Copy of The Lesson of Speed

This picture is from 1914, and the man with his arms folded in the back row is my great-grandfather, John Maxwell (Infantry Machine Gunner), who was in France during World War One.

By 1917, when the United States entered WWI, football had been played by many of the young men entering military training camps around the U.S. What's impressive is that I would never have known this family history until the Lesson of Speed impacted my life with an Ancestry D.N.A test later in life.

Slowing down helped me find out who my father was, which in turn gave me my family name, lineage, and, yes, my inspiration to know who I am, what I'm good at, and what I can become.

Lesson #5

The Lesson of Speed is like The Rules of Time: Thermodynamics tells us that time has a direction known as the "arrow of time." Your life can be more effective and inspiring to others if you slow down to speed up. The tip of the spear in any direction will be sharper and faster if you take time to go through the process of the lesson of speed.

The Lesson of Speed: Slow down to speed Up. When we face adversity, we have the power to inspire others to do the same.

Does your team have your back? I don't mean do they do what you ask when you ask them. Are they looking out for your best interest when they don't have to, simply because they want to?

During my real-life story and journey of writing Real Life Lessons of Inspiration, I was invited with the opportunity to attend a "Unite San Diego" meeting. Unite San Diego is a network of Servant Leaders whose vision is to help create a culture of collaboration between the faith, business, and government sectors.

During the Unite meeting, Dr. Ken Blanchard spoke about the power of collaboration to speed up relationships and results. After attending his leadership workshops, over twenty-two million managers have committed to becoming better leaders. I watched every moment and enjoyed sitting at the table with Ken. Talking to the other senior leaders in the room inspired me to make my life count for more than my influence or leadership. I felt like I belonged to address the problems in the city.

Ken spoke about the story of William Wilberforce, a hero of mine and a key figure in the abolition of the slave trade in Britain, who embodies the power of swift, collective inspiration. His efforts were not a solitary endeavor from the 1780s until the 1830s. He leveraged his circle's collective genius and relentless energy, known as the Clapham Sect. This group of like-minded friends and colleagues dedicated thousands of hours to writing legislation, debating, preparing speeches, and persuading allies and opponents.

Investing deeply in this community, Wilberforce and the Clapham Sect frequently met in their homes in London, creating a hub of inspiration and support that propelled their cause forward by uniting people who cared about very siloed and different issues.

The speed of uniting people to a common good or cause will inspire people to collaborate, like the Clapham Sect, who united to speed up the time to achieve freedom for slaves.

The Speed of Uniting People

William Wilberforce was a master at uniting people with diverse passions and concerns. He skillfully brought together a group of individuals, each driven by different social causes, under a shared commitment to human rights and moral reform. The Clapham Sect, did not focus solely on the abolition of the slave trade. Their interests spanned a variety of issues, from education reform to prison improvement, illustrating how Wilberforce’s leadership extended beyond a single cause to embrace a broader vision for societal change. His ability to align these varied interests under a common goal of ethical advancement was vital to his success and remains a powerful example of effective leadership.

The 101% principle

"Relationships are critical to your success as a leader. When relationships get difficult, and you have to handle conflict, follow the 101% Principle—find the 1% that you agree on and give it 100% of your effort." -John Maxwell

Some experts say that inspiration as a topic at work in the North American context is, in fact, in huge demand. However, many leaders in the United States sit in cubicles and live uninspired lives. Many of us are vocationally depressed when we realize the title of leader does not fuel us after the daily grind of virtual meetings or when commuting is over . With more than 60 percent of North American companies stagnant or declining, there is a need to learn how to develop through a season of being over-challenged or under-challenged at work because it impacts your real life. With so many layoffs, unengaged employees, and depression numbers increasing in the personal lives of so many, a turnaround is imperative.

You can’t get out of a season or trials, but you can undoubtedly prolong it and get stuck in the status quo, longing for something better.

For natural leaders, many lessons discussed up to this point can be pretty easy to live by. Even those who may not be born leaders but have invested time and effort to grow in this area may have much success with them. Yet, when we come to the Lesson of Speed, I believe this is where many leaders begin to struggle. This lesson teaches us that “the pace of your speed is as important as your results in your current role or your goals and ambitions.”

Pace & Time

The wrong pace at the wrong time leads to drudgery. The right pace at the wrong time causes burnout[ND12] . The wrong pace at the right time causes boredom[ND13] . However, the right pace at the right speed results in success. As we develop our ability to enjoy an inspired life, we have to go beyond simply knowing how to influence people and get results at work. We must also learn to discern the right pace we are moving.

The Mulligan

Dr. Blanchard wrote a book called “The Mulligan. I remember the day Ken handed me a signed copy of his book, and he smiled and told me he was working on filming the movie that would inspire millions to learn this important lesson. As Blanchard taught, success[ND14] ?at everything--except what really matters is a problem that causes so many people to suffer from a less-than-ideal life or work balance. The book is about a man who is separated from his wife and estranged from his son; Paul focuses on his next boardroom mega-deal. Like a bad tee-shot on a difficult hole, Paul's life could use a do-over... a "mulligan." A retired golf pro tries to point this successful businessman, who is far from God, toward what really matters in life. Through their new friendship, the Old Pro helps Paul discover there's hope for second chances in the One who offers us "the ultimate mulligan."

The crisis is apparent as a recent Forbes article articulates the need to redefine how we communicate inspiration.

Many people need a mulligan in life and career. The longer we push, drive and work tasks without purpose in our lives we will experience drudgery because we lack a vision or inspiration to see how we can impact other people.

The reality is a person’s success at work never compensates for the lack of significance and speed in which we live our lives.

I remember first being introduced to the concept of needing a mulligan in my vocation.

After a year-long deployment to Iraq as an infantryman, I returned to my alma mater to attend my second freshman year in college. My father-in-law, Pat, took me golfing and paid for golf lessons. I was working out with the L.S.U.? football team, and as a result, I had a powerful swing, but to the amazement of the golf pro, the club face traveled farther than the golf ball when he directed me to swing the club. Several men observed this phenomenon, and to my embarrassment, the insurance of the costly club paid for me to have a second chance.

What happened next is more laughable than reasonable. I repeated the swing with the pro’s direction, and it happened again! The club face broke upon contact for a second time and traveled further than the golf ball.

I was embarrassed and felt like my future father-in-law would never take me golfing again or marry his daughter because I couldn’t at the time pay for the costly driver. Pat smiled at me and said, “You just need another mulligan.” “What’s a mulligan, I said?” He smiled and said, “A mulligan is not about a second chance but another chance!”

