NASA Wants To Change An Asteroid’s Course
Dimorphos is a 530-foot asteroid orbiting in outer space. This week, NASA launched the 59-foot Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) out of California in hopes of slamming it into the asteroid and altering its course.
Don’t worry, we are not in trouble! No need to call Bruce Willis or stock up on toilet paper.
Dimorphos was singled out and targeted for an experiment just in case an extinction-level threat were to ever occur. If the test is successful, DART will hit Dimorphos in September 2022 at a speed of 15,000 miles per hour.
A Different Point Of View
A helpful exercise is to look at this experiment from the asteroid’s point of view. What did Dimorphos ever do to deserve this? The asteroid is just minding its own business, going through space, and not hurting anyone or anything.
Then suddenly – BANG – it is going to be blindsided by a spacecraft at 15,000 mph! Surely, the environmentalists must have a problem with this!
But since Dimorphos is a giant rock with no capacity for pain or feelings, we don’t even consider its point of view. Nor should we.
But what about leaders when they get blindsided? Oftentimes, they are also going quietly about their business and serving others with excellence when – BANG – they get blindsided!!
5 Words A Leader Should Rarely (If Ever) Say
The 5 words a leader should rarely (if ever) say are,”I Didn’t See That Coming.”
Muhammad Ali once said “It’s not the hardest punch that knocks you out. It’s the one you never see coming.” Leaders, what knock us out are the things we never see coming.
The following are just some of the leadership items that can often blindside us:
- Betrayal by someone close to us
- Health issues
- Marketplace fluctuations
- Staff transitions
- Inner circle conflicts
- Slumps
- Improved competition
- Technological advancements
- Losing a great client
- Family issues – Anyone with a spouse, children, or aging parents knows we are all one phone call away from our life changing forever.
A Better Way
Leaders are always going to be blindsided. It just comes with the territory. The key is to not be CONSTANTLY blindsided. The following are 10 things you can do to be proactive in your leadership.
- Invest in people. They are your only appreciable asset.
- Be a continual learner.
- Be Adaptable. Understand no one likes change but a baby. However, change is a constant leaders must embrace.
- Prioritize your time. Utilize The Paretto Principle. Spend 80% of your time on the top 20% of your responsibilities.
- Prioritize your family. The greatest leadership begins at home.
- Develop perspective. Have the discernment to know which things you had no control over.
- Be grateful. Do not take the positive things or relationships in your life for granted.
- Practice generosity. Also, make sure to save money for downturns in the economy and seasonal dips.
- Eat right, exercise, and get regular check-ups to protect your health.
- Be resilient and mentally-tough. When life knocks you down, remember that getting knocked down is not failure. Staying down is.
Dimorphos is about to be blind-sided. You don’t have to.
Leaders, there are always things that happen in our life that we do not see coming. Practice the ten items listed above and next time, it may lessen the blow.
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Therefore, the fundamentals of leadership are more important than ever. The quotes in this book deal with the basics of leadership. If you want to be the best leader you can possibly be, click HERE or on the image provided to download this FREE resource. The lessons learned from last year, if applied, will sustain you for years to come.