If you listen to the stories being told about the Kennedy family you'll frequently hear, John's picture was proudly hung in my living room. Almost certainly, Ted who was the youngest of nine was very proud of this. Imagine yourself though following that example.

I believe life is often about desire and commitment. By this I mean passion for success in all its aspects and a willingness to "do whatever it takes" to live that passion. Whether its work, marriage, raising children or health these elements are crucial.

Maybe a month after Ted Kennedy began treatment for brain cancer he made the trip to Washington to cast a decisive vote. He continued to work the phones and run committee meetings from his bed in Hyannis Port until the very end.

Business this year has a common theme, survival. Whether you revered Ted Kennedy or disagreed with him; his life was an example of moving forward and getting up to live and fight another day. Somehow he found the courage to walk through overwhelming tragedy and adversity, keep smiling and grow personally from the experience.

What challenges do you need to walk through?

• Dealing with a messy employee situation
• Telling a customer, prospect or employee no
• Raising prices
• Cutting costs
• Changing yourself
• Moving a non-performer out of the company
• Being tougher and more demanding
• Doing what you don't want to do

Whatever the history books say about Senator Kennedy; he was always committed to his cause, unabashed in his beliefs, tenacious, incredible hard working, willing to speak his mind, passionate and very resilient. So if you find yourself thinking about him ask yourself, what lesson can I learn from his life?

Recently I spoke to a CEO who was frustrated by the performance of one division in his company.  He concluded he needed to hire a new sales team. He could articulate the compelling reasons for change and the negative impact this non-performance was having on the business.

When I asked him what the current sales leader's role would be in the future, as well as his own (CEO's) role in managing the new staff, he became defensive. He understood that the current sales leader was a big part of the problem and was very frustrated by this, but his willingness to make changes and his approach to solving the problem was another story.

Are you a leader who doesn't like the nitty gritty of sales management? Are you hoping your salespeople will be successful entirely on their own? Are you expecting a different outcome without changing how you lead and manage?

If so what are you really saying?  Perhaps it sounds like this. "All I want is to hire someone who knows exactly what to do with all the right contacts, that doesn't need or want help and will overachieve on their own".

When was the last time you hired anyone like that and how quickly after you hired them did they fail or start their own company?