The football office called me, inviting me to walk onto the team . As you can imagine, I was enthusiastic and awestruck after being gone for a year, thinking my dreams of playing football were over. At twenty-two years old, I was a competitor, and I had learned how to follow in Iraq as lower enlisted patrolling streets in Baghdad. But walking on to L.S.U., I knew the “first string practice” team had influence. We were called the “bomb squad” because we were not afraid to hit the starting defense with all we had. We were followers, but we were competitors. We were hungry to play, and we had talent.

I learned a valuable lesson during those hot summer training sessions. Followers who work hard and are committed to their leaders have more influence with their leaders, and their results create momentum in the ranks. Many of the followers on the bomb squad played in the N.F.L.

What am I trying to communicate?

The most gifted experts who are patient enough to grit through adversity inspire greatness in themselves and others, and as a result, they lead better.        

The speed of the Protégé

We have forgotten the lost art of protégé. The world and the generation to come desperately need to learn how to follow so they can become leaders who know how to lead.

The art of following is essential to learn from the retiring generation in record numbers. America is in a state of decline, as the great exodus of an entire generation is happening as you read this. It was out of the discussions with other leaders and very talented emerging leaders, all of whom share the same burden of developing people to capture the energy and enthusiasm that exists in different nations, that the need for a renewed emphasis on the following came into focus. However, to many, the term follower has become synonymous with a weak servant or simply “not important.” This perception has fostered a mindset that has left the rest of us on the sidelines as spectators rather than trained for action as influential leaders ourselves.

The Old Story

Many of us have stories of adversity, insecurity, shame, and stories that impact the inspiration in our lives. The reality is that we can be fine one day and the next find ourselves in an emotional place where we can't seem to find peace. Depression is something I never really understood until it happened to me.

I grew up with shame for my family dynamics, being the boy on the other side of the tracks who was ruddy yet sharp, insecure, and yet confident.

I remember the day I tried to learn how to tie a tie. It was supposed to be a simple skill most kids picked up from their dads. But without a father to teach me, each attempt felt like a battle I was destined to lose. Frustration grew with every tangled effort, and the fear of embarrassment became overwhelming as my name was announced for an award. Eventually, I found myself hiding in the bathroom, tears of defeat quietly streaming down my face, hiding.

That's where my football coach found me. He didn't say much at first; he just sat beside me. Then, with a calm and patient voice, he walked me through each step of tying a tie. It wasn't just about learning a knot but a lesson in not giving up, even when things feel too hard. That day, I learned more than how to dress for success—I learned that it's okay to struggle and that sometimes, failing is just part of learning.

The speed of Life is no Accident

Looking back on that fateful game, I couldn't help but marvel at the serendipity of it all. The statistical improbability of our paths crossing, the unlikely convergence of our lives in the crucible of competition—it was nothing short of miraculous. I remember my cousin Alex arriving late to a football game because my father died. In the Lesson of the Gift chapter, I go into more detail about ancestry D.N.A. and how I learned my family was in my life the entire time, and I never knew it. And yet, in that moment of clarity, I understood that destiny had guided our steps all along. The endless nights of me crying out to God, desperate to know who my father and family were, revealed through the speed of one moment.

Observation

Be present and aware of the kairo? moments. I wrote the word in Greek for emphasis. Kairos is a Greek word from the New Testament with a much different meaning than our native tongue’s definition of time. Just as the semantic range of words in one language can come close to the original meaning of a word, it is essential to understand hidden implications or signs in life. Nothing happens by coincidence or chance.

The idea of fine-tuning in the universe often leads to awe-inspiring reflections on the precise nature of our existence. Here are a few real-life inspired reflections to help you find inspiration for evidence for deeper inspiration in your life.

Here are a few examples of my reflections of commonly cited in discussions of the fine-tuning argument for the existence of God that inspire me.

Gravitational Constant: Like the fine-tuned force of gravity that holds the universe together, maintaining a steady and balanced approach in my relationships keeps them stable and flourishing.

Cosmological Constant: Just as the cosmological constant dictates the expansion of the universe, carefully managing the pace at which I take on new challenges ensures I don't become overwhelmed or stagnant.

Strong Nuclear Force: Similar to the strong nuclear force that binds atoms, the deep connections I cultivate with family and friends are the fundamental forces that hold my personal world together.

Ratio of Electromagnetic Force to Gravitational Force: Balancing the forces of ambition and contentment in my life is crucial, much like the balance between electromagnetic and gravitational forces, to ensure steady personal and professional growth without losing my grounding.

If the smallest measurement changed the gravitational constant, the universe could either have expanded too rapidly for stars and galaxies to form or collapsed back on itself shortly after the Big Bang.

In your real life, just as in the universe, maintaining a delicate balance in relationships, responsibilities, and personal growth is essential for creating a harmonious and sustainable existence.

The Greek New Testament Lexicon defines Kairos time this way: “In due time,” or, as paraphrased, a fixed moment when things are brought to a crisis, an opportune moment to seize the day—a season or moment filled with destiny.

What in your life needs the Lesson of Speed?

We all must embrace the game of life, the dance, and the harmony around us. We all have moments that are destiny. However, most life is filled with chronological dates, times, seasons, patterns, years, and mundane tasks. Chronos time is much more aligned with our English use of the word. Most of our lives will be in this time zone: grit, work, practice, habits, behavior, setbacks, challenges, victories, and repeat.

Life is a special occasion, but when a moment of destiny happens, you will know it. At the time of this football game, I was a senior in high school searching for my father, whom I never knew. If only I had known Alex Kelly was my first cousin and the funeral was my father’s funeral. Perhaps the speed of timing in life causes us to be more inspired. Going through the valleys inspires to comfort others with the comfort we have received.

You need to understand that I was born in New Orleans with a birth certificate that states my father was “unknown.” I moved to Birmingham, Alabama; what caused my cousin and I to move to the north shore of New Orleans to play on the same high school football team I was on? Fate? Chance? Kairos.

It was a moment of crisis for me. It was also a time I learned later about my father as he spent most of his adult life desperate to have children. He never knew I existed, and many believe he was depressed because he did not have kids.

Application

Norman Vincent Peale wrote“The Power of Positive Thinking.” Read the book. Learn the difference in opinions of those who like his writings and those who love his writings. Somewhere in the middle is the truth. I believe the famous cliche, “Life is ten percent what happened and ninety percent how you respond.” We should pray like life depends on God and work as it depends on us.

