The title of this post could also be “Roses and Other Things I Seldom Stop and Smell,” however, that might give the impression that I suffer from the inability to enjoy the things of life which require an occasional slowing. Nothing could be further from the truth as, though I am one who works incredibly hard, I can also totally shut down and enjoy the fruits of the labor, savor the victories, and yes, indeed, stop to smell the proverbial flowers of the rose variety. Case in point, I just returned from a quick but satisfying time away with my wife and close friends, even though I’m still in the middle of the busiest season of my year. Just last week, I closed the largest event of the season and two weeks before that completed two difficult courses in my own personal educational process. Both of these were amidst an incredibly intense six months both professionally and personally which have taken a tremendous amount of energy, emotion, perseverance, and focus. If I do say so myself, if anyone deserves to stop and sniff, it’s me right now! However, to do so would be to break one of the fundamental principles by which I function as a leader…always looking forward.
Regardless of the success or failure of a project, there is always another one coming. It may be another holiday, organizational goal, personal accomplishment, or emerging need that needs my attention, but the day I don’t have something to look forward to is the day that I will begin to decline. I’ve met people who hit great heights or met substantive goals in their life, but then fade into the sunset because they didn’t have another project or objective to keep them moving forward. They no longer had something to get out of bed for, and slowly their life began a gradual and deadly decline. To use another metaphor (by the way I’ve been told I am the “king of metaphors”) a plane uses the most amount of energy to get off the ground, and although it takes much less energy to stay in the air once there, if you totally cut the engine, it may glide for a while in a blissful silence, but eventually it will fall from the sky. Smaller as it may be, effort is required to stay safely in the air.
A while back, I was speaking to a group I was leading about the various stories I had written which we use in some of the big events I produce. People were saying why one story or another was their favorite and I was asked about my own personal favorite. Understand that each story is like a child to me, so I have an emotional attachment to each of the dozens of stories and hundreds of characters I’ve created, so I was struggling to pick just one which I could identify as my favorite. Then someone spoke up with so much clarity and insight into my very being that I’ve never forgotten it. He said that he knew what my favorite was without question. Intrigued, I asked him to tell me! He said “Your favorite is the next one.” Absolutely correct! I love the things I have done and the things that I do now, but more than anything, I look forward to what’s next. As I work on one holiday event, I’m always in the process of planning the next holiday. As I finish one class, I’m preparing for my next one. One degree leads to another, one project completed makes room for something new, one career position transitions to the next. I am always looking forward and I don’t expect I will ever be any other way.
I believe great leadership is all about looking forward to what people can become and organizations can accomplish, plus what we can do to become a better version of ourselves in service of those whom we are privileged to lead. Yes, the successes of the past are wonderful (though with no bearing on today’s need for effort or focus), and the activities and people before us right now deserve our full attention, but what really matters isn’t what we have done or are doing today. What really will matter is what we do tomorrow and the next day as we string together a lifetime of legacy – a lifetime which spans every day until we are called home. No resting on laurels, no reliving of what has already been, and only brief pauses to smell whatever you choose to smell, but I promise you, the best smelling roses are still to bloom.
Lead well.