.

As the famous British Composer and Conductor Ralph Vaughan Williams once said, “Music does not reveal all of its secrets to just one person.” If you replace the word “Music” with the word “Leadership” or “Team” or “Strategy” etc. then we all give and receive value from others. That’s the spirit of the Tuesday afternoon Nonprofit Exchange encounters, sponsored by SynerVision Leadership Foundation’s “Community for Community Builders.”

You can join the conversation on Zoom or watch on Facebook Live Video. It’s your choice. You can comment on Facebook and on the Zoom chat box on any device.

Put this on your calendar NOW! It’s a session that you don’t want to miss! Discover what’s blocking your success!

We’ll “see” YOU on the call. Here’s to your greater success!