It’s Now Or Never

If you are old enough, you know who made this phrase famous.  I can hear Elvis singing “Tomorrow will be too late...it's now or never...”.  Elvis was so good at what he did, he only needed a first name to be memorialized forever.

As a Leader, we will also be remembered, for our Decisions, both good and poor.  But have you ever been with a Leader who just can not make a decision?  I wrote earlier of Life Is Full Of Choices...make one.  We learned “Rare Leaders™ must be Decisive”.  In my message Freedom Lies In Being Bold, I suggested “failure in Decision making is sometimes a Bold tool”. 

As Leaders, the opportunity to make Decisions is present at every moment.  We occasionally make Decisions quickly, or sometimes we have days to prepare.  Some Decisions are obvious, and some leave us with anxiety similar to buyers remorse.  We have made Decisions showering us with praise, and we have unfortunately made Decisions darkening us with blame.  We find the loneliness of Decision making is not for the meek.

In his short story “Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner”, Alan Sillitoe describes a young boy who uses running as a method of both an emotional and a physical escape from the bleak prospects and few interests of his personal life.  It was Sillitoe’s intention from the start to make Colin Smith deliberately lose the race. If he had won the race, he wouldn’t have been half the man he was. He had to lose.  He had to fail, in order to win.

Carrying the burden of making Decisions is heavy, especially when you carry the lives, and futures of so many people with you.  In this way, great Leaders carry a tremendous responsibility to others in their Decisions.  How do you find a healthy emotional and physical escape from the responsibility of your deliberate Decisions?  Because, looking back on your actions, you must have no regrets.  

You are a leader.  To be a Rare Leader™, you must make  deliberate Decisions, without regret, every day, every minute, with every breath you take.  That’s what Rare Leaders™ do.

1. Who makes Decisions without Regret?
2. What is your healthy escape from making Decisions?
3. Where do you see Decisions not being made?
4. When will you make deliberate Decisions?
5. How will your Decisions impact others?

If you want to learn more about the Rare Leader™ in you, 

or if you are interested in retaining Steve as your Executive Coach, 

Contact Steve Riege via: twitter, or his website.

Freedom Lies In Being Bold

Be Bold he said.  

She said to be Decisive.  

Feel Passionate and Free they told me. 

Robert Frost claims “Freedom lies in being bold”. 

Theodore Roosevelt wrote, “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory or defeat.”

"No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess", penned Isaac Newton.

"Be bold when others are scared.” claimed Thomas J. Powell

When making decisions, Life can be a very lonely.  

The taste of this freedom Frost speaks of; from being stuck in neutral, drives the Rare Leader™ to move forward, to be bold, and win glorious triumphs, even if checkered by failure.  After all, stuck in neutral brings no chance of success, only fear of repeated failure.  And, in the competitive marketplace of our new economy, repeated failure does not bode well.

I was 12 at the time.  My friends and I were selected by our parents to study the Catechism of the Lutheran Church.  Not many children are able to choose their own faith and which church or religion to follow.  At this young formative age, our parents make that choice for us. 

I remember sitting in Mike’s dad’s car.  Nolan had picked us up from Jr. High School to deliver us to church for class.  With Mike in the front, we sat in the back seat. 

In 1966, Nolan’s Mercury Park Lane cruiser had a rear window that rolled down.  Not the rear door window, but the rear window overlooking the trunk.  I’ll always remember that car, because of the long ride that first day of Catechism class.  We were all so very quiet, unusual for these four 7th graders.  

We were not certain why we were going, and what we would be expected to learn, but we knew the choice to attend had been made for us.  

I’ll also remember that ride in the Mercury cruiser, because Nolan smoked cigarettes.  He smoked as if his life depended on it.  And since our ability to live on depended on our not smoking, that rear window was our life saver.  

Pastor Hoven welcomed us that day.  For two years we made the trip to class.  And we learned about the ten commandments, the creed, the sacraments, prayers and confession.  We committed everything to memory, so we could pass the public examination and wear those white robes on confirmation day.  

I can still recite most of what I learned, and it became the foundation of my faith today.  However, perhaps the most valuable lesson was not found in the small handbook we carried for two years.  

At some point in our studies, something - somewhere must have happened.  Im guessing there was a major event in world news, politics, community, our church, or with a family member of our class.  The details of this triggering event has since escaped me.  But the impromptu lesson Pastor Hoven delivered that day as he put down the teachers manual, and strayed from the syllabus, changed my life forever.  

He taught “Freedom to Fail”. 

It was short, and for some reason it stuck.  Life, he began, is filled with choices you must make.  Not all of your choices can, or will be the best. 

I challenge you he said, to be bold, and speak loudly in your choice, and move forward, out of neutral.  If you fail, God will pick you up, and help you try again to make a better decision.  “That’s it?” I mumbled to myself.  I thought there must be more.

Pastor Hoven challenged us to live our lives on both sides of this story.  Be bold he said, make the best decision you can, and if you fail, someone who cares for you will be there to pick you up, dust you off, and encourage you to try again.  In that same way, look to your friends, your family or even a stranger who tries to be bold in their decision, but fails.  Be there to pick them up, dust them off, and help and encourage them to try again.  

With this lesson of a “Freedom to Fail”, the fear of repeated failure blows away, like foul cigarette smoke through that rear window of your life, and the fresh air of a new chance to try again with a better chance for success fills you with a Freedom you will taste forever.

I made this “Freedom to Fail” a granite building block in my personal foundation for Leading others.  I have used this lesson with my children, with friends, with colleagues, with clients, and with those rising stars on my Teams, who helped to make me successful.  

Remember, as a Rare Leader™, you must move toward a  solution, and be willing to take a risk.  Be Bold.  There’s a great freedom out there. 

1. Who is there to pick you up if you fail?
2. What decisions have brought you failure?
3. Where can you find fresh air to try again after failure?
4. When did you pick up others who failed with their decision?
5. How will you help others who fail in their decisions?

If you want to learn more about the Rare Leader™ in you, 

or if you are interested in retaining Steve as your Executive Coach, 

Contact Steve Riege via: twitter, or his website.