Success emerges from habits. Doing the right things over and over leads to sustained success in any endeavor, but especially in fundraising and leadership. In order to form effective habits, you must have balance in your life. And I’ve come to believe that balance can be achieved by following the 3 R’s. If you do the 3 R’s regularly, you will achieve balance and you will have success. Here are the 3 R’s:
- Read – allow yourself the opportunity to be stretched intellectually from the ideas of others. I’m not talking about casual reading, but pick up something that challenges your thinking about work and life.
- Run – find some way to push yourself physically. It may not be running, per se, but you should regularly work up a sweat.
- Reflect – whether you pray or not, you should take time to reflect on the goodness of life and the blessings you enjoy. In addition, I would encourage you to pause and learn from your past efforts – both good and bad.
Think about it: Each day if you practice the 3 R’s – Read, Run, and Reflect – you will be at a distinct advantage. You will enhance your leadership capabilities. But it isn’t enough to implement the 3 R’s for a little while. You must employ them as a regular part of your life. When you make the 3 R’s a habit and regular part of your life, good things will happen.