Sometime in the future, you two will have a moment filled with destiny. The Truth will set you free no matter the moment of fortune. I look at a crisis similarly to the Chinese etymology of the word. They know a more ancient original meaning of the word crisis-opportunity. Crisis to them means “opportunity.” Dr. Ken Blanchard was seeking a co-author for a book with an author who was an expert in positive thinking at the time. The entire meeting was run by the other author, who was more concerned about royalties, who gets what, deadlines, contracts, and money. Ken did not feel like there was a natural essence or “flow” with the potential partner.

Ken smiled at me one day, telling me the rest of the story because I read many of Ken’s books. Ken wrote “The Power of Ethical Management” with Norman Vincent Peale. I asked Ken over breakfast, “…what was Norman Vincent Peale like?” Ken smiled at me, and we became friends as we had the same “essence” or “flow.” Ken revealed a secret or pearl of wisdom to me because I had the knowledge to walk towards Ken and connect on our shared values, virtues, and grit we shared. I knew Ken and Ken appreciated my story, pain, and chase.

Ken saw something in me that I did not have the intuition to see then. He saw that I had flow with people. He saw a gift in me, so he unpacked the meaning of “form” that many who have read his books will never learn. Ken writes about essence and form, but few understand that “form” is the work, grit, details, deadlines, and results needed for partnering or collaborating with people.

Form is vital as technique is important, style is essential, and communication is immortal. Still, if you do not have flow or the ability to be fully present and aware when the moments of destiny happen, you are missing this principle. Life becomes only enjoyable when you have goals. The tyranny or slavery of chasing outcomes is when you arrive at what you seek; you feel enslaved to the results and aren’t fulfilled. What an empty life. You are a slave to the virtues you are chasing. Excellence is a fantastic tool.

However, Excellence or perfection is a lousy God or Master. Put down your smart device and listen to the wind and the rustling of the trees. Take a walk in nature. If you are not sure about God's existence, seek him. Knock on the door, listen, and ask him to reveal himself.

As you go through life, ask Him if he can speak to you about any moments of Kairos you know were “in due time" that were monuments in your life. You will never be the same when you see the meaning of these moments. Just as you can not see the effects of the wind, you know the outcomes of the wind.

Principle

Be Present. Work with zeal, grit, commitment, and loyalty. Form (results) are essential, but learn the secret principle of being present. Work with a spirit of excellence that can only be understood with enthusiasm. Enthusiasm means “en-theos,” inspired or filled with God’s Spirit.

When you are filled with the Spirit of God, you can work with excellence and grow and overcome any circumstance. Being present gives you the ability to enjoy what you have. When you want the process of the chase so much when you look up and achieve your goals, remember this principle.

Could you ENJOY the chase and be present? The pursuit, the chase, the gift of life is the secret of this principle. Please be there and see through the current trials; you will unlock treasure on the other side of the new season.

"Be Present”

-By Propaganda

Jason Emmanuel Petty, better known by his stage name "Propaganda," is a Christian rapper born on May 27, 1979, in Los Angeles, California.

In his very early childhood, his family moved into a violent, ethnically Mexican neighborhood. As the only black child in the area, he was often teased due to his skin color. His wrap and poetic rap songs create a story to illustrate this lesson in your life.

So, I think of life in terms of movie clips or tweetable moments. Somehow, I’ve convinced myself they last longer that way. I was proved wrong when my wife called my phone as my black wife. I thought it was funny, and we giggled; now, single men take notes. Now, I don't think she was kidding. She talked about some other stuff that I don't remember. I was too busy composing a Tweet where I would quote her with some clever hashtag about marriage and how much I love her.

To be paying attention to her at that moment, I think what snapped me back was the silence, which indicated I was supposed to have some response to whatever she was talking about.

I told my father that story in hopes of getting a little sympathy. My father was a civil rights and Vietnam War vet. He was hopelessly charming. On his fourth marriage, Father. Rather than the customary nod men give each other when they understand, he told me why he failed as my mother's husband. He said it was the same reason half of his platoon died in Vietnam—the same reason you are deathly afraid of your daughter becoming a teenager.

Son, you can't hear past the explosions, either the ones that already happened or the ones You anticipate. See the former paralyzes. Living life in the rearview mirror, driving full speed across traffic into the center divider So shell shocked you too stupid to duck when bullets are flying, Or the latter Your life a game of capture the flag So focused on the finish line, you stepped right on a land mine You so ready to attack the day.

Frustrated because you can't find your keys. Focused on the meetings you're finna miss.

And the traffic you finna sit in to realize the you been holding your keys the whole time. Slow down. You have been hypnotized by the possibility. Son, I couldn't hear past the bombs

The first one didn't kill me and the second one ain't even happened. Yet it ended our family

He told me a love story. Of a woman born before him. He said I knew her before and at the moment of conception. There was an eternal connection. And although I didn't realize it then, I'd fight for her affection. It’s this war we have been waging since day one of creation. And only when you lose her do you learn to appreciate her. Like even when I'm with her, I'm itching to get rid of her. And she only gives you one shot, blow it, and she's gone. And I took advantage of her. That’s why I'm telling you this.

Son, you can't rush her or slow her down.

You better keep her on your side. She will slip through your fingers. Like sand her name is Time. And she told me a secret. She said multitasking is a myth you ain't doin' anything good, just everything awful. And she begged me to stop stretching her thin and stuffing her whole, and stop being so concerned. With the old her and future her, but love her now. Her presence is God's present, and you should be that present. So I guess you could say.

Well, I guess I could say I've been through a divorce now. Me and my phone are no longer married. I think I'm ready to be here now

The Speed of Followers

The Bible describes the importance of following as the leaders in the book were like us. Flawed. It is not perfect but full of insecurity, setbacks, problems, and stress. Without the famous Moses, there would be no Joshua, the leader who eventually led the children of Abraham to the Promised Land. Joshua followed his leader with loyalty, commitment, zeal, and influence. Joshua is one of the best examples of a follower. “He’s from the tribe of Ephraim, and he served as Moses’s aide since his youth (Numbers 11:28; 13:8).

