From Hard-Ass to Bad-Ass

The next time you hit a crossroads in your life path, consider the options – Should I be half-ass about it, or choose to be a bad-ass? There’s something to be said for being half-ass. It’s safe, it’s predictable, it’s necessary (depending on what else is going on in your life).

But if you choose that bad-ass path, it may be kind of scary. It’s choosing to be consistently great, being confident that you can do it when you may not be sure you can, choosing to level yourself up, knowing that you’ll inevitably fail. If you have the courage and insight to choose that path, perhaps this post will help you succeed.

1. Set and respect your moral compass. It is the foundation you need to succeed. With it, you’ll know that your successes will matter to yourself, your team, your company, the world. Without it, nobody else will really care if you succeed.
2. Know your strengths and cater to your strengths. Do the internal work necessary to know unequivocally what your proven and aspirational strengths are, plus any areas of weaknesses you need to bolster in order to succeed.
3. Follow your vision – it has to start with a passion to change the world and a strategic idea which can be tactfully implemented.
4. Follow your instincts, but make sure that the data backs up your instincts. Your gut is seldom wrong so listen closely to it. But be curious about the facts behind your feelings.
5. Embrace the uncomfortable. Staying comfortable made you good at being half-ass. If you’re choosing bad-ass, be open to ideas, people, functions, protocols, technologies and everything else which makes you shiver in fear, shudder in disgust, cringe with dread.
6. Surround yourself with people who are better than you. Empower people around you to succeed.
7. Find your best fit within a group of great people. Park your ego and seek and realize the greater good. Disassociate from people who do this in thoughts and words only.
8. You’re going to fail, so accept that fact and be stronger and smarter with the next iteration. Not even bad-asses can bat 1000.
9. Make a statement, don’t stand on the fence. Even if it means swimming against the tide.
10. Believe that you can change the world. We need a world of change agents.

Share YOUR bad-ass story.

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