Category Archives: Uncategorized

“. . . let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”  – Matthew 5:16 

When asked where I learned the most about business and leadership I always answer without hesitation that it was from my grandfather.  Now that may not sound so strange except that I was only nine years old when my grandfather passed away, and I don’t ever recall having even an inkling of conversation with him about business.  And even if I had I doubt I would have understood what he was talking about.  In fact, I don’t remember many conversations with grandfather at all about much of anything.  I did spend a fair amount of time with my grandfather in the few short years we had together, though, and what I do remember vividly about him was his character and the way he lived his life. 

I’ve often wondered, was my grandfather aware that my young mind was paying attention, that his character and behavior were having a profound influence on me?  I’d be surprised if he had been the least bit aware based on my own experience as a grandfather.  I’m usually too busy either entertaining my grandchildren or tending to their immediate needs.   

So here’s a question we should all consider.  Who’s watching us?  What young minds are observing our character and the way we live our lives?  In his book The Abolition of Man C. S. Lewis, one of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century, makes the case “that if we fail to pass along specific standards of right and wrong, of what is worthwhile or worthless, admirable or ignoble, then we must share blame for the consequent failings of character.”  (Quote by William J. Bennett) 

Without even realizing it, but simply by the way he lived my grandfather passed along those standards referred to by C. S. Lewis.  And it is our responsibility to ensure those same standards get passed along to the next generation, not through our words, but by our character and the way we live our lives.  “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

“. . . let the wise listen and add to their learning . . .” – Proverbs 1:5 

There’s on old nursery rhyme that goes like this:  “A wise old owl lived in an oak / The more he saw the less he spoke / The less he spoke, the more he heard / Why can’t we all be like that bird?” 

My fourth grade teacher was a short, stocky, gray-haired woman who we respectfully addressed as Mrs. Roop.  I have no idea about her first name, not that we would have dared call her by it anyway.  And like most gray-haired teachers to a bunch of fourth graders she seemed much older than she probably was.  Most distinctively, though, she was quite short, no taller than most of her students – four-feet-eight-inches perhaps.  Yet, she could have easily stood eight-feet-four-inches in our eyes, for she had total command of the classroom.  One snap of her fingers and everyone came to attention. 

Her classroom was arranged in a conventional fashion with a large wooden desk at the front of the room which faced the several rows of neatly aligned student desks where we were required to sit attentively throughout the day.  Interestingly, though, unlike most teachers Mrs. Roop seldom sat at her large wooden desk in the front.  Instead, she sat among her pupils in the back of the classroom in one of the small student desks.  And except when lecturing, reading, instructing or explaining – about which she was very concise – that is where she spent a good part of her day.  From there she would summon her students to the chalkboards requiring us to demonstrate our comprehension of the subject being covered while she sat in the back of the room quietly observing, only occasionally speaking up to explain or correct something.  In the end fourth grade proved to be one of the most critical years in my formal education, one that provided a foundation that carried me through the remainder of my academic career. 

“Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something,” someone once said.  The wise Mrs. Roop spoke only when she had something to say, otherwise she listened and observed.  Through her listening she learned what she needed to teach, and through her wisdom we learned what we needed to learn.  “Let the wise listen and add to their learning.”  “Why can’t we all be like that bird?”

“Run in such a way as to get the prize.”  1 Corinthians 9:24 

At the beginning of his long running best seller, Good To Great, Jim Collins proclaims “good” is the enemy of “great”.  What I think he means by that is that good – defined as “good enough” – can settle us into complacency, thus holding us back from reaching our full potential. 

I once envisioned success as being a destination, that is attaining a certain level of achievement in some lucrative field such as law, medicine, or finance, so that I could kick into maintenance mode and reap the rewards, similar to winning the lottery then living on easy street.  But the closer I came to attaining that kind of success the more I began to realize that easy street is a dead end street, the very thing that threatened me from ever reaching my highest potential, a perfect example of good being the enemy of great. 

