[LL]: Decide Who You Are Before Circumstance Does

Hey Leader 🙌

Happy Monday!

A handful of years ago, I read a quote that stopped me cold:

“A leader who has not decided who he is will be decided for him by circumstance.”

Read that again.

Because leadership starts long before you lead a team.

It starts with leading yourself.

That quote pushed me to create my Leadership Manifesto. I share it with my team and update it annually.

Here it is:

Bryce Henson. Leadership Manifesto

I turn life’s adversity to my advantage, because it is.

I accept complete responsibility for my life.

I wake up before 5 am on the attack.

I work out my body every day, as it is a privilege to do so.

I do not drink alcohol, because it is a poison.

I live with intense urgency, because Father Time is undefeated.

I am the hardest worker in the room, because I trust hard work.

I take the stairs, which is also a metaphor for choosing hard.

I understand that hard becomes easy and easy becomes hard.

I travel the world to gain perspective, because perspective is leadership and leadership is perspective.

I play for the long game, because the short game always goes long.

I control the controllables, because that is within my ability and nothing else is.

I am a man of my word and commit to a lifestyle of rigorous honesty.

I leave people and things better than I found them.

I love humanity and fight for what is right.

I lead with love but will not back down or give in to anyone.

I protect those who cannot protect themselves.

I have a chip on my shoulder, rage in my eye, fire in my belly, and I use it for good.

I am the man I needed as a child.

I am an uncommon man amidst uncommon men.

I am exceptional, which means I have to be the exception.

I am the American Dream story.

I am a Leader of Leaders.

 

These are more than words.

They are standards.

Because when adversity hits, pressure rises, and circumstances get messy, you rarely rise to your intentions.

You fall back on your standards.

My leadership lesson for you?

Decide who you are before circumstance decides for you.

This week, write your own Leadership Manifesto.

Define how you think, act, communicate, and lead when life gets hard.

Then share it and live it.

Bryce Henson
CEO, Fit Body, Inc. 

PS Want to see the five-step process that transformed my body, business, communication, and leadership? Join the launch list for Turn Adversity Into Advantage, launching October 20.

 

The 5 Immutable Rules of Leadership

1. Take Extreme Ownership: Everything is your responsibility, even when it’s not your fault.
2. Put Your Oxygen Mask On First: Lead yourself before leading others.
3. Wield Influence Through Moral Authority: People follow who you are, not what you say.
4. It’s Not About You, Never Was, Never Will Be: Elevate others, build legacy.
5. Turn Adversity Into Advantage: Pain is your power; use it.