Jim Collins is a well-known business advisor and author, whom I recently heard speak at a conference. Many of Collins’ books (Great by Choice, Good to Great, How the Mighty Fall), as well as this particular talk, focus on greatness. Most of us are good people. We are good employees. We run good businesses. How do we go from good to great?

Collins shared the story of the great race to the South Pole by Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott in 1911. Both explorers and their teams set out from Antarctica toward the South Pole. They raced on the same soil, same weather conditions, and same race terms, but only one team won. In the case of this race, falling short of greatness meant death. Robert Scott and his team didn’t only lose the race, they all died; 11 miles shy of the final supply depot on their return from the South Pole. Jim Collins says, “The only mistakes you learn from are the ones you survive.”

Amundsen’s win and survival can be attributed to two things: steadfast discipline and meticulous preparation.  Amundsen was a fanatic about training and meeting his mile goals during the race, despite the weather. He focused on a 20 mile goal every day. Not more, not less. He was steadfast. This great discipline resulted in him beating Scott’s team to the South pole by 35 days. Amundsen was also obsessively prepared. He went to live with Eskimos to learn how to prepare for the weather conditions. He also put a 10 mile target around each supply depot, rather than a flag, which is all Scott’s team used. He tripled his estimate of supply needs. No detail was overlooked—he was meticulously prepared.

“I may say that this is the greatest factor—the way in which the expedition is equipped—the way in which every difficulty is foreseen, and precautions taken for meeting or avoiding it. Victory awaits him who has everything in order — luck, people call it. Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time; this is called bad luck.” –The South Pole, Roald Amundsen.

What preparation and discipline do you need in your life to make you great? Do you or your company need to focus on a 20 mile march as the holidays approach? Do you need to go live with the Eskimos? Who can teach you, guide you, mentor you to greatness?

Most of us are good, but it takes preparation and discipline to become great.

Life is all about relationships. If you want to develop deep, meaningful relationships, work on building up others. You know exactly how good you feel when you're around individuals that encourage you and build you up. You also know how you feel when you're around individuals that tear people down.

We are living in a self-absorbed, self-serving, and self-obsessed modern day busy-busy society filled with negativity and consistent hate. To truly differentiate yourself from all the noise in this world, be relationship-oriented and start to focus on building others up.

A great way to encourage others is with praise. There is great power in recognizing what others have accomplished; it not only builds up the other person, but it strengthens your relationship. We're not talking about shallow flattery and sucking-up - we're talking about noticing and recognizing positive attributes and action in others.

Here are a few ways to encourage:

• Esteem others higher than yourself
• Focus on being humble
• Be encouraging in your speech and actions
• Look for growth and positive attributes in others
• Don't gossip
• Share knowledge and wisdom
• Love

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed - Proverbs 11:25

A very wise man once told me that if there were a single thought-pattern or mindset to focus my constant attention, it would be to strive for a heart of gratitude. My personal tendency (and I would imagine most others would feel similarly) is to consistently battle negative, worrisome thoughts and struggle to focus on the many blessings in my life. For me, maintaining and expressing gratitude for all that I have in my life produces meaningful relationships, passion for my work, strong health, and an abundance mindset. Here are a few ideas that I try to focus on daily:
 

• Start each day with a heart of gratitude. As soon as I wake up in the morning, I try and spend a few minutes in silent prayer giving thanks and preparing my heart for the day ahead.
• Try to add value in every interaction throughout the day. This can be accomplished via a kind word, a prayer, providing information, making a recommendation, asking a good question, or helping out with something specific.
• Genuinely build others up. Search deep inside my heart for the right words to tell someone exactly how special he/she is and how much you care.
• Detaching the effort from the outcome. Continuing to do what I know in my heart and mind is true and right, no matter what the outcome might be.
• Take time to appreciate life by slowing down. Stopping everything that I'm doing, breathing deeply, and focusing on one thing or person for whom I am grateful.

I believe that we should view gratitude as a discipline (intentional act/conscious choice) versus an "emotional feeling." If we are hamstrung by spontaneous moments of emotional gratitude, our feelings of thanksgiving will gradually erode. To conclude, make it a daily exercise to think about your blessings and cultivate a heart of gratitude.

Do you labor under a heavy weight? Are you burdened in your day to day existence? A good friend of mine recently mentored me on the context of Matthew 11:29-30:

• "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

In Jesus' day, a young ox was hitched alongside an older, more experienced ox to teach him to pull the load. As long as the young ox followed the older ox's lead and example in both speed and direction, the burden was light. On the other hand, when the young ox resisted and/or attempted to create his own path, he felt BOTH the weight of the load AND the strength of the big ox.

Are there areas in your life where you're trying to carry a big burden?

Do the professional services that you receive from your partners and vendors enable enable you to become stronger, more intelligent, more autonomous, more passionate, and/or better organizations? Perhaps it's time to rethink your vendor strategy and partner with servant leadership focused companies. Webster defines "servant leadership" as:

Servant leadership is a philosophy and practice of leadership in which individuals achieve results for their organizations by giving priority attention to the needs of those they serve.

Would you describe your vendors and/or partners with any of the following attributes?

• Honesty
• Empathy
• Trustworthiness
• Respectful