I remember when I was younger and
In college, I used to have roommates.
They were all cool guys, but I remember
One in particular.
One of the guys happens to be a CEO for
A national company. One of the youngest ever
But doesn’t surprise me or anyone one bit.
Why? Because this guy is a natural leader.
Let me break it down for you…
This guy was one of the nicest guys ever
But he was tough, because he had high
Expectations for himself, he also had them
For everyone around him.
But it wasn’t even about that.
You see, this guy was so nice and so helpful
That although he expected a lot out of you
You almost felt bad disappointing him.
He would go out of his way to help anyone
And he never seemed put off by it.
He’d get up early and refill the coffee pot
For us and remind others to do the same.
You would always see him holding doors
And helping those that need help.
We all recognize these qualities of a leader
But there’s a bit more to it than that.
Through his leadership he also found a way
To make others happy and that’s what
I’m interested in talking about today..
What is a leader?
That’s a great question that I think can be
Answered by looking at a leader’s qualities
I’ve already listed a few, but I could
Go on for an eternity and I still wouldn’t
Have given you any more of an idea as to
What a Good one looks like
So check this…
How about we break it down to one
Simple, identifiable trait.
COURAGE
Even my roommate, the guy that didn’t
Always pick up his socks, but never
Complained about leaving ours around.
Had an enormous amount of courage.
Because he was also the leader of a
Frat that was not known for it’s model
Behavior, but he developed a culture
At least in my 4 years there, where
The members (myself included)
Believed more in his vision for helping
Others and having fun than our own
Vision of partying and wrecking other
Frat houses.
Oh did I forget to mention I was
In that frat?
NE hoo, what’s important to recognize
Here is that this one guy changed over
104 years of tradition of partying, raiding
Sororities, and terrorizing other frats, In
Lieu of a kinda nicer fraternity that came to
Be respected and loved, in a way similar
To what people showed to the leader.
ONE GUY changed a reputation that stood
For 104 years…
What will you do with your life today?
Jerry “tradition changer” Washington
P.S. I wish I kept in contact with that guy
We all knew he would be great, just like
We all know when we see a good leader.
Tomorrow, I want to talk a little more
About what it means to have courage
And what you can to grow it in your
Life. I always (try to) pick up the conversation
In my private Facebook group, so if you’re
Itching to talk more about this, I would
Encourage you to join the conversation
Over there at Project SELFFY. Talk soon…