Be True #03

Control what you can. Lead when you should. Roll the dice when you have to.

This is one of my favorite original lines. I reflect on it often and there is a lot to unpack. First, control what you can...There are a lot of things that you always can control and a lot more that you can't. Focus on the former, plan the best you can for the latter. What can you control, always?

• Your attitude
• Your work ethic
• Your thoughts
• Your words
• Your preparation
• Your intentions and the goals you set (or don't set)

Often, leaders spend too much time trying to control the uncontrollable. It works when Murphy is on board. But usually, Murphy is an asshole. The lessons I've learned lead me to focus efforts on what I can control, especially preparation. When you prepare for different, uncontrollable, situations, you regain a level of control in an uncontrolled environment. To be in this position, however, you have to control the other elements of life that you can. You have to work hard to prepare and hard work needs the right attitude. You also have to communicate effectively to clearly make your intentions and goals known to those around you so they can join efforts and control what they can to work together to conquer whatever life throws at you.

Second, lead when you should. When I reflect on this, it means lead always. To paraphrase Jocko Willink, if you are a human and you interact, in any way, with another human, you have an opportunity to be a leader. Literally every situation needs leadership, so lead. That doesn't mean being the person always in charge and certainly does not mean be the person barking out orders. It means be the person who is ready, is prepared, is aligned to the vision, understands what success looks like....basically, the person who is in control of what he or she can control and is, therefore, in the best position to lead others. Lead from the front. Lead from the middle. Lead from the back. I'm not prescriptive because the situation will dictate where you need to lead from. Sometimes you lead by listening, other times by communicating, other times by doing. Leadership is literally everything it takes to get from point A to point B anywhere in life. So lead when you should, which is always.

Third, roll the dice when you have to. Life throws the unknown at us all the time. Every situation can have some sort of statistical analysis performed that identifies the best next decision and then repeat that process throughout life. Operating this method may give you a long, safe life, but you won't accomplish shit. There are decisions that require more effort and consideration than others. By no means am I advocating to be reckless and "roll the dice" all the time. However, no matter what we want, or think, or wish, the world doesn't stop. If a decision needs to be made, the world doesn't care. It won't stop and wait for you to make your decision. If you stall or "kick the can" you either fall further behind the world or the situations surrounding the decision have the potential to change, thus changing the decision set. Be Intentional will be covered in #04 so I won't get into that detail now and Be Decisive was covered in #01 so feel free to go back and read that. I'll leave it at this, when you choose not to make a decision, that's your decision. All things being equal, moving beats stagnation.