What an Old Man with a Wheelbarrow Can Teach Us About Leadership

There is a story I heard a long time ago about an old man with a wheelbarrow who was standing with a young boy, about to cross a tightrope 20 feet off the ground.

The man asked the boy, “do you believe I can make it across this tightrope with this wheelbarrow?” The boy said "Yes! I do believe!” The man asked again, “are you sure? It’s awfully high.” The young man got more excited and said “yes, you can do it!” The old man asked one more time and the young boy continued to support him. After the boy said "Yes" for the third time, the man said “great, now, get in the wheelbarrow.” The boy knew better and immediately said "no way!" to which the man replied "but you said you believed I could make it!" and went on to teach the young man a lesson.

The point is, in life, we all get to choose what we believe. We can even SAY we believe in something until our voice gets tired and dull. But the question is, do you believe what you say enough to put yourself in a position of UNCERTAINTY and FEARFULNESS?

Are you willing to take a chance? Belief is not enough. We can believe all day every day until our head hurts.

What happens when we get scared is that we don’t take action. Lots of talk, especially around election time, and in conference rooms, or at corporate events, about people's beliefs. This little parable really got my wheels spinning (no pun intended!) about belief in general vs. belief through times of adversity vs. belief confronted by fear... etc. The best leaders I have come into contact with in my lifetime were able to act on their beliefs, even when it was easier NOT to. So... are you a doer, or a "believer"?