I recently did an exercise where someone asked me to list my values. I've done this with a list and without it. For me, it is easier to start with a list and then whittle it down. Basically I end up with wanting to contribute, be recognized for my exceptional work, and be a good and honest person. These are my core values. We all have them. They are those values that guide our actions and decisions without our really even thinking about them. It is usually only when we are somehow asked to violate them that we realize how important they are to us. As children, it might be when all of our "friends" are picking on the kid in the class who is "different" and something inside of us wants to protect that person. As teenagers, it might be when our friends are pressuring us to drink, do drugs, or have sex and we decide that pizza and movies on a Friday night at home might not be the worst thing. In college, it might be when we really want to take tha...
Life and leadership are not about which path you take, they are about the choices you make when the roads diverge. The are not achieved in a one-day or one-month. They are compiled through a lifetime of education, experience, and reflection.