H3 Leadership: Be Humble. Stay Hungry. Always Hustle.

Books serve as the gateway of learning that allows people we have never met to impact us and the people we become. As Betty Southward said, "Books are wonderful mentors. They are available at any hour of the day or night." One recent book that has been impacting me deeply is Brad Lomenick's H3 Leadership: Be Humble. Stay Hungry. Always Hustle. This books has been a gem to read and I am certain it will continue to work me over the years to come.

"Lead yourself. How can you attempt to lead others until you embrace this simple truth? Brad Lomenick is one of the good guys and he's generously sharing what he's learned in his own journey." - Seth Godin, author, The Icarus Deception

"Hungry. Humble. Hustle. Those three words are Brad Lomenick's mantra, and they characterize just about every quality, hard-charging, effective leader I know. When it comes to Brad's H3 Leadership, though, I'd add one more H: HOW. This book is your how-to when it comes to leading your organization. Don't miss it." - Dave Ramsey, New York Times bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio host

"A practical resource for leaders at all level." - Adam Grant, Wharton professor and New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take

How do we develop and grow into effective leaders? 

Brad Lomemick's most recent book provides us the answers and blueprints we seek. H3 Leadership: Be Humble. Stay Hungry. Always Hustle. has rarely departed my side these past few weeks. 

  • Want to get promoted and take your career to the next level?
  • Want to increase your influence and impact in your current role? 
  • Want a road map to put knowledge into practice? 

Want to up your game, no matter where you are? This book is your guide. 

The Audible version of this book can be found here. 

This post includes: 

  • A brief overview of the book
  • 10 of my favorite quotes
  • Three interviews with Brad Lomenick discussing H3 Leadership and more

Perhaps your in a hurry and the length of this post looks daunting. Here is the synopsis of the book in one sentence: Becoming a better leader is all about the habits you develop, in H3 Leadership Brad Lomenick walks you through 20 critical habits that can transform your life and leadership. 

H3 Leadership: Be Humble. Stay Hungry, Always Hustle. distills a career's worth of lessons learned into what is sure to be the next great leadership resource. 

A Brief Overview

One of my favorite aspects of Brad's book is that he approaches leadership from the standpoint of habit development saying, "The path to being a better leader is paved with the asphalt of the habits we develop." I don't know about you but I immediatly resonate with that sentiment. When I look at my life much of what I do is the result of my habits rather than concious decisions. If this is true, and I believe that it is, developing the right habits can transform your life, not to mention help you become the leader & human you want to be. Throughout H3 Ledership, Brad draws your attention to the qualities of great leaders and then teases out how you can develop the same habits in your life.

Todd Wagner is famous for saying that, "If you want to change the world, draw a circle around yourself and change everything inside the circle. Then invite other people into that circle." Brad picks up on this theme and opens by focusing on self work by encouraging readers to create, "intentional rhythms whereby one observes who he is, listens to his life, and strives to define himself apart from his professional assignments." This is huge because the temptation to find at least part of your identity in what you do is powerful. Here Brad provides a road map to developing rhythms to learn how you are wired. Among my favorite is his encouragement to keep a list of what you think makes you who you are, things that engergizes you, and give you a sense of purpose. As the work of self mastery continues openness, meekness, conviction, faith and assignment form the tapistry. The most important person a leader must lead is himself and the first six chapters of H3 Leadership set you up to do just that.     

If being humble is about knowing who you are, then staying hungry is certainly about knowing where you want to go. After years of languishing in agony and unhealthy imbalance Brad comes riding in to rescue our misconception of ambition. Brad helps us see that the posture of a properly ambitious person is "Never satisfied, but always content..." There is a proper context to our ambition and a road map for how we become the leader we want to be. A large component of that is staying hungry for knowledge. We all want to learn and grow when we first start out, but its those who remain curious who win in the end because they understand that, "If you're not learning, you're not leading to your full potential." Brad's chapter on curiosity was by far my favorite chapter and is included below as a quick sample. Here Brad discusses cultivating the habits of passion, innovation, inspiration and bravery as he helps you develop a taste for what life could be like if you mastered storytelling, facing down your fears and improve upon the status quo.  

