Fallon Shay’s Reviews > Impact: Great Leadership Changes Everything > Status Update

“Although many influences seem absolutely harmless on the surface, they actually have great power to shape our beliefs. Whatever we allow to go into our core unfiltered and unthinking is a cause for concern.”

“Most people who regret impulsive acts or decisions actually had restraining self-talk going on during their misguided action, but the stress and noise of their circumstances drowned out their quiet voice of reason.”

“A lack of self-regulation is at the center of many leader failures. Failure to regulate behavior inevitably undermines a leader’s aspirations to be strong and to have an enduring legacy.”

“When we use power for self-serving ends we often get compliance from those we lead, but we do not engage their commitment to willingly follow us.”

“Unchecked power feels arrogance and the belief that we are smarter and more capable than, in reality, we may be.“

“The self-focus that power fosters can lead to a perceived sense of self-importance.”

“Though power is inherently neither good nor bad, unregulated power is a highly potent force that can exert an insidious effect on our core when we obtain it. For most people, power is acquired slowly, and therefore, it’s core-altering effect is subtle. Power is odorless and tasteless like carbon monoxide and can overpower us without warning.”

Our culture’s obsession with striving to look perfect makes us reluctant to look at our own duality—that some of our impulses are noble, while others are not so benevolent. It is not that we have yielded to our shadow, but we prefer to deny that we even have a shadow.

“Healthy self-examination is very different from the narcissism inherent in self-absorption. A self-absorbed person views self-reflection as an end in itself, which is nothing more than a preoccupation with his or her own inner workings. These are the people who actually enjoy navel gazing!”

“Self-examination in the here and now is not easy, because it requires our brains to multitask. We have to pay attention to the content of whatever we are doing, while at the same time, monitoring and adjusting our emotional responses and actions in the present.“