"Gentlemen, we are going to relentlessly chase perfection, knowing full well we will not catch it, because nothing is perfect. But we are going to relentlessly chase it, because in the process we will catch excellence."
- Vince Lombardi's words from his first team meeting with the Green Bay Packers.
E is for empowering.
Entrepreneurs empower others.
I got a whiff of this long before I became a leader or an entrepreneur. I loved watching NFL Films and how they would run down the "best of all" players at key positions. I discovered after a few viewings that Bart Starr and some other key players had all played on the same team- the Green Bay Packers. They all played on the team coached by Vince Lombardi. There had to be something about Lombardi that caused these men to excel at this gridiron sport.
Empowerment.
Vince Lombardi called on his players to take ownership of their actions. He urged them to take every action into consideration in regards to what it meant for the team and its collective goal. He offered his men the focal point of excellence, shared what it took to achieve such a lofty goal and allowed them to seek it out as their own. Much like John Wooden is to college basketball, Vince Lombardi is to professional football.
The entrepreneur can learn how to empower others like Lombardi. He or she simply needs to understand motivation and messaging. The motivator has a message and that message must be motivational. You lose good people when you fail to motivate them to go on beyond their current status. Motivation takes one beyond the state of mediocrity. Mentor and coach your people to deliver results that help the team win, not just the individual.
Engraved in Ebony
Richard Allen
(1764-1835)
Richard Allen is best known as the founder of the African Methodist Episcopal denomination, the first independent African American denomination in the United States. However, this former slave served as a social reformer, an educator, and a businessman. In the city known as the "City of Brotherly Love," Richard Allen left a lasting impression on Philadelphia through the Free African Society as well as the establishment of the AME Christian denomination.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."- Aristotle
As a consultant or entrepreneur, you have to keep your ear to the ground.
You have to stay in touch with your customers. 
.
implementation, developments, etc.
.
Your communications need to help you communicate:
Seeking single contributions of $500 may not work, but you can always ask for a one-year commitment of just $60 per month.
Even if others don't do anything but pass the information to others on their email list or in their Rolodex, you have derived some form of action from them.
Entrepreneurs have to endure. They have to stick it out, even when it seems like quitting time. Even when everyone says throw in the towel. The entrepreneur has to endure.
. If he had not endured the real estate dips and tabloid rumors, he probably never would have made it to the level of The Apprentice. I see individuals like Trump
as examples of enduring the good with the bad, allowing one to keep going despite the noise of the crowd of onlookers.
, Washington retold his own story in a manner that influenced and impacted young minds for generations.
go-getter
full of get-up-and-go from here to eternity. You'll "b" all that you can be: bummed out
,burnt out
and blown out
.
Then, once they are up and running, you can use some of those words that President Reagan
threw out there in that quote: delegate, authority, policy and the best people. You may need to first see the best in people if you are never bringing out their best.
(circa 1876 – September 10, 1965), also known as Reverend M.J. Divine, was an African American spiritual leader and business influence in North America from around 1907 until his death in 1965. He was Major Jealous Divine, the "Messenger"
of the International Peace Movement. He oversaw a lucrative enterprise that included hotels, eateries, and clothing shops in New York, Los Angeles, and other locations. He was a spiritual, political and business influence during his time.
