5 Things I Pray for as a Leader

It’s probably fair to say that most people, in some way, pray for good outcomes for themselves and others. I pray for the same five things, but usually end up concentrating on the one or two that I need most on a particular day.

While the topics may seem typical, I share below how they apply to me in both my business and personal life:

  1. Good health
    Often times we take it for granted. Of course, until the moment we feel it slipping away. Good health trumps everything else. So, I pray for it every day – in an effort to not take it for granted for myself, my family and my friends. I do my part to eat right and exercise regularly, but I also recognize that my health is not something I can totally control.
  2. Discipline
    This is as important in business as it is personally. Discipline is difficult for my personality type. It can apply to everything from diet to decision-making. As we have grown as a company, it’s critical that we are not reckless with acquisitions, key hires or exiting business units. Discipline is also necessary to effectively execute our business strategies. I ask for discipline to help me moderate my pace and practice patience, neither of which are my strengths.
  3. Wisdom
    This can be closely tied to discipline at times for me. I prayed for this often when I first became president and CEO. I had big shoes to fill, and I knew people were nervous about me taking over. I needed to better understand our entire business, not just the specific areas I was accustomed to. To me, wisdom is learning from our experiences. It’s important to pay attention to not only what to do, but also what not to do. Today I still ask for guidance to help our leadership team pursue wisdom to help us stay relevant in the ever-changing technology landscape.
  4. Peace of Mind
    When I sleep well at night, that’s when I know I have peace of mind. One of the most important indicators for me is keeping balance in my work and personal life. As CEO of a growing company, that’s often times easier said than done. This is one of those things where if you think you are out of balance, you probably are and you’ll find it difficult to have peace of mind. That’s exactly why it’s something I pray for.
  5. Happiness
    I wake up almost every day in a good mood. I like being happy, and I’ve found it’s contagious – at home and in the workplace. But it needs to be genuine – you can’t fake it. So, I pray for happiness for myself, my wife, my kids and my grandkids. Happiness is an important element of leadership that is often overlooked. I don’t know about you, but I personally prefer working with happy people than grumpy people.

These are the five things that I found I can focus on, and you may have your own variation of them. Each has a different meaning to me, and there are days when I need some more than others. But I try not to ever take any of them for granted.

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