If A Mirror Could Talk
If a mirror could talk, what would it say? Each and every day we roll out of bed and face the reality of what the mirror possesses. It stares right back at us and through us. One of my favorite songs of all time is Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson. The song can generate emotions and stir souls. Its lyrics challenge us to start with us, change our ways, and make the world a better place. The chorus says: I’m starting with the man in the mirror,I’m asking him to change his ways,And no message could have been any clearer,If you want to make the world a
Surrounded by Better
Great leaders are surrounded by better. Early in my career I was told by many others, “hire people smarter than me.” Like most advice I received at the time, I heard it…but didn’t always put it into action. As I have grown in my leadership journey, this concept become one of the greatest pieces of advice I have ever received. The college football season just came to an end. The Georgia Bulldogs won their second consecutive College Football Playoff National Championship. They won both championships with a quarterback, Stetson Bennett, who in most people’s eyes was not capable of leading the Bulldogs to one, much less two. The
Redirect Journeys
There are people and moments in life that redirect journeys. Good, bad, or indifferent the person or the experience meets you at a critical intersection of your life. I call these people and moments Interceders…someone or something that has redirected our journeys. Intersections I operate in the world of government for a career. Roads are a critical piece to the public infrastructure system that gets people from one place to another. There are critical junctures in these transportation systems well known as intersections. Intersections are a point where paths of travel cross. If you live in a community that has a Downtown or City Center, most likely
The Whole Staircase
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said, “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” As humans, we tend to want to know what awaits us at the end of a long, dark staircase. The unknown of what awaits us creates uncertainty in our worlds’ leading to impatience and impulsivity. Both can lead to a costly stumble and fall. This week, we draw four observations between a staircase and our leadership journeys: Handrails An easily forgotten component of a staircase are the handrails. Most of us get pretty used to traveling up and down staircases without even utilizing them. We can be
Fundamentals are Foundational
Fundamentals are foundational to leadership. They are the basis of which big ideas and dreams are built on. Lack of fundamentals can build shallow Foundations where those same big ideas and dreams fail to get traction. I have had the pleasure of coaching youth sports my entire adult life. Football, baseball, basketball, and wrestling. Regardless of the sport, everything starts with the Fundamentals. They do not always shine brightest, but they are the foundation of our success. Solid fundamentals are not just required in sports. They are a must in Leadership. Let’s look at three ways fundamentals become foundational: Require Repetition All too often in the world
Earning Our Wings
Earning our wings in leadership has one fundamental requirement, to serve others well. Each of us have had the awesome responsibility of leading people bestowed upon us. We have been entrusted to be the person that gets them where they need to go. My favorite movie of all time is It’s a Wonderful Life. I watch it at the turn of every new year and anytime I need an adjustment in my perspective. If you have never seen it, I highly recommend it. There are so many leadership principals buried in this classic. Clarence The main character in the movie is George Bailey. He is a pillar of
Wonder in Awe
With the passage of time, it is easy to lose our wonder in awe. Christmas morning is a great reminder of this. It produces Unexpected Moments, Unforgettable Memories. As a child, we eagerly anticipate the arrival of Christmas morning. I distinctly remember waking up throughout the night, intensely focused on the clock. Trying to will the minutes to pass one by one. When the time came, I would rush out of the bedroom and straight to the presents. Everything had magically appeared, piled around the Christmas tree, I stood there, full of wonder in awe. Here are two reflections I had on Christmas Day, that challenged me
Grappling with Time
Grappling with time is a never-ending battle. Time is our most valuable, yet limited resource we have. We never can, nor will know how much of it we have left. This past Sunday, I took my son to compete in his first wrestling tournament. Wrestling is a form of grappling. Oddly enough, his first tournament took place at a school only a few miles away from where I wrestled my final high school match nearly twenty-three years ago. It was a forty-five-minute drive, so there was a lot of time to reflect on that. My life looks a lot of different now, then it did then. People
Grow In Giving
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero Grow in Giving On January 1st when you look back at the holidays, what will you be glad that you prioritized? For our family, the holidays are a time of traditions and family time, but also a wonderful time to prepare our hearts and minds for being grateful and giving back to others. Our children will of course remember visiting Santa, viewing Christmas lights and baking cookies. If we are intentional about incorporating service into our December, we can also show our children how Christmas is more about
The Recipe for Community
The recipe for community starts with one key ingredient…its people. Without that ingredient, the recipe just doesn’t work. The end product is bland, lacking in flavor. A community is simply a group of people that exist together. In an ideal community, everyone in a leadership position desires to better others and the world they live in. They want the people in their communities to have a great quality of life and will do what it takes to provide it. Acworth, Georgia I write this very blog because of my lifetime of experiences growing up in what I feel is the best community in the world, Acworth, Georgia. The