Profound Leaders Know What to Ignore

I am a modest snowboarder. Meaning, I can get down the hill without falling. I'm not particularly fast, I don't take risks with nonsensical jumps or weaving between trees. I just go down the hill feeling accomplished when I don't injure myself.

But I fascinate at others who are exceptional snowboarders. Especially those who take the risks associated with weaving between trees. Have you ever seen these athletes? I mean, they have to be a little bit nuts, right? But on the other hand, I watch in awe as they weave between trees almost effortlessly. To

me it looks like they are avoiding one near-death experience after another.

Standing in the lift line after a run, I asked one of these death-defying daredevils, "How do you do it? How do you avoid the trees?" He said something that makes so much sense.

He said, "The people that hit trees are focused on the trees. I ignore them. I aim for the snow."

And that is it. That's Profound Leadership in a nutshell. Aim for the snow

But aiming for snow, mean you have to ignore the trees. If you hyper-focus on all the things that get in your way, you are likely to spend your time dealing with the very things that get in your way.

But if you ignore the obstacles (obviously you are aware of them) and aim for your goal you won't get sidetracked. The "trees" will wiz by and be behind you, but you won't get hung up in them.

The great challenge to leadership is that there are multitudes of distractions that can derail you from leading. Leadership is as much about knowing what to do, as about what NOT to do. What to ignore.

What are your trees? Take a Profound Minute and write down two things that you need to ignore this week, in order to focus on what you need to do.

Go. Be. Profound.

Make it a great week! -G