I’ve had a lot of people lately saying they would love to see some more advice from someone like me who helps businesses and people be successful. Any business that wants to be successful has to invest in their people and their leadership team. So here is a list of things that I would suggest and recommend if you want to be successful in your business.

  1. Operate with integrity. Some people say “what others don’t know won’t hurt them“. I believe that that is completely wrong and false because someone is always watching and learning from you. And even if they aren’t, God above his watching. I recommend you live by the motto “whatever you do, work at it as if you are working for the Lord” (Colossians 3:23)
  2. Be careful who you associate with. This is both for you as leaders and should be recommended for those that you lead. You have heard that “one bad apple can spoil a whole crop”. I believe it’s even worse than that. The damage that one person with a bad attitude, bad information and a bad morale compass can not only bankrupt you personally but bankrupt your future and the future of those that you love. Remember that “bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33)
  3. Treat others the way that you would like to be treated. This one is one of the hardest for me because when I get hit, I want to hit back. The most successful people in the world whether they are Christians or not, have learned a very important lesson. That lesson is to let things go. When someone does you wrong and treats you poorly or doesn’t do right by you it has more to do with what they’re going through or who they are then it has to do with you. What you have to understand is when they do you wrong, it will always come back to them in the future at some point. God always levels the playing field. Do the right thing and walk away and turn the other cheek as you do right by those who wish you ill. “Pray for those who persecute you”. (Matthew 5:44)
  4. Get wise counsel. The worst thing you can ever have in your business or your personal life is a group of “yes men”. I can think of recent times in my life when the best thing in the world for me was to employ the services of somebody who thought completely opposite of me from a religious standpoint, a political standpoint and a personal standpoint. It made me question some very difficult things in my life which allowed me to change for the better. You’ve heard the saying that “misery loves company”.  If you are constantly in a position where everyone around you agrees with everything you say or feel and cheers you on, they will lead you right off the end of the cliff and you’re the one that gets to pay the bill after the mess is done. Find some people that challenge you and are not always going to agree with you. The best thing you can have in life as a human and as a business owner is someone who will call you out on your BS. (Proverbs 19:20)
  5. Hold yourself and others accountable. This one is super important because if you really want to succeed, you need to be accountable for your mistakes and so do your employees. The biggest problem that I see is owners do not hold themselves accountable for their shortcomings and therefore find it impossible to hold their staff accountable. In addition if you’re doing things that are illegal immoral and unethical, how can you expect your employees to follow the rules. A great leader cannot be a bad person. The two things do not exist together. (Romans 12:16, Colossians 3:13, Galatians 6:2).
  6. Give back to others. This is super important because at some point in time in your life you have either been in need or will be in need and as God says “the harvest is plenty but the workers are few”(Matthew 9:35). What that means is there’s tons of people in need and very few people that are able to help them. Giving back keeps you centered on being humble and it keeps you centered on always doing the right thing. It is the number one thing that successful business owners do in the good to great system. Giving back to others can be an amazingly awarding thing if it is done with a pure heart and no motive other than wanting to help those in need. In one of our consulting programs we actually teach people how to create a giving back program that their businesses can use forever. If you wanna talk about a great leadership program, it must include this.

I’m summary, I could write so many more things in here but I believe in general these six things will make a massive impact in your personal life as well as your business. If you desire to become a better person as well as a better leader take one of these things at a time and focus on them until you have mastered them. I have given public speeches about these six items and People ask me all the time what do you think the number one item of these six things are. It’s incredibly hard to say but I would say the number one thing is removing toxic people and being careful who you associate with. I have seen business owners who have unbelievable integrity fall into a situation where through circumstances, bad advice and manipulation, give themselves over to think they cannot recover from him.  do not fall victim and make sure you have a moral mentor!