There were multiple points in the Torah (the five preceding books of the Bible) when Israel turned away from their leader, but Joshua was utterly loyal. Joshua was not involved when Israel left to follow another path; he remained steadfast when all others deserted Moses. Furthermore, when Moses sent Joshua and eleven other spies into the promised land ahead of the people, Joshua was one of the only spies who believed that Israel’s God could help them seize the land (Nu 14:6–9). At the end of Moses’ life, God chooses Joshua to lead the nation into the promised land.”

For reasons such as this real story of a nation being led by a fantastic leader, the Servant Leadership principle of the follower has been gradually disappearing from the lineup of those called on to help build effective leadership cultures. We value CEOs and other business unit leaders, such as Operations Officers, Chief Human Resources Leaders, Business Unit Administrators, and Executives who are primarily focused on those who are already leaders.

The lesson speed of being a great follower has slowly diminished from any recognized place in the corporate and nonprofit context. It is threatening to become extinct for all practical purposes. If everyone is so focused on leading up, down, across, and in between, we miss the power of simply following with excellence.

The Paradoxical Commandments

Kent Keith

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.

Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.

Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.

Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.

Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.

Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.

Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.

Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.

Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.

Give the world the best you have anyway.

Kent M. Keith, The Silent Revolution: Dynamic Leadership in the Student Council

Discovering your P.A.I.N.

An unplanned speed that changed my life

The morning that changed my life was not like every other day. The routine and setting were the same, but my surprise notification from ancestry DNA results stopped everything. I ignored a few emails and immediately felt my pulse escalate. My hands started grasping my desk, and my heart was beating out of my chest. I felt closure, vulnerability, and alone. I had waited my entire life to learn the results of this test.

The moment is etched in my memory. My entire life flashed before me as I clicked on the results to learn who my father was. In one moment, everything changed for me. My lifelong search for my father and his family started to end. My last name, heritage, lineage, unknown family, and the pain of growing up without a father resurfaced.

For the first time, I found my father’s last name. I found a family. I was thirty-six. I was in pain and denial. I minimized this pain and continued preaching. All the while, I was diminishing the speed of healing.

Succeeding Defined

Most leaders are readers and are well-versed in thought leadership. We need to grow and develop our leadership capacity. Growing will attract other leaders to our teams and organization. Many of us are obsessed with the desired outputs: revenue, top talent, leadership bench, customer devotion, and employee work passion. We are goal-oriented, and we want success. The problem is we fail to see the power of input, what we have experienced in life…For example, what we put into our bodies produces habits that turn into outputs of becoming overweight. We want the results without paying the discipline of input. What happens if we create corporate cultures obsessed with outputs but fail to communicate the value of inputs? What we input into our minds will generate an output in our lives. We move in the direction of our most decisive inputs.

Results are significant, but the inputs that produce the outputs can be replicated, scaled, and influenced by others regardless of leadership capacity.

What am I saying? The world desperately needs a new definition of leadership (Output), and what people crave is significance (Input).

Show me any transformational study of leadership, and you will see the Ohio Leadership studies demonstrate through research that people-centric leaders succeed more than task-centric leaders with authority. The work of Dr. Ken Blanchard with SLII has proven that the stages of development for different people with different goals and tasks require situational leadership styles to match the needs of the task. Essentially, sometimes people need direction (Transactional), and as they develop, they need support (Transformational).

What would it look like if we learned a situational success model to follow to accelerate the performance, confidence, and competence of everyone, not just the elites? Regardless of your position or title, you will spend most of your life following or succeeding another leader.

Leaders desire to develop and progress in their careers, callings, and character.

Most people think that being successful means achieving the goals you have been aiming for, and if a plan or piece of work succeeds, it has the desired results. This command of this word is defined and focused on outputs (ROI).

Succeeding, as defined by etymology, is a historical analysis of where the word came from and its original meaning in the borrowed language—origin from the 14th century.? Succeeding is much more than achieving the goals and outputs desired. Success is the "fact or right of succeeding someone by following them," from Old French succession "inheritance; a following on" From the Latin word successionem (nominative successio) "

Few Leaders Pass It On

Few leaders pass it on. Max Dupree, author of Leadership is an Art, declared, “Succession is one of the key responsibilities of leadership.” Yet, of all the lessons of inspiration, the lesson of Speed is the one that the most uninspired leaders apply. The lesson of speed begins when one achieves personal greatness swiftly.

Success gains momentum when one empowers others to achieve greatness swiftly. Significance accelerates when one nurtures leaders to achieve greatness under their guidance swiftly. Legacy is forged when one positions one's organization to achieve greatness swiftly and independently, even beyond one's contributions.

The lesson speed is applied only when a person puts his organization or family into a position to do great things without him or her.

If we become great followers of Leaders, we will follow them and become great leaders who know the cost of leadership. The cost is not about us.? Essentially, the definition of success is to come next after another in office or position or possession of an estate, especially to inherit authority, rank, or title. But we have made too much of the word leadership and have skipped the skills of learning how to model great leaders. Everyone can be a leader if we equip them to grow their influence. Still, if we fail to understand the desperate need for other leaders to input into our lives, we will become leaders obsessed with ourselves instead of Servant Leaders who want people to be successful.

The love of power or influence without the power of a leader’s passion for your development is a wound.

Many can remember the leadership wounds of growing up with bad leadership experiences. We all know the pain of not following leaders that cared for us. Everyone is designed with brilliance and greatness, waiting to be unlocked or noticed. The problem is most of us have never discovered the confidence that comes through a mentor, manager, parent, friend, or leader who invested in our competency. Our commitment dips through emotion, motivation, and personal life challenges.

The antidote for love of power is humility. According to Jim Collins in his book Good to Great, two main characteristics describe great leaders: will and humility. Will is the determination to follow through on a vision, mission, or goal. Humility is the capacity to realize that leadership is not about the leader—it’s about the people and what they need to be successful.

Love of Power Vs. Power of Love

“George Bernerd Shaw said, “People always blame their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.”

Growing up without a father caused an undeniable worldview in life. I had to trust myself and learn through on-the-job training. My worldview was what it would be; it was up to me. Most of us desire mentors or pinnacle leaders we can learn. We want to network and have access to leaders to become more effective in our lives and careers. However, we all have insecurities, doubts, fears, and reasons why we do not “get up and look for the circumstances” we want, and by default, we make ourselves the leaders we never had. Some of us feel like me. We must make things happen because no one else will. We must chart the course of our lives and potential; if not, we will be passive on beauty to someone else’s desire for our lives. You are a leader. Otherwise, you would not read this book.

