Have Cheap Luggage, Will Travel

Do you know when somebody tells you something about yourself that is hard to hear simply because it is true? Your first reaction is always defensive, right? Who are you…I am not…and a whole other list of excuses on why they don’t know what they are talking about, when deep down your first reaction is a cringe of guilt.

A close friend recently shared with me her concerns over my attitude to leadership positions in my life and my desire to avoid them.

“Responsibility has found you if you like it or not.”

-Cringe-

Let me explain how I got here. The main struggle of my life is to avoid the legacy of control left to me by my father. However, it seems that my worst fear has become my reality just disguised as something different.

My Dad and I have pretty much been at war with each other since I was young. He would try to control me, I would refuse to be controlled and many of our disagreements have made a nest of bitterness in my heart where I now attempt to control the leadership opportunities that God puts in my life by not participating in them because I am afraid of being my Dad.

How that plays out day to day is I focus on putting myself behind people to push them forward instead of leading the way. That is exactly why my friend shared with me the quote of my year…

“Responsibility has found you if you like it or not.”

My friend was asking me to be a leader but I was checked out and she had to plead with me to wake up from my complacency. Let’s be honest, committed complacency is control with different pants on.

-Cringe-

Since I have decided to be more open to leadership opportunities, a comforting peace has been infecting my days and I can see where my committed complacency has done more than just make me run from responsibility. I have been running from God’s plan for my life.

So, I don’t know if you have come to terms with your legacy that God has laid out for you but I can bet you that it is scary and will require you to lean on the Lord in order to not screw it up. However, it is not worth avoiding it because it will eventually chase you down.

In conclusion, let us raise our glass in celebration of
…friends that can say I love you but hate you right now
…to the committed pursuit of our hearts from the God of the universe
…and to the opportunity to reshape legacies.

Read: Psalm 66:10
Ask: What does this verse tell us about the origin of some trials? How does that make you feel about some difficult things that you are facing today?

Read: Daniel 11:33-35
Ask: How does this verse help you have grace for flawed leaders in your life?

Read: Jeremiah 29:11-13
Ask: How do these verses give you peace about difficulties in your life?

I used to be a sandwich artist. Don’t laugh, it’s true. My first real job was making Subway sandwiches in a gas station in Sherman, TX and I have to say to date, it was the best job I ever had. Let me tell you why.

Do you remember your first job? If it was anything like mine, you were elbow deep in mayo and bread dough on top of dealing with an ungrateful customer that could care less about you as a human. Now how does an emotionally taxing environment such as that turn into the workplace utopia that I so fondly remember? It lies solely in the efforts of the two women that managed me, Diep and Jenny.

They didn’t have impressive degrees or lots of experience or any strategic plan to whip the teenage rabble that they managed into shape. But they did understand the one thing that will produce success when you have people under you. The difference between a manager and a leader.

Mangers know that they are excellent at the job that they are teaching you to do. When they walk into a room you know it and know that they are in charge. They spend lots of time organizing and directing their staff and the focus is on them and their skills that they bring to the table.

Leaders are also excellent at the job that they are teaching you to do, but they let you discover truth yourself instead of telling you how it is. They are not in it for the glory. So when they walk into the room, they will blend into the crowd. The focus for leaders is their employees and are comfortable letting the spotlight fall on them.

The distinction between the two can have a tremendous impact on your staff. Diep and Jenny were leaders hands down. They set a great example for me that I still try to emulate until this day.

Now, one of the best things about this story is that those women still impact my life today and they ran a gas station. Point being, you don’t have to be a manager in a huge company or even in a leadership position to be a person of influence. Look around you and be more mindful of people you encounter. Try to practice leadership characteristics and not management in your daily walk. I bet you are surprised how influential of a person you really are and didn’t know it when people start thanking you for the impact your have made.

So lesson for the day, find a leader in your life that you respect and spend as much time as you can with them. Be a leader to someone in your life and spend as much time as you can with them. And be nicer to your sandwich artist next time you go to Subway.