Are You Making a Difference?

College basketball’s annual March Madness started Sunday with the announcement of the brackets. As a sports fan, I enjoy speculating who will win each bracket. It occurs to me that often the coaches are the real difference-makers.


Personally, my sport was baseball and my little league coach influenced me greatly. First, he took the time to convince me that he cared about me and had my best interest in mind. He built ‘trust’ with me and nurtured me. I credit his words with teaching me the basic skills of the game and his encouragement with giving me the desire to go on to play two years of semi-professional baseball after high school. I realize that he helped me develop a positive attitude and the desire to be a winner.

You and I have that same ability to be a difference-maker in the lives of the people we lead. Our lives are often referred to as a ‘dash’ - the symbol used on our gravestone between the year of birth and the year of death - that will depict our life. Think of it as the time we are alive and able to be influencers. So, let me ask you – who are you influencing? Whose life are you impacting?

Are you making a difference?

The Courage to Lead

During the recent observance of President’s Day, I was reminded of the courage shown by both Lincoln and Washington, two of our country’s greatest leaders. Each of our first two presidents had to take a stand, face opposition and negotiate compromise in order to move the country forward. As leaders, we meet daily challenges and if we are completely honest, face fear.

What is courage?

Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is doing what you fear to do, in spite of the fear. If we are totally honest with each other, as leaders we often find ourselves making decisions that we think are right, but that we are not completely comfortable with. As leaders, we sometimes experience push-back, criticism, grumbling, and a less than favorable marketplace response to our decisions.

For daily courage, being well-read, having experience, being “prayed-up” and being on a team whose members are supportive of each other, helps our level of confidence.

One other thing that has helped me with my fears is reading a chapter from the book of Proverbs daily. Proverbs, which has 31 chapters, is known as the book of wisdom. I don’t think it is coincidental that the number of chapters matches the number of days in most months. The insights I gain give me food for thought and often the courage I need to lead.