In his closing section Brad shows you how to get to your destination by setting scary standards of excellence, serving others, sticking with things and nurturing healthy ryhtums. Where most pull back and skimp over the hard realities of leadership, Brad dives right in confronting our notions of excellence, discipline and team building. But he doesn't stop there, he gives you a road map back on course. After all, leaders have an incredible opportunity to impact lives. The good ones not only understand this, but lean into it. They've learned the secret that all great leaders know. "..their fruit most often grows on other people's trees." 

Brad brings his fastball with H3 Leadership. It's chalked full of helpful tips to establish new patterns and cultivate habits that not only help you win at work but in life as well.  

10 Awesome Quotes  

• There's no avoiding it: the patterns we cultivate shape the person we each become. Unfortunately, most people aren't intentional about the habits they're developing.

• Ask serious questions during conversations with others. Relational depth often emerges from intentional dialogue.

• Authentic leaders must have the strength to admit when they've made a mistake and take the steps to fix it.

• ...an influencer's unguarded greatest strength is also his or her greatest weakness - and therefore turns into his or her greatest temptation. Your best can bring you down. 

• Failure is crucial for innovation to actually become second nature for your team. If you're not failing, you're not risking enough.

• Do something every day that you weren't asked or told to do.

• Your twenties establish your seventies.

• Leadership is a choice, not a position. Be the leader you wish you had.

• Margin creates moments; it makes life more meaningful. Margin creates space for magic to happen. 

• The generous leader gives people what they truly want: knowledge, power, information, credit, praise, responsibility, and authority. 

If you want to take your life and leadership to the next level, H3 Leadership just might be the book you need to get in your hand. Tangible and highly applicational H3 Leadership has the potential to impact your life in some profound ways. 

Recent Interviews with Brad Lomenick

Hearing someone's voice can help us connect and understand them in a whole new way. Below I have included three great interviews featuring Brad. He shares extremely helpful value in each interview, so grab your headphones, pop them in and give these a listen. 

Brad discussing H3 Leadership on The Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast

In this interview Brad shares three essential components it takes to lead in today's culture. This one is a little long but Brad shares some awesome insights here that will be well worth your time. 

Brad on 5 Leadership Questions 

Here Brad discusses his journey, leading himself as well as others. Much of this discussion allows Brad to place the principles found in H3 Leadership within a real world context. 

Brad on the EntreLeadership Podcast

Brad expounds on the habits you need to get more done in this conversation with Ken Coleman.  

What keeps popping up?

This may sound like an odd question at first, but what keeps popping up in your life?

Before you start to feel uncomfortable and wonder why I'm getting in your stuff, lets talk about why I'm asking.

Over the years I have noticed that certain things pop up repeatedly. It doesn't matter where you go, what you listen to, or what you read, patterns and themes emerge. Things overlap, patterns form and themes repeat. 

This can be especially powerful when it takes place within a short period of time. When it happens over a series of weeks instead of months or years your brain makes connections more quickly and what you're hearing goes from connecting with a memory to connecting with recent experience.

Lean into the things that keeping popping up.

What I have found is that when things pop up repeatedly, I need to take note & listen. And you do too.

Those things that pop up over and over are quite possibly the most important things going on in your life. They just might be showing you traits, habits and patterns that could transform your life.

Four things that keep popping up everywhere I go are the importance of asking good questions, being intentional, staying consistent and listening to the Tim Ferris Show. I'm sure that I'll expound on these in the future but as I've leaned in to these four things over the last several weeks I've noticed improvement.

• Focusing on asking good questions has helped me adopt a learning mentality.

• Approaching my day with intention has transformed my productivity, and the depth of my relationships. 

• As I have leaned into remaining consistent I have learned that great things are accomplished by average people who don't give up.

