Your Champions Brew for Friday, November 4, 2022

Welcome back brew nation!  It’s the “Friday Coffee Guy” coming to you with The Champion’s Brew, a weekly assembly of material I am reading, listening to, watching, or thinking about that is designed to equip and call you to uncommon leadership.  I often add my own little spin based on my takeaways and would love your input as well.  Any of the points especially impact you?  Drop me a note at [email protected], or comment on the blog to keep the conversation going!  I believe you will discover that the format is not only useful, but also that you can consume it within the time it takes you to enjoy your daily ‘brew’!  Become a member of the Champions Brew Nation by subscribing here!!

Here is your weekly sip of what I have been reading, listening to or watching to equip me to:

• Build Faith – I love discovering movie clips that manifest themselves as great leadership moments.  I was in a call this week and one of the participants used the term “playing small”.  There is a scene from the movie, Coach Carter where one of the student athletes recites the quote.  When watching the entire movie, this scene normally brings tears to my eyes.  I had often wondered where this quote came from and it is often attributed to Nelson Mandela, but the beloved Google brings the following:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” – Marianne Williamson, from her best seller, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles

It can mean different things to so many, but to me, it is about not holding back.  Be bold.  Shine your light for others to see and know that you can be ‘powerful beyond measure’.  The scene is only 2:28, but if you get a chance, I encourage you to watch the entire movie.

• Work Hard  – “Excellence only happens on purpose.”  – This is a quote that hangs on my wall with a picture of my son carrying the Liberty University flag 120 yards as a cheerleader for the LU football team.  No doubt, to do that, Brendan had to work hard.  Recently I read an entry from Leadership Promises for Every Day that talks about competence.  It read, “The word competent sometimes gets used to mean ‘barely adequate’.  In this case, though, John maxwell wrote that the root word for competent is ’complete’.  People who are highly competent have several things in common:
  • They are committed to excellence – For Brendan to lug that big flag down the field, he had to be committed to it.  There was no stopping in front of 20,000+ fans.  He had to get the job done and get it done well!
  • They never settle for average – The word ‘mediocre’ literally means “halfway up a stony mountain.”  Competent people do NOT settle for mediocre.
  • They pay attention to detail – Dale Carnegie said, “If you do the little jobs well, the big ones tend to take care of themselves.”
  • They perform with consistency – Highly competent people give their best ALL the time.
• Read More – I have committed to reviewing one law per week from John Maxwell’s 25^th anniversary edition of the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.  In its 25 years, the book has sold over 4 million copies!  I feel like I have purchased at least 100 of them over the years to gift.  It has been a significant influence on my life for sure and that leads right into the second law:

The Law Of Process

Leadership Develops Daily, Not in a Day

Can you have ‘favorite’ laws?  If so, this is definitely one of my ‘favorites’ which would indicate to me that I have a passion in this area of ‘Process’ and daily development or growth.  A few of my takeaways from the Law of Process:

• Most people overestimate the importance of events and underestimate the power of processes.  Did you ever have this happen to you when you attend a workshop or seminar.  I can hear you now: “This is going to be THE information that will make me the leader I want to be.”  Admit it!  Look, I can only point it out because I own it, too!!  There is no EVENT that will make you a leader. The book had a table that identified the differences between an event and a process:

• The secret of our success is in our daily agenda – See what a person is doing, hour by hour, day after day, and you will know who that person has the potential to become. Leaders are learners – Do you have a personal development plan?  If not, you should consider starting one right now.  Maxwell suggests the following to get started:
  • • Read one leadership book a month
    • Listen to one podcast per week (You could listen to the Uncommon Leader Podcast!  Shameless plug, I know.  My most recent episode with Jeff Henderson, author of What’s Next: taking Your Best Step When Life is Uncertain, was as one listener put it, “podcast gold.”)
    • Attend one conference per year (event)
    • And, of course, read the Champions’ Brew (well, I don’t think John had that in there, but a guy can dream, right?)
• Quote – “Find your uniqueness and exploit it in the service of others.” – Larry Winget  

What You Need to Do:

Call to Action:  What is YOUR deepest fear?  We all have fears.  Courage is not the lack of fear.  Courage is having fear, but acting anyway!  Be bold!!

I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of Champions Brew. If you did, I would appreciate it if you would share it with someone who might enjoy it as well and ask them to subscribe! I will make sure they automatically get this email every week.

Until next time eat healthy, read daily and Grow Champions!

P.S. – Are you a podcast fan?  Maybe the Uncommon Leader podcast is for you.    Are you interested in being a guest on the Uncommon Leader Podcast?  Do you have a story to tell?  Email me [email protected] and let’s have a chat and set something up!!