Something inside you desires to flee the vocational boredom of never finding enough success or results in your calling or career. You may feel despair. You may feel no one cares about your success. The lesson of Power is the antidote to this unengaged cycle of unfulfillment in your leadership. Loving your success, status, influence, and achievement can cause barriers to your leadership potential.

When we learn to follow first, we can lead better. At any moment, you can be in a position of following and have more impact by serving or following someone who may need to feel empowered by demonstrating their abilities. It doesn’t matter what level of leadership you have attained. Great leaders know how to follow and can learn from anyone by serving people to become successful.

The Hunter Becomes the Hunted

At nineteen years old, deployed as a soldier to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004, I experienced a moment that would forever shape my perspective on life. It was a day like any other in the scorching desert heat, the air thick with tension and uncertainty. As a soldier, I was accustomed to the ever-present danger that lurked around every corner, but nothing could prepare me for what was about to unfold.

While on a mission, I witnessed a medic in our unit being targeted by a sniper. The shock and terror that rippled through our ranks were palpable as we watched in horror. In a surreal twist of fate, the medic, whom the snipers were also filming, miraculously survived the attack when the bullet struck his metal plate.

In the chaos that ensued, I radioed the unit for assistance, but in my distraction, I should have maintained our security position. This lapse allowed cars to breach our perimeter, heightening the danger we faced. However, amidst the turmoil, the medic, despite being wounded moments earlier, rose to his feet and defiantly pointed in the direction of our assailants, providing crucial evidence that would lead to their capture.

The subsequent capture of the snipers was a testament to the resilience and determination of our unit. As the medic bravely administered first aid to the very man who had targeted him, I couldn't help but feel a profound sense of inspiration. This incredible display of courage in the face of adversity left an indelible mark on me.

Even more remarkable is that the entire incident was captured on video and later released on YouTube, garnering millions of views. Watching the footage, I saw myself briefly in the video as a gunner, a reminder of the harrowing ordeal we had endured together.

In the aftermath of that day, the fear that I might be the next target lingered, but a newfound sense of purpose and determination overshadowed it. I realized that life is no accident, and adversity can inspire us to overcome our fears and rise above the challenges that confront us. Remember to inspire others when living in the fox hold of chaos. We must slow down because “slow is steady, steady is smooth, and smooth is fast.”

The Lesson of Speed can be applied by remembering the Fox Hole Theory

"A fox will use one hole to dig a fox hole, but it will always have another way out... It's all about the alternatives in life that allow you to optimize your negotiation and your margin."

Organizational challenges are the new reality we live in. Reorganizations, layoffs, mergers and acquisitions, growth problems, the information age, socio-political changes, and political issues that impact large numbers of people and cause silos and divisions in our ranks. Our lives are filled with opportunities to learn the lesson of power; our responses affect other people’s destinies and our own.

For the first time, the U.S.A., the country I love, may face more ambiguity, volatility, and uncertainty militarily with the advent of the Chinese economic and military rise. It may be wise to enjoy our peace and loved ones instead of chasing power, success, fame, and other ego-centered lifestyles and causes. When faced with the reality of life or death, we release the control or need to be suitable with the need for the right things.

The Speed of Power

The sole advantage of power is the ability to do more for the common good. Thus, if you want to be more inspiring during the chaos of the rate of change and challenges in business and life, remember to slow down.

Learning how to tap into your power points is crucial to be more inspiring for the people around you. Power is not insufficient; it is amoral. It’s why you desire power or influence that matters.

Dr. Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson wrote the One Minute Manager. The parable story starts with a young emerging leader interviewing the One Minute Manager so he can learn how to become an effective leader. In the words of the legendary One Minute Manager:

“Profit is the applause you receive for creating a motivating environment for your people (your #1 Customers) and legendary service for your customers.”

When we treat our employees and team like our number one customer, we create a culture that magnifies customer inspiration. Customers get inspired when our culture can create loyalty, devotion, and inspiration. We love to see what teams can do and how we can stretch and create a better world with our collaboration and inspiration. When we inspire our people, our customers get inspired by culture and values, and we turn them into virtues practiced in the ranks.

The Five Points of Power Dr. Ken Blanchard

Ken teaches that “Position power is inherent in the authority of your position.? You have position power when your business card has a title indicating you can manage people or command resources. My dad, an officer in the Navy, used to say, “The best leaders are those who have position power and never have to use it.”

Task power stems from being good at a particular task at work and from being able to help others with a process or procedure they may need to follow.

Personal power comes from your character attributes, such as the strength of character, passion, inspiration, or a unique vision of the future.? Personal power is further enhanced by the stability of your interpersonal skills, such as communicating well and being persuasive with others.

Relationship power comes from association with others through friendship, personal understanding of a colleague, relationship cultivation, nepotism, or reciprocity (trading favors).

Knowledge power is about having expertise in an area. This is often through knowing a special skill or group of skills in your job, but is also evidenced by having certain degrees or certifications indicating special training.? Knowledge power can often be transferred from job to job or from company to company–it is a general type of power.

The Lesson of Speed is simple.

Love of power will only produce diminishing laws of return on your leadership ability.

“The love of power is the cause for self-absorbed leaders,” and the most inspiring leaders slow down enough to understand the fox holds and navigate the reality.

The First Follower

The scene of a dancing shirtless guy on a college campus has created millions of views on YouTube. The scene is rhythmic, as a young man dances to music alone. He’s dancing alone without a shirt in front of a large crowd. The man’s dance moves are comical; he does not care what people think as he waves to his friends to join him. Moments go by with no hint of success, but this dancing shirtless guy shakes his dance moves for all to see. A turning point happens in the video, as the commentator narrates. “When you find a lone nut doing something great, have the guts to be the first person to stand up and join in.”

“It takes courage to turn a lone nut into a leader. If the leader is the flint, the first follower is the spark”

We need to be leaders that make it easy for others to follow. Making everything clear about the cause and not you.” When you focus on the goal and not yourself, leadership and following will be a fun speed with the most moments and creativity. People stop caring who the leader is when the team wins for a cause with a purpose. When we make it easy for others to follow, we create a contagious organizational culture to the leadership bench. Everyone can learn to lead if we create a culture where following is just as important as teaching.

Who is your first follower? What if you could follow a leader and become their most loyal follower? What kind of teams could you build if the focus shifts from your influence to your team’s influence? Succeeding leaders who can equip our confidence and competency for long-term goals is an actual formula for success.