• Listening to The Tim Ferriss Show has helped me not only learn a ton, but more importantly is helping me learn how to get the most out of every conversation by asking really good questions.

So I'll ask you again. What keeps popping up in your life?

No matter what keeps popping up, lean in. It just might change your life.  

How I Journal Daily

On Monday, we talked about how men and women throughout the ages have kept personal journals and three positive effects of daily journaling. If you missed it, run grab it so that you know where we are going today.

Today I want to help you establish journaling as a daily habit.

I'm sure that you've given journaling a shot once or twice before. Perhaps it didn't stick. Maybe you tried for a week or two, or maybe even three but eventually you stopped.

We usually fail to develop habits because we go about them unintentionally. We fail to think through the three main elements that matter. No matter the habit you are wanting to establish the three things you need to think through are: 

1. Time

Determine when you will journal. Ideally you would want to journal at the beginning of your day but in the end time of day isn't as important. Establish a time each day when you can retreat, think and write. Having a consistent time helps you in establishing a the habit as it becomes part of your routine. 

2. Place

Decide where you will journal. My wife has a favorite chair in our backyard that she enjoys spending her mornings in coffee in one hand and her journal in the other. Me, I prefer to sit in my office chair. No matter where you choose to write, pick a place and establish that as your daily journaling spot. Establishing a place helps root the habit to not just a time of day but also to a physical location. 

3. Plan

One of the most helpful ways to establish a journaling plan is to use a template. By using a template you'll remove the worry of what to write about. At first glance, this might appear confining but in reality it will create freedom. To create your very own journaling template spend some time thinking of a few questions that will help you process the day before, access how you are feeling & plan for the day ahead.

Not sure what questions to ask yourself? Below is an image of the journaling template I've been using.

My hand writing can be difficult to read at times so here are the eight questions I'm currently using:

Yesterday

1. What did I do yesterday? (hit the high notes. What do you want to remember?)
2. What lessons did I learn?

Now

3. What am I thankful for right now?
4. How am I feeling right now?

Today

5. What have I read in the last 24 hours? (record everything you've read since you last journaled. Maybe even a few important insights.)
6. What are my plans for today? (Review schedule and major tasks)
7. What one thing must I accomplish today?
8. Who will I see today and can I intentionally add value to their day?

Below is one of my real journal entries from the past few weeks. 

As you can see I ask myself the 8 questions and then write out my answers to each prompt. It is simple and helps me narrow my focus to the areas that really matter to me. If you're having difficulty coming up questions of your own, grab these and give them a try. Over time you will tweak the questions and eventually arrive at a template of your own.

7 Day Experiment: Establish a time, place and plan for journaling. Then give it a try for 7 days and let me know how it goes. 

One Thing You Must Add To Your Daily Routine

As we head into a new week, I want to share a little nugget I've stumbled upon over the last few weeks. 

Journaling.

Ok, I'm late to the party. People have been journaling for hundreds of years, especially 13 year old girls. 

Like me you might have given journaling a try here and there over the years only to drop the habit after a few days each time. Maybe you lacked will power to commit, didn't have the time or see the return on your investment, or perhaps you simply didn't know what to write when you sat down. I've run into each of these hurtles over the years and each has prevented me from developing the habit of journaling, until now. 

What changed? In short, I addressed the three major challenges that prevent you from establishing any routine, especially one like journaling.

But first, why is journaling worth all the fuss?

Much of what we know of the great men of ages past comes from private journals. Though great in their time and busy as you are, these men elevated the practice of daily journaling to one of great import. At some point each day they would sit with pen in hand to move thoughts out of their heads and onto the page. Often journaling was the activity they used to jump start their day. 

Over the last several weeks I have become convinced there are three main benefits to establishing this daily habit that could change your world in relative short order. 

1. Journaling draws your attention to patterns in your life.

Over time you'll recognize patterns in your life that would have otherwise gone unnoticed or would have only been so when they made a wreck of things. Your mind can't hold everything, or if it does you're unable to access every part of it. Journaling is a great help in organizing your thoughts, feelings, lessons learned, and major events. As time goes on you will be able to look back and reference things you'd otherwise miss.   

