An excerpt from You Can’t Send a Duck to Eagle School by Mac Anderson.

You may have heard the quote…”The speed of the leader will determine the rate of the pack.” Well here’s another one for you…“The attitude of the leader will determine the attitude of the pack.”

Because I’m the founder of Successories, some people think that this guy probably never has a negative thought. How wrong they would be! Like every human being, I have doubts, fears, and disappointments in my life. As a leader, however, we must manage our attitudes. Do we need to be perfect? Of course not. But, we can never underestimate the influence that our actions and our attitudes will have on our team. Churchill said,

“The price of LEADERSHIP
is RESPONSIBILITY.”

…and part of that responsibility
is to STAY POSITIVE whether
you feel like it or not.

MANAGING YOUR ATTITUDE IS A VERY PERSONAL THING. However, for me, one of the most important factors is exercise. My attitude and my energy levels are directly tied to exercise. I can be doing everything else right, but without regular exercise I can feel my attitude “heading south”.

I’ve got a friend who is 65 but looks like he’s 55. I saw him the other day and said, “Tony, you look great.” He said, “I feel great! I got a second job.” I said, “A second job? I thought your import business was doing well.” He said, “It is. My second job is on the treadmill from 6-7 every morning. When I started looking at it as a second job, I showed up whether I wanted to or not!” He said, “The pay is lousy, but the benefits to my health and my attitude are priceless!”

Exercise, more than anything, is a “stress buster”. And, don’t kid yourself, stress is a killer. In fact the World Health Organization estimates that 80% of all illnesses are directly or indirectly caused by stress. Therefore, if you’re not proactive in busting stress, it’s very likely to come back and bust you!