Embrace the Journey

One major thief of leaders' joy and fulfillment is expecting their journey to be different from what it is.

Every significant accomplishment from leading and impacting others comes through the difficult, hard scrabble, and daunting path that was walked.

Every great CEO has had days of massive failure.

Every great coach has been fired.

Each applauded parent or mentor has had mishandled moments they want to relive.

No one is infallible like Josh Kosnick, my podcast guest this week shared.

No one accomplishes anything without difficulty.

Yet why do we struggle with it?  Struggle with embracing the journey?

Because we believe it shouldn't be hard.

The Hero

Name the fable, story, or movie, and there is a hero.  There’s also a villain.  Then there is a guide and a victim.

Let's stay with the Hero, though.

The hero is a person or character who faces a challenge and chooses to overcome the challenge.

The arc is almost always up and to the right because it is easy to write, simple to comprehend, and enticing to engage in. This is partly because when we read stories, watch movies, and learn about success stories, they must be packaged into less than 300 pages, 2 hours, or 90 seconds.

There isn't the time allotted to dash all hopes and endure… the suck,  The hard.  The disappearance of hope.  The kick you in the gut, spit in your face, pull the jersey over your head and knock you down suck.

Yet that is what happens.

Often it happens because the Hero screwed up.

They thought they were smarter, faster, and more gifted. They thought the hard only happened to other people. They thought it would be okay just this one time. They thought…well, actually, they didn't think.

And then there are times when maybe its wasnt an outright screw up but a “I was going too fast and lost sight of what was most important.”

The irony is that success brings about the biggest “going too fast and lost sight of what's most important.”

Bad habits turn into bad situations.

And then there is the other side.

I've made it work with less; I can make it work this time.

Making Shepherds Pie

Shepherd's pie is an English dietary staple. It consists of meat and vegetables cooked together with mashed potatoes covering it all.

Shepherd's pie has no standard recipe. It's not like Apple Pie, which is absolutely filled with apples.

Shepherd's Pie has potatoes, but it can also be covered in dough.

And then there is the meat.

I found this on Wikipedia, and it's too descriptive and straightforward not to reference:

Hot on Sunday,

     Cold on Monday,

     Hashed on Tuesday,

     Minced on Wednesday,

     Curried Thursday,

     Broth on Friday,

     Shepherd's pie on Saturday.

Shepherd's pie is made from the last of ALL the leftovers.  It’s not a premium dish per se.

And yet, a lot of people prefer shepherd's pie.  I recently had lamb Shepherd's Pie in Maui; it was some of the best lamb I have ever eaten.

The people who know the best results will come from trial and tribulation, and learn to seek them.

They learn its best to bring it on yourself and not by a colossal screw up.

The only way for the meat to be tender, succulent, and super tasty is 6 days of going through the ringer.

The Shortcut

Now there is a shortcut to making Shepherd's pie—it's a crock pot! And just the same for the Hero, they learn the only way to overcome their challenges is through and with a guide.  A long, slow, winding up and down walk with a guide.

A guide who may have walked the same path, or at least they walked a path very similar.  A path that kicked them in the gut, spat in their face, pulled the jersey over their head, and knocked them down.

Maybe you have a crock pot, or maybe you don't, just like maybe you have a mentor, or maybe you don't.

If you do not have a crock pot to slow cook the meat, it will take days to let it be hot, cold, hashed, minced, curried, brought back to life with broth, and then made into Shepherd's pie.

And that is the same for every one of us.  

We have to embrace the journey with a guide, though we can walk a little easier.

Summit

We are just 2 weeks away from the Summit, and I would love for you to attend.

Yes, to fill the room, but more importantly, to get and give value.

Transformation happens when you are surrounded by others, doing the work on your own, but not alone.

Like Robby Emery shared, “You can find love online, but you can’t make love online!”

Because it takes being in person, at a table, and in a room with real people to make the amazing happen.

On May 7th and 8th, I will host the 2nd annual Impact Driven Leader Summit.

This year, we have an unofficial theme, and it’s culture.  Culture Matters, Winning Culture, Connecting Culture, and Creating Culture.

Be a part of the event and learn from some of the best culture-focused leaders in the country.

I can't wait to see you in May. Register Here

Did you catch this podcast? If not, listen to it here.