Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win - Sun Tzu

I've been a leader of people for many years across various roles; I believe some are built for it, have natural attributes that lean them towards leadership, and others are followers. All good leaders will be able to learn from others, evaluate good and bad examples, and apply that knowledge to becoming a better leader. This new series is designed to expose great quotes by various leaders and to investigate how they may relate or apply to myself or others. _{original im src}

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This week's leadership quote

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Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win

_{- Sun Tzu -}

I had a torrid day at work on Wednesday; one that, at first, I'd like to have forgotten. I felt like I was hitting my head on brick walls no matter the direction I turned and what I did. I couldn't have bought a break if I had a pocket full of money. It was terrible. But, here's the thing...there's always a thing...If I forget that day, if I put it out of mind, I'd not learn from it and that's not my way.

Today I chose this leadership quote based around my yesterday. Just for the record, today was a much more effective and productive day. Anyway, in applying this quote to yesterday I see it's about being a leader of oneself; leading oneself to the right thoughts and attitudes and towards the actions that gain desired results.

I believe it talks about preparation. Arming oneself with the right skills ahead of time gives one a better chance for success and putting ourselves in the right mindset, having the right thoughts and attitude, does the same. This could be said for business and our personal lives also. The right preparation, physically and mentally, will pay dividends. Not preparing ahead of time means one is in a position of weakness or disadvantage and that's not conducive to success.

Back to my Wednesday.

I wasn't in a bad frame of mind to begin and I'm certainly not ill-prepared; I just let the brick walls I was hitting kick my ass emotionally. By the end of the day I was pretty-well drained of energy and just wanted it to end; the day, not my life. I sat at my local café to think about it and have a little reset before going home and thought about the day, and more importantly, what I had to do right then, to make Thursday better.

Taking a poor attitude into "battle" is a very bad idea, even should that battle be business or our personal lives.

When I woke this morning Wednesday seemed a distant memory and as I went about getting ready for work, eating breakfast and thinking about the day ahead I knew Thursday would be better.

I didn't increase my skills overnight, I didn't suddenly know more than I knew the day before, I simply adjusted my attitude somewhat and that was enough to nudge me back on the path to productivity, and certainly put Wednesday in its place, gave it perspective. I had learned from my bad day and was better able to lead my thoughts and actions in the right direction.

Being a leader doesn't always mean leading others as we ourselves need to show self-leadership as such, especially in times of turmoil, challenge and adversity, or just when we have a bad attitude. Having the ability to reset oneself, is as critical to success as gaining the knowledge and skills required to attain success.

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If you have any thoughts on this leadership quote, experiences of your own, or questions please feel free to comment below.

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