Good!

A lot can be said about the word good. Some say that the enemy of great is good. Others strive to be good. Being considered a good person is a compliment. In the Bible, God declared His creations as being good. Recently, I heard a YouTube video by Jocko Willink that describes good in another light. If we are to be PEOPLE…ALL IN, it requires us to be good, seek good, and do good.

My father was a good man. He taught me that each day is an opportunity to get better. Challenges will come our way. They can make us or break us. The way we respond to these challenges is good. We will overcome challenges and rise to the occasion. Good! We will fall short and be defeated by adversity. Good! Sounds crazy, but winning and losing can both be good.

My first season in basketball as a seven year old, I remember scoring only 2 points. Good!

Our family uprooted and moved to Nashville when I was in 4th grade. Good!

I had a major wrist surgery my Junior year of High School. Good!

My senior year of college, I lost out on a job that I had interviewed for three times. Good!

These losses and many others were all Good!

My close friend and psychologist Dr. Drew Brannon discusses that we should strive to Fail Forward. Working outside of comfort to achieve by failing.

Similar to lifting weights. True gains happen when you work out to failure.

In business, an effort is made to ensure results are improved year over year. Holding high standard will cause some to fail. Good!

In my area of work, I push others to continuously improve. At Integrated Power Services, we aspire to be World Class. We fail every day. High standards cause losses. Good!

In my personal life, I have learned about parenting styles. The bulldozer parent clears the path for their children to be successful. This parent removes as many obstacles as possible. The helicopter parent hovers over every event with a watchful eye. I can be described as both of these parents at times. My aim is to put my children in a situation that is safe, and let them sink or swim. There will be failures. Good!

Each year when companies conduct employee evaluations, it is ok to discuss failures. Failures cause you to recalibrate, refocus, and re-energize.

My wife and I have dinner on our anniversary each year to recap and set goals. We often fail at the goals we build out. If every goal can be accomplished, then we are not dreaming big enough.

If we want to be PEOPLE…ALL IN, we have to fail them. Fail them by setting high standards. Fail them by dreaming big. Expect greatness and you will be GOOD. And yes, that is Good!