Leadership is a word that could be misused. According to ongoing data from Gallup, every year, the research proves that approximately 50 percent of employees are unengaged, and seventeen percent are actively disengaged. The world’s most respected organizations invest billions of dollars in leadership and talent development, yet most of us are unengaged regardless of our leadership training. Research has proven the decline of engaged fathers in our family units has caused a decrease in people's ability to trust authority or leadership.

Most gifted leaders are driven to become leaders without having any input into their lives. We are taught through self-determination theory and the volumes of leadership books that we need to be obsessed with personal growth to become influencers. The only problem is we are mass-producing insecure followers who want to be pinnacle leaders like the thought leaders we follow without being able to follow them.

We have mass-produced “leadership consultants” with minimal influence because everyone wants to be famous and known as a great leader everywhere. Output.

Research has proven that better leadership practices impact the profitability of businesses (Leadership Profit Chain). Performance metrics abound with net promoter scales of customers and their loyalty or devotion to certain brands based on the customer service of those closest to the customers. Yet the number one cause of employee performance was not a leadership title or a manager’s style. Most turnover data reveals that people leave a company because of a mediocre manager experience. However, employees who discovered their work passion outperformed their peers by 70%.

Finding work or a career that gives you passion will always produce better results. Moreover, the most highly compensated employees also report low engagement scores as successful professionals, like all human beings, who desire autonomy, freedom, relatedness or relationships, and the ability to demonstrate competency or passion.

Servant Leadership

Robert K. Greenleaf coined Servant Leadership during an era that focused on Management as the lingua franca of business professionals. Peter Drucker and the thought leaders of the time forged a pathway for achieving great organizational results. Significant shifts in business literature ensued with the works of Dr. Ken Blanchard, John Maxwell, Stephen Covey, Dale Carnegie, etc., as leadership emerged as the world absorbed several billion dollars worth of leadership development training in companies and institutions and books. Why? Who do you know has ever experienced life when they report to a bad manager? The outcome of working for bad managers can include turnover, low employee engagement, customer dissatisfaction, and organizational death. The need for great leaders is always apparent. However, research is proving we need to include something.

“Our rewards in my life will always be in exact proportion to our contribution, our service."

This is the lesson that stands as the supporting structure of behavioral economics and of our personal well-being. Unfortunately, most people either don’t know about this lesson or think it somehow applies only to the other person. Most people believe that we should have speed-limit signs, too, but they’re for other people who don’t know how to drive as well as they do. We rush through life often with a paradigm and filter based on our gifts, and as a result, we judge other people by what we are good at instead of inspiring them to develop what they are good at.

This is what the Lesson of Speed? means as the first item on your checklist:

Commit this to memory: "Our rewards in life will always be in exact proportion to our contribution to our service. Listen to it. Think about it until you know it emotionally as well as intellectually. It might give you some slight feeling of superiority to realize that there’s probably not another man within a mile of where you live, and who knows, this lesson of inspiration?

If you want proof of that, you can add it to your survey question. If you want it in another form, here it is as it applies to your job. It’s the same thing, really; the same thing applies, but you can express it differently. The money paid by the company you work for will always be in direct ratio to the need for what you do, your ability to do it, and the degree of difficulty involved in replacing you” - Earl Nightingale.

This powerful insight underscores the importance of pacing yourself and making meaningful contributions. By internalizing this wisdom, you not only elevate yourself but also have the potential to inspire others. Consider it deeply, for it holds the key to understanding your value and impact. And remember, in your job or any endeavor, your compensation will always reflect the value you bring, the skill with which you do it, and the challenge of replacing you.

Imagine stepping into the shoes of someone who masterfully inspires others to flourish in the face of adversity. It's no small feat. Yet, your capacity to do just that showcases your value and gives you a distinct competitive edge. In a world of self-serving, influence-centered, and ego-driven leaders, your ability to understand and embody the true essence of inspiration sets you apart. While others scramble to keep up, you confidently navigate the ever-changing landscape of influence and leadership fueled by the lessons of speed and resilience.

Leadership is Overcrowded

My leadership point of view starts with my genesis. I never knew who my father was, so my birth certificate, education, development, relationships, and abilities were mainly fashioned by following or learning how to lead through relationships with mentors and other men who demonstrated exemplary leadership and, to be honest, abysmal leadership. Most of my pursuits were focused on my drive to perform or achieve my goals. My performance magnified my focus on my ego. The more I learned to be competent at tasks, the more my confidence grew. The more leaders I connected with, the more relationship power I achieved. The more my influence, my performance, my habits, my behavior, my success, and yes, my leadership caused an overwhelming emptiness inside of my soul at the end of the day.

As I reflect on my journey, I can't help but feel the profound resonance between the Lesson of Speed and the Arrow of Time in thermodynamics. It's a reminder of the transformative power that comes from slowing down to propel ourselves forward and inspire others.

My path to leadership has been marked by moments of uncertainty and an insatiable thirst for growth. Growing up without a father figure, I leaned heavily on the guidance of mentors, some of whom embodied exceptional leadership qualities, while others fell short.

Driven by an unyielding desire to excel, I poured myself into every endeavor, striving to achieve greatness. Yet, despite outward success, I always felt a lingering sense of emptiness.

Vocational Depression

One of the darkest chapters of my life unfolded during a time of vocational depression. Moving from Mandeville, Louisiana, to San Diego, California, with dreams of a new beginning, I grappled with financial hardships and mounting pressure to provide for my growing family.

The weight of failure bore down on me, and I felt I had let down the ones I loved most. It was a period of profound despair and self-doubt, where each day felt like an uphill battle.

But amidst the darkness, I found hope in the Lesson of Speed. I discovered a newfound sense of purpose and resilience by slowing down, taking stock of my journey, and finding strength in vulnerability.

This revelation, born from adversity, continues to shape my path forward, serving as a testament to the transformative power of perseverance and self-discovery.

I moved to San Diego, California, from Mandeville, Louisiana, to start a new venture. It did not succeed. It fizzled. It hurt.

I left my full-time job in pursuit of this calling. In a matter of months, my wife was pregnant with our sixth child. We call her “San Diego Stutson” for a reason. My new venture left us broke.

I was crazy enough to risk everything, bet the farm kind of risk. At thirty-one years old, I had a huge problem. I was vocationally burning down, suffering from my lack of ability to see the organization grow, and my wife depended on me to make it all happen.