2. Journaling helps you clear your mind. 

I can't overstate the value of a clear mind to getting things done. Every day you have a million things swimming around in your head that distract and take a way from your day. Why not trap those thoughts, feelings and worries on the page of your journal? You will immediately feel free. Your mind will be less cluttered and you will be able to focus instead on getting stuff done. 

3. Journaling helps you cultivate intentionality

Daily writing and processing your thoughts helps you approach the day with an active mindset. You begin to think about what you will do, how you will do it and form a clear picture of exactly what must be accomplished. Daily journaling helps you lead your day instead of simply accepting your day. People live most of their life in a passive state. They simply accept what happens each day, instead of actively trying to shape it. Another way to say this is that most people live unintentionally. Journaling is one key practice that helps you cultivate a habit of intentionality. Cultivating this habit more than any other helps you get more done, and improves every other area of your life. If for no other reason, cultivating an intentional mindset alone is worth keeping a daily journal.

The Pareto Principle

You have so much going on that it can be quite overwhelming at times. To make it worse, a lot of what you spend your time doing doesn't add to your bottom line or help you accomplish your goals. With your attention pulled in so many directions it can be hard to keep focused on what truly matters. But how do you break this cycle and cut through the waste so you can focus on the truly important? 

 Vilefredo Pareto just might hold the key to unlocking the magic code to increasing productivity and regaining your sanity.

Never heard of Vilefredo Pareto? You're not alone.  

Vilefredo Pareto was an economist of little note who lived and died Switzerland almost 100 years ago. Not much of his work or life garners our attention. However, at some point in his 75 years of life Pareto stumbled upon a mathematical truth that could truly transform your life.

The Pareto Principle first popped up on my radar while reading The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss a little over a year ago. At it's most simple The Pareto Principle simply states that 80% of outputs come from 20% of inputs. This has been found to be true across all manner of disciplines including time management, customers, and economics.

A few alternative ways to look at the principle include:

• 20% of your customers generate 80% of your income

• 20% of your customers create 80% of you problems

• 80% of your results come from 20% of your effort and time

It drives home the concept of prioritization. What you focus on matters immensely. If you are focusing all of your efforts on the wrong things you won't get the results your working so hard to achieve. You will run yourself ragged with nothing to show. Thankfully, you can learn and apply the 80/20 principle to your life and alter the outcomes you are working so hard to reach.

Pareto and the 80/20 principle will be of most help to you if you leverage them to assess your current efforts. Here are three ways you can apply it:

1. Take stock of current efforts. Write down everything you are doing and outcomes it is producing. Be unattached from the outcomes here, simply list out your activity and how it has impacted your work, life, etc.

2. Reprioritize what's producing. Perhaps you find that phone calls are driving your business and resulting huge returns for you, despite the fact that you make very few. In that case, pick up the phone and start making more calls. The key here is to determine your areas of strength and multiply them.

3. Eliminate waste. Consider cutting those things that are wasting your time and energy. It might be something you think would be generating results but its just sucking up resources. Cut it ruthlessly. Find your inefficiencies and eliminate them. This will free you up to focus on what's actually generating for you.   

These three steps show where to double down and where to eliminate. Apply this principle to your life, get a hold of the few things that truly matter, and see how drastically it transforms things for you. 

Bonus tip:

Develop a "Stop Doing" List

A few weeks back I wrote a series of questions to help you evaluate the items on your "to do" list that pairs well with the Pareto Principle that will be helpful to you. Here is an expert from that post:

"The solution to your crazy schedule and consequently a crazy task list isn't just another list but the process of evaluating exactly what you are doing each day. A "stop doing" list helps you take a cold hard look at what you are doing and literally stop doing those things that are not the most fruitful for you and your team."

Bonus Resource:

For more on the Pareto Principle and other awesome tips that are sure to shatter your world, in a good way, check out The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss.