New Turbo 25′s – Making a Difference

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Alex Nickerson on Life and Leadership

I want to say thank you to Orrin Woodward and Claude Hamilton for putting my wife and I in a position to watch and help people change their lives in this amazing environment called LIFE. Here are the next group of amazing leaders coming out of Canada.

I want to say congratulations to the following two couples for going out there and helping people better their lives in the 8 F’s. A Turbo 25 is the break through level in our business where you are leading and mentoring a group of a minimum of 50 people. This is a huge deal because who ever hits this level are sacrificing the short-term for long-term results. Super proud of these guys.

Trevor, Julie, Paige and Alyssa Macdonald

Congratulations to Trevor and Julie MacDonald, who are from Port Williams Nova Scotia

Congratulations to Paul and Tara Ferrusi, who are from Port Colburne Ontario

Both of these couples have set retirement dates in the next few months for their wives to come home and be full-time moms. It’s so exciting watching their goals and dreams come true because they were willing to go out there and do the work to make it happen. This is just the first of many post to come of families hitting new levels and changing lives.

If you know these two couples and they have made an impact on your life in any way, please leave a comment at the bottom.

All the Best in LIFE,

Alex Nickerson

The Five Levels of Leadership

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Alex Nickerson on Life and Leadership

I have been studying material which I have received through our LIFE business and have come across something I have been sharing with a lot of people in the past two weeks. I thought I would give a few examples on the levels of leadership. The following information has come from John Maxwell’s book, Developing the Leader Within You and his new book The 5 Levels of Leadership.

The 5 Levels of Leadership

1. Position/Rights

This is the smallest form of leadership, which is usually followed up with a title. A lot of people think just because they have a great position at work or in a business that it makes them important and they can call themselves leaders. Most people who have a position are actually managers rather than leaders. This level of leadership is usually given to people rather than earned by their talents and abilities. People will not follow positional leaders any further than their title.
A great quote from Maxwell referring to this level of leadership is, “When the Leader lacks confidence, the followers lack commitment.” I see this a lot in business where people find themselves wondering why they can’t move on. They say things like, “I have told everyone what to do,” or “My team won’t do anything.” Always remember, the speed of the team is the speed of the leader. One main reason why people get stuck at this level of leadership is they may have trouble developing meaningful relationships with people. In other words, people may not like you. The key to moving on here is developing your people skills and learning to genuinely care for other people.

2. Permission/Relationships

This a level where people will give you permission to lead them based on your relationship. The saying, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” applies here. The deeper, more solid relationships you have, the longer you’re able to lead someone. You can love people without leading them, but you can’t lead people without loving them. Just because you care about someone doesn’t mean you’re able to lead them.

A lot of times people get stuck here in business because they have a hard time getting to the next level of leadership, which is performance. In our business, you may be able to lead someone for 1, 3, or 6 months on a good relationship but if you don’t show them progress, it’s probably not going to go much further than that. The key to moving on is seeking a mentor that can help you hone your skills to be able to develop results and be hungry for the knowledge.

3. Production/Results

This is the level where great things begin to happen. This is where you help people get positive results in LIFE or business and create momentum. Here, people are focused on results, having a lot of fun and are full of excitement. This level is where people get together to accomplish a purpose.

When you can lead people to this level you are destined to lead for a long time and make a great impact on many lives. Anyone can get to this level by just learning and being persistent and not ever worrying about failure. Some fail to arrive here because they give up just short of being consistent enough.

The biggest downfall to this level is, when some people hit it they think they have arrived and sometimes can develop an ego. Always remember, your organization can only get a certain size when you are the only leader. The main key to moving on to the next level is identifying and developing up and coming leaders by mentorship and coaching.

4. People Development/Reproduction

I once heard that a success without a successor is failure. This is one of the most rewarding levels of leadership because the only way to get here is to empower others and help them grow personally. This is where a lot of your time is dedicated to mentoring and coaching other people to excel in their careers, lives, or business. The only downfall is sometimes people may think you’re a positional based leader. The way around this is always be leading new people through all these stages of leadership by mentoring and coaching. Most importantly, show them how to move through each level by being out in the field with them.

5. Pinnacle/Respect

This is the level I aspire to reach in the future. Only a lifetime of proven leadership will allow a person to gain the rewards of such a purposed filled life. At this level, you have spent decades mentoring and molding leaders. Your greatest joy is watching others grow and develop into better leaders. This is where your leaders become loyal to you forever. This is where you are nationally recognized and are sought out by others to be their mentor. A great example of this level of leadership, in my opinion, is Orrin Woodward. Today in the world when it is popular to be average, Orrin stands up as an individual that has spent the last 12 years of his life dedicated to reaching a million people and improving their lives. I totally believe within the next 10 years Orrin Woodward will be on the cover of Time Magazine as one of the greatest Americans this world has ever seen.

What level of leadership are you at? Are you striving to get to the next one with everything you got? The TIME IS NOW!!

All the best in LIFE,

Alex Nickerson

The Family Unit – Purserving the Future for our Grandchildren

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Alex Nickerson on Life and Leadership

Orrin Woodward – Leadership Expert

The information I have been learning through Orrin Woodward, Claude Hamilton and the LIFE materials is creating a huge call to action and a sense of duty is being instilled within me. This is a post I felt compelled to write after an amazing conversation I had with my dad and his wife a few nights ago. Feel free to comment on my thoughts.

Today we are living in a society where the badge on most people’s shoulders is “I’m too busy.” In contrast, the television ratings seem to be higher than ever. Today I was listening to a CD and reviewing some research done on, “How much time the average father in North America spends with their children on a daily basis.” What they mean by this is quality time; looking into the eyes of their child and communicating effectively. How much of this quality time would you guess is spent? Two hours, one hour, 30 minutes, 15 minutes? The sad truth is that in today’s age, the average father will spend 37 seconds of quality time with their children a day. I was shocked beyond belief when I heard this. After looking at all the surveys and intense research done in this field, the speaker on the CD went on to talk about how today’s culture is preparing for a future where we will eventually lose all of our freedoms. Men today are seen in the media as being over weight couch potatoes that watch football and drink beer. That needs to change. I saw the movie “Courageous” a few weeks ago and it simulates a real life story about the family unit in today’s society. I believe this movie should be seen by every family and will cause a ripple effect to make people see how important the family unit really is. It’s one of those movies that you buy for yourself and watch over and over again. It’s about a call to action for all men to change their families for the better. Here is the movie trailer.

The majority of parents today have the thought in their mind that they want to provide a better life for their kids. I can understand this for sure; however, the word “better” is actually replaced by the word “easier.” Back in “old school days,” as my dad would say, he was raised in a society where the family unit was the main thing. Families ate dinner at the dinner table; they prayed together and were thankful for all that they had, no matter how little. Back then, you knew everyone in your community. If a project came up like building a barn, house or church, the whole community chipped in to help. Everyone valued each other and lived by the golden rule, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Parents would instil their world views, principles, morals and ethics onto their children.

What is it like today? These principles are slowly going by the wayside. Many parents are ‘too busy’ to instil their beliefs onto their children. They expect our education system or day care providers to do this for them. In today’s age, our children are getting their morals and beliefs from the media and are learning how bad the world is way too early in life. This, in turn, causes a negative world view in their lives. When is the last time you saw a young person help someone they didn’t know, whether it be an elder in their community or a peer?

Today we are taught or educated in a field where the person or business (university or college) doing the teaching has no personal investment in making sure you succeed. I was reminded of this about six months ago when I was in Antigonish going through the drive-thru at a fast food establishment. I noticed the guy that handed me my food had a St. Francis Xavier University ring on; he had graduated from the local university and as a result, he gets to work for minimum wage. A very high percentage of graduates don’t even work in their field of study. Education today is way more about socializing than learning. Back in the “old school days,” you had a mentor that would teach you in your chosen field and this person had an invested interest in making sure you were successful. What happened to the days where people always seemed to have mentors in their life that truly cared for your well-being and wanted to make a difference in this world? They really are few and far between. I really feel blessed that Claude Hamilton and Orrin Woodward have come into my life and challenged me in all the 8F’sand taught me “how to think” instead of “what to think.”

I had the amazing privilege of listening to one of the top 10 freedom fighters in the world, Oliv er DeMille. He gave a talk on what it will take to restore the freedoms in our countries. I was in a crowd of about 18,000 people who were on the edge of their seats the whole time he spoke. He asked for volunteers in the fight for freedom; he knows he can’t do it alone. He finished up by saying that if only 3% - 5% of the people in our countries would stand for freedom, then we would go into a Freedom Shift that will preserve a better future for our grandchildren then what their fate is now.

Will you be part of the 3% – 5 %? Your grandchildren are counting on you!

All the Best in LIFE, Alex Nickerson

Alex Nickerson

On Life and Leadership

Monthly Archives: November 2011

New Turbo 25′s – Making a Difference

The Five Levels of Leadership

The Family Unit – Purserving the Future for our Grandchildren

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