Self Leadership and
The New Leadership Playbook
Blog by Andrew Bryant

The philosophy of stoicism offers profound life lessons that remain relevant today, guiding individuals through personal and professional challenges. Integrating stoicism with self-leadership strategies is a powerful way to live a successful life.

Far from being a thing of the past philosophy is as relevant today as it ever was. In an era of disinformation, we must hone our critical thinking skills, and as AI becomes more integrated into our work, we must gain clarity on what it takes to be human.

In this blog, we will look at how stoicism gets upgraded to a modern context, and how you can apply it to your success.

The first Stoic

Zeno of Citium, in modern-day Cyprus, was the first stoic philosopher. He shared his ideas for a path to a well-lived life near the end of the 4th century BC.

Zeno himself lived a life far removed from what we would call success today. Shunning possessions, and living unwashed in the street, he would be considered a lunatic by today’s standards.

Zeno...

How strong is your identity?

You didn’t get a choice about the time and place of your birth or the culture you are born into, and so your early identity is a matter of chance.

As you mature, you may question,

“Who am I?
What do I want to become?”

This is the beginning of self-awareness, but it will take practicing self-leadership to exercise choice to become the best version of yourself.

When I speak on stage at conferences, conventions, or events, I often share stories of overcoming my own challenges, and some inspiring stories from my clients, or public figures.

I tell my audience, “I would never wish adversity upon anyone, but also I wouldn’t deny anyone tough times”. Through adversity and tough times, we discover what we are capable of and find our self-leadership.

 Victor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist, and Holocaust survivor, wrote the bestselling book, “Man's Search for Meaning”. Frankl said,

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Tough times don't last but tough people do, is a quote that has often inspired me to keep going. Recent global disruptions are frustrating, disorientating, and very sad, and yes, it’s OK to feel the emotions that come with these upheavals. For those who have a roof over their head and food in their belly, it's a time to discover what’s really important and what you are made of.

In my 2012 book on Self-leadership with Dr. Ana Kazan, we described Self-leadership as:

"the practice of intentionally influencing your thinking, feeling and actions towards your objectives”

Right now we need to be practicing self-leadership and one way of 're-framing' how we think about things is through quotes. I'm sure you have your favorite quote that you turn to, to get you through tough times, but to get you started:

15 Self-leadership Quotes

1.    “Mastering others is strength; mastering oneself is true power” - Lao Tsu

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