Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and golajving. This
Speaker 1: is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul
Speaker 1: fella Aledo. Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute
Speaker 1: Leadership Podcast. It's episode five sixteen. I want you to
Speaker 1: pause for a second and think about this phrase, respect
Speaker 1: your future self. It sounds simple, but when you really
Speaker 1: think about it, this might be one of the most
Speaker 1: powerful leadership lessons of all time. Imagine you're tempted to
Speaker 1: skip studying for an exam. You tell yourself, I'll be fine.
Speaker 1: Then tomorrow comes and you're sitting there wishing you had
Speaker 1: studied that moment. That regret is your future self realizing
Speaker 1: that your past self didn't have your now flip that
Speaker 1: idea to leadership. You're leading a team, you've had a
Speaker 1: long day, and you're staring at that stack of reports
Speaker 1: or that performance review that's due tomorrow. You think I'll
Speaker 1: get to it later, but later always comes, and when
Speaker 1: it does, your future self walks into chaos, unprepared, stressed,
Speaker 1: and frustrated because past you didn't do the work. Respecting
Speaker 1: your future self is about making decisions today that set
Speaker 1: tomorrow's version of you up for success. When I was
Speaker 1: learning to fly, my flight instructor had a rule, never
Speaker 1: make your future self have to work harder than your
Speaker 1: present self could have. In aviation, that means staying ahead
Speaker 1: of the airplane. Anticipate the next step, the next frequency,
Speaker 1: the next altitude change. You don't wait until the air
Speaker 1: traffic controller tells you to climb. You already know it's coming.
Speaker 1: That's leadership, too. Great leaders stay ahead of the organization,
Speaker 1: ahead of the decisions, ahead of the chaos. They respect
Speaker 1: their future selves by building margin, preparation, and structure into
Speaker 1: their day. And here's a question to ask yourself. If
Speaker 1: tomorrow's version of you could talk to you right now,
Speaker 1: what would they say. Would they thank you for getting
Speaker 1: ahead on that project. Would they appreciate that you made
Speaker 1: the tough call today instead of letting it drag out
Speaker 1: for weeks. Would they say thank you for getting enough sleep,
Speaker 1: eating writer, taking that walk instead of working yourself into burnout.
Speaker 1: Or would they shake their head and say you knew better.
Speaker 1: That's the internal accountability system of great leadership. You don't
Speaker 1: need a boss, a policy, or a deadline to do
Speaker 1: the right thing because you're already thinking about your future self,
Speaker 1: sitting in that next meeting, leading that next project, or
Speaker 1: facing that next challenge. So here are a few ways
Speaker 1: to respect your future self starting today. Number one, plan
Speaker 1: one step ahead before you leave work right tomorrow's top
Speaker 1: three priorities. That's your gift to your future self clarity.
Speaker 1: Number two, say no to short term comfort. Every time
Speaker 1: you take the easy way out, your future self pays
Speaker 1: for it was stress, clean up, and regret. Don't do
Speaker 1: that to yourself. Number three, protect your time. Future You
Speaker 1: will thank you for the boundaries you set today. That
Speaker 1: extra meeting you didn't need, that email you didn't answer
Speaker 1: right away, Those small decisions protect your mental runway. Number
Speaker 1: four do the boring things early. Great leaders know that small,
Speaker 1: consistent effort compounds, whether it's budget's, maintenance schedules, or documentation.
Speaker 1: The earlier you tackle it, the easier your future becomes.
Speaker 1: Number five, take care of your body and your mind.
Speaker 1: Leadership is a marathon, not a sprint. Your future self
Speaker 1: needs you healthy, centered and sharp, not burn out and
Speaker 1: running on caffeine and anxiety. When I first became the
Speaker 1: chief of EMS, I used to say yes to everything,
Speaker 1: every meeting, every request every event. It felt like I
Speaker 1: was being productive, but my future self, the one who
Speaker 1: showed up exhausted and over extended, wasn't impressed. So I
Speaker 1: started asking a new question before I said yes to anything,
Speaker 1: Will this decision make my future self's life better or harder?
Speaker 1: That one question changed everything. It gave me permission to
Speaker 1: protect my time, my energy, and my priorities. And it
Speaker 1: forced me to think long term, not just about what
Speaker 1: I wanted now, but who I wanted to be six
Speaker 1: months from now. You see, the best leaders aren't living
Speaker 1: for the moment. They're building for the moments ahead. They're
Speaker 1: engineering a future where they can look back and say
Speaker 1: thank you past me for doing the work. So here's
Speaker 1: your challenge today, do one thing your future self will
Speaker 1: thank you for. It could be as small as cleaning
Speaker 1: out your inbox, as big as setting a financial goal,
Speaker 1: or as personal as finally having that conversation that you've
Speaker 1: been avoiding. Whatever it is, take action today, because tomorrow's
Speaker 1: leader you is counting on it. This has been the
Speaker 1: seven Minute Leadership Podcast, and I thank you for listening.
Speaker 1: For more Paul fell of Alito Podcasts, visit Paulfellavalito dot com.
Speaker 1: Um