The Gravitational Pull Towards Ordinary
Every leader faces a constant gravitational pull towards ordinary. The existence of these opposing forces is undeniable and at times unstoppable. These daily forces can actively work against our ability to be extraordinary. The pull towards ordinary disrupts our intentions to do more and be more. Intention vs Direction I’ve heard it said two ways. Andy Stanley said, “Direction, not intention determines your destination” and Kyle Idleman said, “intention doesn’t determine direction.” Both statements draw a clear delineation between our intentions and the direction we are heading. The tension between ordinary and extraordinary. Not sure about you, but I wake up with the best of intentions every single
The Full Story Helps
Whenever a leader receives information, the full story helps. Receiving a portion of the story, missing an underlying point, or being communicated to vaguely does not help a leader in their decision making. Having the full story helps, always. The Big Game The scene is a highly anticipated first round matchup between the defending Super Bowl Champion Acworth Warriors and the undefeated Hillgrove Hawks. An early season loss had impacted our seeding headed into the post season tournament which created this tough first round matchup. Everything was on the line for this eight-year-old football game! Don’t judge. My quarterback that season was a kid named Peyton. He was
A Willingness to Better Others
Difference makers in local communities display the ability and willingness to better others and the worlds they live in. Everyone has the ABILITY TO, the key differentiator is WILLINGNESS. A select group of the willing are about to take the stage and assume their starring role in making their communities better. Their stage is the classroom. A Front Row Seat While I am not an educator, I have a solid perspective on the work they do. I have had a front row seat for Shannon’s twelve years of teaching. In fact, as I write this post, she’s spending her last Sunday before school starts preparing for the first
Every Jersey Tells A Story
On the sports field, every jersey tells a story. I grew up playing America’s past time, the great sport of baseball. The rules of the game required us to wear jerseys. The jersey usually had to contain the team’s name, the player’s last name, and the player’s number. The contents of a jersey can tell you a lot about the player. The stories are told through each meticulous stitch of fabric that displays their name, number, and the patches honoring others. The words and numbers represent who they are as an individual and who they belong to as a team. Every morning we prepare to go to work,
No Rain, No Flowers
Where there is no rain, no flowers grow, pretty simple. Water is a necessary nutrient for any plant to grow. When it comes to certain varieties of plants, their flower sets them apart. My family and I are at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida this week. Sometimes, I will head into writing days with no topic. I either pick one from a list in my Evernote or something comes to me that day. While I prefer processing a concept thoroughly through the week, I also enjoy the challenge of writing to a title that just comes up. As I was walking through one of Universal’s theme parks one
Little Known Heroes
Little known heroes are hidden in the fabric of communities throughout this world. They operate in the smallest places and make the biggest difference. These little known heroes are the backbone of a community’s success…past, present, and future. The world would look a lot different if they didn’t exist. I Planted the Flag on my writing journey on January 6, 2021. Seventy-eight weekly posts and more than 100,000 words later, I can easily find myself forgetting the purpose of this blog. Leadership and Main’s intended target was to reach leaders in local communities. No knock on our National and State leaders, we need leadership there, but most serve
Unexpected Moments, Unforgettable Memories
Unexpected moments, unforgettable memories. All of us work so hard in life to plan for those perfect moments with our favorite people. We spend extensive time and large amounts of money planning vacations, cruises, camping trips, and other memorable experiences just to fall short of unforgettable. The unforgettable memories are created in those experiences which are unplanned and unexpected. Last Tuesday, I decided to text the kids towards the end of my workday and told them to get ready, we are going to hike to the top of Kennesaw Mountain. I was well aware that my twelve-year-old son (Grant) and my fourteen-year-old daughter (Ashtyn) had slept in late
Square Peg, Round Hole
Square peg, round hole is one of my go to phrases in moments of frustration. It enters my mind and accelerates to the tip of my tongue in those moments. I am grateful that it tends to stay there…most of the time! There was a toy that most of us played with in our infancy. It was a simple, wooden toy. The toy set included a wooden mallet, three different shaped pegs, and three correlating holes. The set is complete with a round peg, round hole; star peg, star hole; and square peg, square hole. The intention is that each one fits in its respective hole. We are
Shortcuts Can Bypass
Shortcuts can bypass so many valuable lessons in a leader’s journey. One of my Father’s Day gifts to myself was a little solitude in the form of exercise. I got up early before the rest of the fam did and hiked Kennesaw Mountain. I hadn’t made the climb in a while, but it didn’t take long to see a new feature to the trail. Shortly into the hike I saw a newly installed split rail fence. It was in an area where the trail I use intersects with another trail. From there, the two trails become one. A primary rule of the park is to stay on the designated
Growing Tomatoes and People
The process of growing tomatoes and people have a lot in common. Yes, tomatoes and leadership! A gardener tends to the growth of plant, a leader tends to the growth of people. The intentions of a gardener and a leader are the same, growth of what they care for. There are nine and a half acres in Canton, Georgia that are extremely special to me. It is a piece of property that my Maw Maw and Paw Paw bought back in 1996 that we fondly refer to as, “The Land.” I spent many springs and summers as a teenager gardening alongside Paw Paw there. I learned the value