On Friday I took my kids to school. They are 4 and 2, so most mornings we listen to Disney Hits on Spotify. But this time we were blasting Sam Cooke radio. It’s fantastic. Singing every word to Twistin’ The Night Away. The kids were laughing. I was hamming it up. Out of the blue I’ve got someone riding me, tailgating, flashing their lights. Super agro. What’s the deal? Does this guy hate Soul music?
It wasn’t about Sam Cook, or my voice, or the kids…
Football season is here so let’s talk about Brett Favre, Hall of Fame quarterback, Green Bay Packer. Brett was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons, who couldn’t find a way to get him on the field. The same Brett Favre. Hall of Fame QB. Actor. Wrangler wearing tough guy. Why couldn’t he win the job? Why didn’t they see the inner Hall of Famer? Coach Glanville already had a quarterback, and Chris Miller, not a hall of famer, was on his way to a nice pro bowl season.
It wasn’t about Brett or his Wranglers.
The narrow view says that you were unlucky, they were out to get you, or we failed to see you as the special person you are.
That is the ego talking, putting us at the center. That is the voice of fear and selfish aspirations. And that voice does not travel. It doesn’t scale. It doesn’t spread.
The big picture says, IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU.
The big picture says we are just cogs in the machinery. The truth is that Brett, Coach Glanville, me and my tailgater, were all seeing the world from a different angle. Not right or wrong.
Different lens, different view.
Hard work and mental gymnastics don’t change that. You are brilliant. You are a grinder.
It’s still not about you. I know that stings a little, but it’s not. It’s not about your business plan or your goals. It’s not about promotions, analysis, or your strategy. And it’s not about any of that.
You can dance with fear, make a ruckus, and do the hard part first. I want that for you.
But it’s still not about you.
You do play a role, though. You can embrace the hell out of that tension, and you can brainwrite all the ways you’ll make a dent in the universe.
Enjoy that process, fight the resistance, stick to it, and then leap. Leap forward and play the role of lead domino, because the change you seek takes the whole tribe, it takes the big picture, it takes everyone doing their part.
Your team, your family, your cohort, your community.
Your service.
It’s about doing all these things, but doing them in the carpool lane, because what we’ve learned is, “If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.”
*This is an edited version of my final speech as part of the altMBA. I still like it.*
