Julia Aceves: March 25, 2016

·         Being the leader is always glamorous until you are the leader.

o   Being a leader, or in a position of leadership, always seems fun and way better than being a ‘follower’

o   The truth is: being a leader is twice as hard.

o   Being the leader has its perks sometimes à People trust you, they care about what you say, they respect you, you get to make important decisions, you get to make your vision come to life

o   BUT, all of these perks have to be earned!!

o   You need to get here the earliest and leave the latest, you need to think about everything you say, you always need to take the high road, everything you do has to be with everyone else in mind, you are your teams servant.

o   Sometimes you will put your heart and soul into things only to have people turn you away and misinterpret your intentions. Sometimes they will be mean and say things that hurt you but you will always have to forgive them because you are their leader and they need you.

·         If you want to lead, you need to make sacrifices.

o   Being a leader takes blood, sweat, and tears…maybe not the blood but definitely the other two.

o   When no one else will, you will.

§  The longest shifts

§  The weekends

§  The school vacations

o   If you want your team to work hard, you need to work twice as hard

o   You will sacrifice friendship and being ‘the nice one’ for the sake of the team

·         You need to care

o   IF YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT THE PEOPLE YOU LEAD THEN YOU SHOULD STEP DOWN FROM LEADERSHIP

o   It is wrong to lead someone when you don’t care about them, their progress, or their well-being. You would be leading them into failure.

·         Decide what you want and put it first every day.

o   If you want to be the leader, you need to work for it every single day

o   People will not mentor you if you are not there 100%

o   Learn everything: the good and the bad

§  The good à So you know what works

§  The bad à So you know what to stay away from and don’t make the same mistakes

o   You need to commit yourself entirely to what you want. That’s not to say you shouldn’t have a balance, everyone needs days off, but you should still be conscious of your growth.

·         You snooze, you lose.

o   Opportunities will come just as fast as they go.

o   If you want something, take it and take it before anyone else can

o   Opportunities don’t wait for anyone!!

o   EX: When given any chance to experience something new would be a huge opportunity to learn from a Teacher. Turned it down for whatever reason. Now the opportunity is gone.

·         Whatever you put first will be what you end up with.

o   If you invest all your time in school then school is all you will have.

o   Be sure that what (or who) you invest your time and energy into is worth it because at the end of the day that’s all you’re going to have left.

o   Life isn’t one-sided. You have to give some to get some. Don’t expect to be ranked #1 on something you rank as #3.

·         Titles don’t mean shit.

o   People only care about your title when:

§  They first meet you

§  In meetings

§  To your face (sometimes)

o   You need to earn your title every single day.

·         It’s not about you. Ever.

o   You need to leave the “I” mentality in the past.

o   Don’t take things personal.

o   Your success comes second but your growth comes first!