It was my own battle with the enemy “good” that eventually led me to the profession of coaching, first to be coached myself, then to coach others.  It opened my eyes to the great potential that exists among bright, well educated high achievers in today’s market place who in my opinion represent one of the world’s greatest under-developed resources.  The potential lies in transforming proven successful people and their endeavors from good to great rather than settling into maintenance mode as I had been tempted to do. 

Coaching is not about teaching or offering advice.  Instead it is about exploring possibilities together with a fellow human being.  The thrill occurs when new potential is discovered and begins to develop. 

Like easy street “good enough” is a dead end street.  It is the enemy that becomes a barrier between us and our fullest potential.  “Run in such a way as to get the prize,” the Apostle Paul encourages us.  The prize is not a destination or a finish line; rather it is that thrill that occurs when new potential is discovered and begins to develop.  It is about staying in the race, seeking and pursuing opportunities, growing and learning.

“A man’s wisdom gives him patience . . .”  – Proverbs 19:11 

An old farmer once hired a buddy and me as day laborers to help haul some freshly baled hay from his field.  Our instructions were to walk alongside the trailer he was pulling behind his tractor around the field and load the hay bales onto the trailer.  From there we would go and stack the hay in his barn.  We were young and strong back then, so the problem we had was that the old farmer moved too slowly for us as we were capable of working at a much faster the pace.  Nevertheless he continued to putter along at his own speed and we dutifully complied.  And guess what?  By the end of the day the field had been cleared, the hay neatly stacked in the barn, and we happily accepted our wages. 

Why was it that when I was young time seemed so scarce, even though I had a lifetime in front of me, all the time in the world?  I always felt in a hurry, never enough time.  But as I’ve grown older, even realizing my days are becoming fewer, time does not seem so important, almost even irrelevant.  Why?  Maybe I learned a great lesson from that old farmer who never seemed to get in a hurry, that at the end of the day everything will get done.  Recently I came across a poem printed years ago in “McGuffey’s Reader”, ironically of the same vintage that would likely have been the old farmer’s school days.  The poem went like this: 

“The fisher who draws in his net too soon,

Won’t have any fish to sell;

The child who shuts up his book too soon,

Won’t learn any lessons well.

If you would have your learning stay,

Be patient – don’t learn too fast;

The man who travels a mile a day,

May get round the world at last.” 

Given the choice to either be young and strong like I was back then or have the wisdom of that old farmer, from what I know now I’d choose wisdom every time. 

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”  Romans 12:21 

Bob Browning was one of my best high school buddies.  I’m sure every one of my classmates would agree he was just a great guy – fun and funny, mischievous but not in a malicious way, outgoing, brilliant and full of ambition.  He had talent dripping off him, a young man destined to go places.  Bob’s home life, though, was a different story.  His mother had taken her own life when he was a small child leaving him to be raised by his father in a lonely old farm house far out in the countryside.  And while I don’t have many facts, based on the few encounters I witnessed and what Bob confided in me I have reason to believe his dad may have been abusive from time to time.  In spite of that I never knew Bob to show any resentment toward his father or anyone else – angry perhaps from time to time, but never resentful.  When he did confide in me about the difficulties he had he would always emphasize in no uncertain terms that he loved his father deeply.  And in the end I am convinced Bob’s dad loved him too. 

When my friend Bob was in college he was diagnosed with cancer.  It was a rough ride, but he never gave up hope, married his high school sweetheart, and continued to zealously pursue his ambitions.  But despite his valiant battle the cancer won, and my high school classmates and I lost one of our dearest friends – at too young an age. 

Benjamin Franklin once wrote, “Doing an injury puts you below your enemy; revenging one makes you but even with him; [but] forgiving one sets you above him.”  Bob Browning could also be given credit for those words, not for writing them but by the way he lived.  He certainly never injured a sole in his life; and I never once sensed any desire for revenge.  But he knew how to forgive.  I know for a fact he forgave his father over and over.  I’m pretty sure he must have forgiven his mother for leaving him motherless.  And I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if he even forgave the cancer that took his life. 

Bob did not allow himself to be overcome by evil, but overcame evil with good.  As I’ve thought about my friend through the years I think that lesson was his gift to me, and to all of us.  It was his legacy, and what a great legacy to leave!