Think about a time where you were influenced by somebody else, where maybe somebody said something that had a great impact on your life or just simply helped you in a time of need. When you think of that person, what makes them different from everyone else? Why do some people run toward danger when others retreat? Why do some businesses thrive when others fail? The answer is simple: Leadership.
Our advisors were recently able to attend the Global Leadership Summit, a two day event full of great speakers talking about leadership and I wanted to write about some key take a ways and thoughts from this Summit. Being a great leader takes courage and being different, and those leaders are needed now more than ever! But being different doesn’t have to be scary if you embrace it! DeVon Franklin, 
an author and producer, says to own your difference. He says, “Don’t be afraid of discomfort as it is a sign you are on the right track.” How many times have you wanted to do something different but were afraid because it would make you feel uncomfortable? Embrace being different and standing out in front of the group!
Now, how many of us out there are perfectionist? Co-Founder and Senior Pastor of Life Church, Craig Groeschel 
talked about how, “Perfection is often the enemy of progress.” That is so true because think about a time where something just had to be perfect and you couldn’t move on until it was or maybe you couldn’t even start something because the thought of it not being perfect stopped you from pursuing. Craig says, “The pursuit of excellence will motivate you but the pursuit of perfection with eventually limit you.” Don’t let perfection get in your way and use what Craig calls GETMO – Get Enough To Move On!
Another speaker we heard from was Jia Jiang,
an author of the best-selling book Rejection Proof, who did a 100 day rejection challenge to help him build a tolerance for rejection by doing things like asking a cop to drive his cop car or asking a random person if he can play soccer in his back yard and the results were amazing! Some people did not want to say no as they were trying to find ways to fulfill Jia’s request. Look at this video that has been viewed more than 5.8 million times, where he asks Krispy Kreme to make the Olympic Symbol out of Doughnuts, click here. We can all learn a lesson from Jackie, who refused to say no and was determined to figure it out and get the job done! Think about a time in your own life when someone said that can’t be done or that will never work, did you listen to them? Or were you determined to figure it out? I know I’m glad that Steve Jobs figured it out! Step away from negative thoughts and people. Jia says, “Rejection is an opinion of the rejecter; we think it is all about us but it’s not.” He would ask the same question to different people and some would reject him and others wouldn’t. Nothing changed with Jia and his question the only thing that changed was the person he asked the question to. Everyone has received rejected in their life but Jia’s encouragement is to keep going because rejection is growth.
The final speaker I wanted to share with you was an expert on generation behaviors, Jason Dorsey,
who debunked myths about generations. So since I'm a millennial I will talk about us! What I found interesting was Jason said that the millennial generation (1977-1995) is actually splitting into two different groups, the mega-llennials and the me-llennials. Dorsey explains that at age 30 the mega-llennials can’t relate at all to the me-llennials and vice-versa. The mega-llennials are the ones that have done everything that they were told to do like get a job, go to college, find their own place but the me-llennials are the ones that can’t get real world traction and are struggling. The funny thing is the people that are most annoyed about the millennial "stereotype" are millennials! But all generations can bring something to the table and can all be leaders.
Thank you for reading and I would strongly encourage you to attend the Global Leadership Summit next year because everyone has influence and influence has the power to change lives!