I felt like I had failed her. My children believed in me, and I was burned financially, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.? I struggled with failure; many people back home were following us on social media, and I felt like a failure. I had to take a job as a first-time manager for a retail store one hour away. Every day at five-thirty in the morning, my wife would make my coffee, hug me, and pray with me.

My drive was depressing as I felt sorry for myself, only to sit in traffic for an hour every day coming home. This process ensued until I learned a vital lesson. A lesson I hope adds value to you.

The Speed of Your Inspiration Follows You

A wise man once said, it’s not about the land; it’s about the man.

You can change the geography, title, job, circumstances, challenges, and people, but the man or woman on the field who faces great hardships will always have influence. Regardless of what kind of influence, it will follow you no matter where you go. If leadership is influenced, your leadership follows you. The lesson we need to learn starts with this undeniable, irrefutable, absolute truth.

We are addicted to power and the prestige that comes from leadership. But the undeniable reality is that most of us will spend our 90,000 hours over a lifetime following another leader. “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” According to writer Annie Dillard, many of us spend many days at work; the average person will spend 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime.

Our investment in our development as a follower demonstrates our ability to accelerate into superior leaders who understand what it means to serve. According to a recent survey by Deloitte, the top challenges organizations have, according to CEOs, are “named one above all others: talent, in nearly every form. Attracting, hiring, retaining, developing, growing, and engaging talent; succession planning; the war for talent; and more constituted one out of every four responses.”

The need for better followers is apparent. Yet, we spend so much of our semantics, communication, and investments on “Leadership development,” and the more aligned solution should be succession development. Succeeding leaders and mentoring emerging leaders who are great followers are leadership competencies highly disregarded by most leaders.

Speed Principle #1

Leadership is overly addictive. Following helps others succeed, and your influence as a follower will follow your leadership.

When we get focused and obsessed with ourselves and turn our hope for security to others who are searching like us, searching for someone to coach us for their brilliance, we make the mistake of not realizing the people we are speaking to, influencing, or leading are the brilliant ones! We no longer have to be the sage on the stage when we can connect with people instead of communicating brilliant content.

The problem is that we all must be gifted, highly influential, highly successful leaders. Leadership is everything we are told. If you’re not leading, get out of the way. Everything rises and falls on leadership. To be effective, you must be a…leader. Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less; thank you, John Maxwell. I agree and follow your leadership. But what about the rest of us who are not pinnacle leaders?

What if we still need an entire generation that needs to learn the development process of following? How many of us can remember the crucial lessons learned from following and helping other people become successful?

Something magical happened when I started looking at the other people who worked with me and investing in the relationships and results around me. My depression started fading away even though my time at work increased. I still worked over sixty hours a week and had to commute one hour each way. My circumstances did not change, but we started manufacturing success and significance. Our sales team started producing excellence because we shared goals and partnered for success. I started focusing on their life goals, and I became a person of influence.

We turned problems like unpaid customer invoices into a “Customer Devotion Department” using the touchpoints to ask our clients how we can serve them better and develop better communication strategies with their organization. We gained a following. We learned that our influence followed us. And unpaid invoice gaps closed with more revenue. Essentially, following the strategic problems and matching the problem with a solution became an opportunity to observe the data.

Something I had to stop, you should know, was preventing me from following the data. Focusing on “my leadership” kept me in an office, depressed that I was not achieving the goal I had for my life. I was not working for the employer of choice, instead, the organization had more turnover than most.

I had to learn to follow. I started tracking my employees around and asking them great questions about them. I stopped caring so much about my dreams and aspirations and started celebrating other people, including clients. I followed my boss enough to learn how he followed his boss. Essentially, I learned how to become a learner with a growth mindset. I was starting to see the underappreciated form of leadership. Followership.

Speed Principle # 2

It’s not about the Land.

No matter where and what we do, we will always step into the next season with the influence that follows us. Quitting jobs or assignments may change the geography, but the character formed during painful seasons will follow you. Behavior change only happens when we rise to the occasion, regardless of the opportunities we get in life.

?A traveler came upon an old farmer hoeing in his field beside the road. Eager to rest his feet, the wanderer hailed the countryman, who seemed happy enough to straighten his back and talk for a moment. "What sort of people live in the next town?" asked the stranger.

"What were the people like where you've come from?" replied the farmer, answering the question with another question.

"They were a bad lot. Troublemakers are all lazy, too. They are the most selfish people in the world, and not one of them can be trusted. I'm happy to be leaving the scoundrels."

"Is that so?" replied the old farmer. "Well, I'm afraid that you'll find the same sort in the next town.

Disappointed, the traveler trudged, and the farmer returned to his work.

Sometime later, another stranger, coming from the same direction, hailed the farmer, and they stopped to talk. "What sort of people live in the next town?" he asked.

"What were the people like where you've come from?" replied the farmer once again.

"They were the best people in the world. Hard-working, honest, and friendly. I'm sorry to be leaving them."

"Fear not," said the farmer. "You'll find the same sort in the next town."

This real-life lesson is true. Great leaders were the best followers of better leaders.? No matter what organization we work for, we will achieve the total results we have. The people in our lives matter. It is possible to have great relationships at work and excellent results when we discover our passion is not about our leadership but the brilliance of the people we serve. I have made it a personal service vision to want more “for” people than the average person who wants something “from” people.

I believe followers who follow well develop the ability to make people feel brilliant instead of impressing people with their brilliance. The best communicators always make the audience believe they have what it takes. They get inspired because the communicator sees the brilliance of the audience. When we overcrowd our minds with our image and performance, the audience we serve becomes the idol we seek affirmation from. Yet, when we face our audience, giving value to them, people instantly can tell the speaker has been in their shoes. People know that a person has followed a process that made them who they were.

According to neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin, overcrowding can cause our brains to be less effective if we crowd them with less important information.

He wrote that information excess springs from the human indecision to prioritize tasks and activities. “This uncertainty wreaks havoc with our rapid perceptual categorization system, causes stress, and leads to decision overload.”

Our brains and human behavior tend to default toward confusion.

Our brains are designed to demand focus and clarity. If we overcrowd our brains with leadership and obsessed with our influence and performance, we will miss out on the ability to enjoy life and focus on what matters most.

We will attract other leaders when we become better leaders. We magnetically attract the people we are becoming. To gather and develop a following of leaders, you must first follow a pinnacle leader with much more competency, gifting, relationships, and ability than you. It’s humbling to admit that you need to be a follower before becoming a great leader.

