One of my favorite books about Walt Disney is written by Pat Williams. In How to be Like Walt, Williams states that one of the ways we should live like the great Walt Disney is, “Above all, live your life as a grand adventure. Wade out into the depths of this life and meet it on your own terms.” Now that’s the type of leader I want to be, and especially the type I want to follow. One who looks at life head on and says, “we’re not going to settle for anything less than the best.” When you live and lead that way, wonderful things begin to happen. Great things. Take-your-breath-away things. Unexpected things.
I’ve found that when I’m operating on all cylinders, I not only get the things I am shooting for and expect, but other wonderful things seem to come my way as well. I can’t explain it. I just know that there are times when one blessing seems to breed the next, and the next, and so on, to the point that the good things happening take me entirely by surprise. It’s that way as a leader too. I’ll get things moving with my team toward a great goal, and before we know it there is a momentum which we didn’t expect and good things just keep happening. I don’t plan for it, it just comes.
I believe it happens, at least partially, when we totally immerse ourselves in what we’re doing. When we have an all-in level of commitment to our cause and to the people we lead we put ourselves in the position to “wade into the depths of life” and live the “grand adventure” that is ours for the taking. We all know leaders who place limits on themselves and on their organizations and sadly never quite reach the heights which could be theirs if they just were a bit more adventurous. Even sadder is that even though they may experience some levels of success, they aren’t in a position to experience the unexpected blessings that come when your 100% in the game.
So, my encouragement is to go all in. Don’t hold back in any way. Live your life as Walt did – a grand adventure. When you do, I think you’re going to like what comes to you. And so will your people.
Lead well.