Adam Kirk Smith

- A. Smith Blog - Leadership in Life

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How Better Sleep Can Make You A Better Leader

How many times have you thought to yourself “If I push through one more hour, I will finish everything I set out to achieve”? You probably even feel like you are being more productive when you skip out on sleep to finish up work, but compromising on sleep actually hinders our leadership abilities.

Being an effective leader isn’t just about talent, confidence, and a poised demeanor. In fact, getting a good night’s sleep and effective leadership go hand in hand. The prefrontal cortex is the part of our brain that is in charge of higher-order cognitive processes, including problem-solving, planning, organizing, executing, and reasoning. Our leadership behaviors rely closely on the prefrontal cortex and without it, we wouldn’t be able to get anything done. And while other parts of the brain can carry on with little sleep, the prefrontal cortex cannot, which causes our leadership skills to suffer when we sleep poorly.

Here are three ways that getting better sleep can make you a better leader:  [Read more…] about How Better Sleep Can Make You A Better Leader

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Never Stop Learning

33% of U.S. high school graduates will never read a book after high school and 42% of college students will never read another book after they graduate. While this statistic is disheartening, it’s not surprising. Our education system is structured in a way that turns everyone into well-rounded people all the way through undergraduate classes in university instead of allowing individuals to solely focus on the things they care about for those fifteen years. Of course, this is because most sixth graders have no idea what they want to do for the rest of their lives, so it’s a good idea to show them options. On the other hand, forcing people to study various subjects for which they care nothing for will leave anyone looking for something else.

So, what are we to do post-graduation? After studying texts and lectures, merely to pass our exams, what do we do to ensure long-term learning? Find a curiosity for something valuable. It was physicist Albert Einstein who said, “I have no special talent, I am only passionately curious.” American author, William Arthur Ward, also said, “Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning.” And if curiosity was good enough for Einstein and Ward, then it is surely enough for the rest of us.

If you need another reason to relentlessly pursue curiosity, even after reading about brilliant individuals such as Einstein and Ward crediting their success to it, here’s one: Above all else, curiosity ensures that we never believe we have it all figured out. Author John Maxwell said, “The greatest enemy of learning is knowing.” And if that wasn’t enough, the Greek philosopher Socrates said, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”

I love learning new things, but is there more to this story than the need to continually store up knowledge? There has to be.

Do you never want to stop learning? Find a curiosity for something that matters, and then above all else, do something with it. Because while learning is invaluable, if you have all the knowledge in the world and do nothing with it, you’ve squandered the most valuable opportunity available–to make a difference in the world.

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The Critic and the Creator

“It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things.” – Theodore Roosevelt

“Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” – Aristotle

Critics critique by pointing out how they would have done things, but the creator is in charge of how their creation turns out. Thus, the relationship between the critic and the creator. One takes action and the other watches. But strange enough, both are needed. As Oscar Wilde said, “The critic has to educate the public; the artist has to educate the critic.” So, what are creators to do? Keep creating. Because in the end, you are creating for yourself and your audience, not the critic.

And what does that leave for critics to do? Choose to take positive action over spewing negative words. Rather than scold those who are willing to put their hearts and souls into something, show us how you would do it better. Not out of spite, but from a space of necessity. (Trust me, there are thousands of other people who are ready to take your place, criticizing the work of others. We will not miss out on knowing how awful something is.)

It would not pain the rest of us to see your work. We actually need your creation more than your critique. In fact, let your creation become your critique.