Leadership 101 – Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

 Leadership 101 – Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting October (Pty) Ltd 

“If I have seen further (than others), it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

This is a quote from Isaac Newton, mathematician, astronomer & physicist and they are pretty much the words that I try to live by.

I learned pretty quickly when I started out in 2003, that I am not an island and that I needed help – not just any old help, mind you, but specifically help from people who knew what they were doing in their chosen profession.

I learned that by ‘following’ them (and I don’t mean in a stalkerish type way) and by doing things the way that they did them, I saved a huge amount of money (in school fees), and an even bigger amount of time and of course, I saved myself the angst that we all go through when we try new things.

I learned that there would still be lessons that I needed to learn on my own, but by measuring my progress on the stuff that I did do on my own and measuring my progress when I learned from a Master – my progress was far better when I learned from a Master.

In fact, one of the first lessons I learned from the Master was to measure everything.  If you don’t measure how on earth do you know if or how you are progressing.

Some of my “Master Gurus” are Dr. John Demartini, T Harv Eker, Roger Hamilton, and here in South Africa, Brian Walsh.  All of these men started at the bottom and worked their way up to being multi-millionaires.  They all teach the ‘how to’ to anyone who cares to listen and to learn.  Their passion and conviction and congruence are evident by the way that they live their lives.  They don’t just talk the talk, they live their talk.  It is therefore apparent that in order to be really successful, you have to be congruent.

I have learned that you have to be clear on what it is that you want to achieve and then by means of a plan, you have to “act”.  A dream or a goal without action is just . . . well a dream or a goal.

I have learned not to hide my light but to let it shine brightly.

I have learned to speak my truth (even if that truth is not well received by the recipient.)

I have learned to be humble, but at the same time to take pride in what I do and to be proud of my achievements.

I have learned that I need to learn on an ‘ongoing’ basis -  not only to learn but also to implement and share what I have learned. The more I learn, the more I think differently and when I think differently, I do things differently and this allows me to succeed.

I have learned that we all serve in one way or another and that we should always “give back” something – even if that something is only our time. Paying it forward should become a habit, something that we do not even need to think about.

I have learned all of this and so much more, by standing on the shoulders of these (and many more) giants.

I am grateful to these Giants and the many others whose books I read, whose podcasts, webinars, and talks I was watch and listen to. I am eternally grateful to the Universe for putting these people into my life serendipitously. Thank You

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za