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Stephen McGhee is a top business leadership consultant, author, speaker and documentary filmmaker. For the past 18 years, he has been leading senior level executives to go beyond self-imposed limitations to create astonishing results. His work brings extraordinary outcomes to seemingly unsolvable scenarios.
Stephen works with CEOs, CFOs, politicians, government agencies, celebrities and world-class athletes to realize their potential and live the life of their dreams.
Favorite Success Quote
“We must be willing to get rid of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” – Joseph Campbell
Key Points
1. You’re Made of Good Stuff
Something that is so easy to forget in our negative culture is that you, yes you are made of good stuff.
You came into this world equipped with all of the potential and capability for success that you need.
But society, our families, and our friends have beaten that potential out of us.
They have told us to play it safe, to take the easy route.
They have told us that we aren’t good enough and that we don’t have what it takes.
But nothing could be further from the truth.
You are made of good stuff.
You have everything you need to succeed.
All you need to do is find it within yourself and unlock it.
2. Your Job as a Leader is to Create Progress
The job of a leader is simple in ideation but difficult in execution.
To create progress.
That’s it.
As a leader it is your job to create progress in every area over which you preside.
It’s your job to create progress in how your team performs and interacts. It’s your job to create progress in your company’s expansion and revenue. It’s your job to create progress in your family, to create progress in your relationships.
When you shift your focus as a leader from managing to progressing, you will find that the world opens up and opportunities begin to present themselves like never before.
3. Are You Applying the Knowledge that You Have
At the end of the day, knowledge is not power.
It is applied knowledge that gives us power.
Are you applying the knowledge that you have?
You listen to this podcast, but that’s not enough. Are you applying the lessons and tactics that you learn?
You probably read books. But simply reading is not enough. Are you taking action on the books that you are reading?
Realize that knowledge is useless without application.
It doesn’t matter how much you know. If your actions don’t reflect your knowledge your life will never change.
4. Get Out of the Situations that Aren’t Serving You
One of the quickest ways to increase your chances of success and put yourself in the fast lane is to first get out of the slow lane.
Take the exit ramp and never look back.
All of those people, those jobs, those places, and those habits that are not serving your goals… eliminate them.
Cut out the toxic relationships, leave the dead end job, drop the unhealthy habits.
More often than not, success is the process of subtraction, not adittion.
The quicker that you can subtract the negative factors in your life that are holding you back, the quicker you will be able to propel yourself to new heights of achievment.
5. It’s the Small Things Done Over Time that Lead to Success
Success isn’t about the big, heroic moves.
It’s about the small, unsexy, uncool things done over time that compound and lead to success.
Success comes from those habits that no one sees, from the actions that no one notices.
I am talking about waking up early, showing up on time, staying late, and hustling hard while other people are distracted and unmotivated.
Success comes from taking small actions consistently until they become a part of your identity.
Stop worrying about the big IPO, buyout, or acquisition, and realize that the grandest moments of success come from the humblest actions of excellence repeated over time.
Influential Books
Reinventing Yourself by Steve Chandler
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
A Way of Being by Carl Rogers