Speed Principle #3

Leadership is Caught, not just Taught

According to Brendon Burchard’s research of many of the world’s top performers in all industries, sports, arts, and celebrities, “High performers are clear on their intentions for themselves, their social world, their skills, and their service to others.” One of the high-performance habits of all top performers is the ability to seek clarity from confusion. Communicating the most critical goals and outcomes in simple truth is a leading reason why top performers succeed.

Socratic ignorance and Greek Philosophy abound on the skill of knowing yourself. Understanding who you want to become and what you want to achieve is the foundation of Influence. The first aspect of clarity is knowing yourself.

“Be more intentional about who you want to become. Have vision beyond your current circumstances. Imagine your best future self, and start acting like that person today.” (High-Performance Habits).

Ask yourself questions about aspirational words that describe your future self. What do you want to become in the future? History has demonstrated the world’s most influential leaders followed a better leader before they became influential. The Jews to this day commemorate the Passover when Israel was led out of slavery by Moses, who led a nation and, in the process, developed a future emerging leader. The follower may have been unknown while In Egypt, but the follower's influence followed him wherever he went. Joshua would become the military commander who led an entire nation into their homeland. It is clear that without Moses, there would be no Joshua. Joshua would not have become the leader if he had not followed first.

Most employee engagement studies reveal leadership initiatives fail for similar reasons as overcrowded employees with too much training get stressed out and decide to focus on what matters most to them. Why so much attention on leadership?

“I recognize that emotion follows motion.” do the right thing, and you feel right. When our priorities align, we are more productive and feel more engaged with the work or masterpieces we are. When we realize our lives are miracles, life becomes less about doing the job or creating masterpieces, and we become masterpieces.

"We become the combined average of the five people we hang around the most. We start to eat what they eat, talk like they talk, read what they read, think as they think, watch what they watch, and dress as they dress." -Jim Rothe

The people you habitually associate with are called your "reference group," these people determine as much as 95 percent of your success or failure in life. Dr. David McCleland of Harvard

Speed Principle #4

Strengths from PAIN

We must learn how to see through hindsight revelation when coming out of any pain. Often, we can see the vision of our futures when we look back in the rearview mirror of our lives. Like driving, we must see what is behind us to stay aligned to the future destination.? What milestones and events in our lives have made you who you are. What can we learn from the job transfers, firings, promotions, setbacks, boredom, and lack of purpose?

Berson shows that 65% of millennials are either leaving their jobs or actively looking to leave. In effect, our generation is causing detours for themselves and many organizations.

If we don’t get better right now, wherever we are in the org chart, we will never grow the fruit we want in our jobs. But to grow these roots, we must have healthy soil. No matter the leadership level in the world, everyone has had to face failure and pain before becoming successful.

Even CEOs have boards to report earnings and profits or losses. Presidents must report to parliaments, congress, and the people they represent and face their successes or failures. Any leader who gets promoted without understanding the value of PAIN will have a leadership wound. The people they lead will notice it before they do.

Profess and Accept the Reality

To win at life, it takes the ability not to minimize the reality of the mountain or pain. You will be much more centered than a person if you accept that the pain or setback you face is real. Too often, optimists make the mistake of not professing the reality of the data or problem with the false notion that "manifesting your reality" will change the environment or situation.

You can try this approach when in a conflict in your marriage to see how having a positive attitude can become passiveness for not being emotionally connected with your spouse about the real issues that need to be touched or changed. To win at home, we must learn to profess and accept the reality of the trauma or problem.

Minimizing or unnecessary sheltering will only cause more harm.

Speed Principle #5

The Pain and GRIT at work can become a journey to enjoy your passion

So, a follower thinks in his mind, and so is his influence. Confident people give confidence to people. However, a lack of trust will multiply distrust of your abilities or those of your leaders. If we cannot confidently follow someone and help them succeed, we suffer from EGO. Getting a leadership role without learning the art of observing is like asking a West Point Cadet to lead a battalion of Rangers into war. Following orders immediately without arguing, stating our opinions, or learning the “why” is a lost art of leadership. When a follower can diagnose the situation and put aside personal preference to serve his or her leader and help them achieve the organization’s results, you gain influence.

When you lead up or communicate with sincerity, you win the respect of your leader. When you discipline yourself to work through challenges, you gain commitment. When you overcome your insecurities and help others in their insecurity, you learn the art of following. We can either speak to our lives about our detours, or we can start talking to our detours about our lives and where we are headed.

Life can happen to us, or we can make life happen. The first root structure we need in our lives is discipline. We need to develop GRIT and help people succeed and get the focus of ourselves. My colleague Angela Duckworth defines grit as passion and perseverance sustained over the long term for a specific goal, emphasizing that it's not about talent or luck but rather a commitment to hard work and continuous effort.

The 4 Options

Realism:

I look at a glass of water and acknowledge it is half full and half empty.

Pessimism:

Seeing only the empty half of the glass and focusing on the fact that it's not entirely full.

Optimism:

We see only half the glass and focus on how much water there is. However, we need to accept the reality that attitude is essential; reality needs a plan.

Opportunism:

I saw the glass and thought about how it could be used for passion, such as selling it for water or drinking it when needed.

Pastor Billy Graham spoke about the importance of professing the reality of pain in our lives to grow from pessimism to optimism to the highest virtue: opportunism. How we respond to pain is life-changing.

How we respond to P.A.I.N. is important, but I want you to feel the reality you are in so you can have a passion for never quitting and enjoy the grit with more fun and meaning in your life.

1. Profess and accept the reality
2. Articulate your response
3. Investigate the end in mind
4. Never quit

Lesson of Speed Summary

The Lesson of Speed is more than getting out of a circumstance. It's about decreasing the impact and responding with the right pace so you can speed up the time it takes to develop through your trial in life or career.

• Stop minimizing pain in your life, as it diminishes your ability to feel and be inspired to get out of the crazy cycle. Start becoming an opportunist, acknowledge the mountain, and climb it with others.

Self Inventory Questions

• What can you do today to find inspiration in your relationships?
• Is your pace in life so fast that you miss moments with your family and friends?
• Do you struggle with vocational boredom impacting your mental health? How can you start to exercise mentally and physically to accelerate your speed of getting through a season of drudgery or boredom?
• Is there a leader you can inspire or encourage and follow so you can be a first follower that inspires others?
• Who is a potential leader you can encourage and support by being their first follower?
• Is there a person you could "catch" insights, advice, or counsel from to help speed up your personal growth? Encourage them and be a friend to them.