Monthly Archives: June 2014

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21 Leadership Lessons And Quotes From Transformers: Age Of Extinction

A Reel Leadership Article

The fourth entry in the Transformers live action movies released Friday. I was stoked for this summer movie release.

There’s a lot to love about Transformers on the big screen. Robots, TRANSFORMING robots(!), Mark Wahlberg (Or as I still refer to him, Marky Mark of the Funky Bunch), and explosions.

For a guy, Transformers has it all. And, lest you think I forgot, I was able to distill leadership lessons from Transformers: Age Of Extinction.

Leadership lessons from Transformers: Age of Extinction

I’ll try to keep the spoilers to a minimum, but with a movie this epic, it’s kind of hard. Now, lets dig into what leadership lessons you can learn from Transformers: Age Of Extinction.

1. You don’t know what you have: The movie starts off with Cade Yeager, played by Mark Wahlberg, looking for junk he could experiment with. This brought him to a run-down movie theater that was selling their assets.  Read more...

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Failure Is Always A Choice

Have you heard the phrase, “failure is not an option?” If you have, you have heard one of the biggest lies of all time. “Failure is always an option”, or so proclaims Adam Savage from Myth Busters. I think he is on to something, but I would take it a step further: not only is failure always an option, it is the most readily available option. More than that, failure is a choice—an easy and comfortable choice.

Thomas Edison had two profound things to say about failure that is helpful in illustrating the point.

The thought that not achieving something is failure is wrong.

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. ― Thomas Edison  Read more...

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What Are You Really Achieving?

Achievers often go above and beyond the call of most. They’ll reach farther and higher than the average man.

These achievers, yourself included, may have lofty and worthy goals. You might even think you’re achieving greatness.

But are you? Or are you chasing the achievements of what society deems worthy?

Every culture seems to have a type of prestige the alpha chases after. This status symbol may be:

The Mercedes Benz SLS in the driveway

The 3 story home with green grass, a white picket fence, and a swimming pool in the backyard

The six-figure job that causes you to be away from your family 5 nights a week

You’ve seen these achievements dangled in front of you, I’m sure. I know I’ve seen them hailed as the be-all, end-all for achievement. But is it really the best you can achieve?  Read more...

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How To Thrive As A Young Leader

Arianna Huffington, of Huffington Post fame, knows a thing or two about thriving. This isn’t to say she learned the easy way.

No, not at all. Rather, she learned how to thrive as a leader because she ran headfirst into burnout and health problems. All caused by an improper workload.

In Thrive: The Third Metric To Redefining Success And Creating A Life Of Well-Being, Wisdom, And Wonder, Huffington shares what she believes will help you thrive in leadership and in life.

Learn to thrive as a young leader

What’s Good About Thrive?

There’s a lot of good content in the book Thrive. Huffington experienced a life-threatening condition all because she didn’t know how to balance life with work.

That’s why Thrive was written. Huffington wants everyone to know that you don’t have to crash and burn because of work. Rather, you can thrive.

Early on in Thrive, Huffington shares an excellent anecdote from her mother:  Read more...