Early in my ministry I had the privilege of attending a leadership seminar in Columbia, SC, which instilled in me some basic leadership skills and concepts which I continued to use until my retirement. It was that good.
Mooney Player, owner of the leadership training company and developer of the training materials, built his whole leadership training on a foundation made up of two key principles. His promise was that if an individual adhered to those two key principles, he/she would stand out and succeed in ways where others who did not, would not – no matter where one’s career path took him/her.
As we stand looking at a new year, my thought is that every person reading this blog would like to succeed in his/her life endeavors during 2018. For that reason I want to share Mooney Player’s two key principles, enhance them with my personal thoughts, and in doing so, to challenge you to make them a part of your life – in every phase of your life:
1. Pay the upfront price
I love to attend Clemson home football games for a lot of reasons, but one of my favorite reasons comes each game one minute prior to the beginning of the fourth quarter. At that moment in the game a video is played on the huge scoreboard which shows Clemson players relentlessly running sprints, doing agility drills, lifting weights, blocking and tackling, and sweating profusely. At the climax of the video in huge letters the following words appear one screen at a time: “THIS… IS… WHY… WE… WORK… 4TH QUARTER. The message is obvious. Clemson football players pay that upfront price so that they can win games in the fourth quarter.
Winners are willing to pay the upfront price. They are willing to educate themselves, willing to set goals and monitor progress, willing to make contacts, and willing to say no to even good “yes’s” in the present so that they can receive ultimately better yes’s in the future. They are willing to be critiqued, willing to listen, and willing to face rejection without giving up. They don’t believe in personal entitlement; don’t believe that someone owes them a break. Winners make their own breaks by paying the upfront price required for success by any given endeavor.
2. Winners do what they say they will do
Winners deliver the “goods” which they’ve promised to deliver. They show up when they’ve said they will be there. They produce the work which they’ve said they will produce. They stand strong when they’ve said another has their support. They pay the upfront price if they’ve promised to pay it.
These two great life principles can be summed up in two huge, life-defining words: commitment and integrity.
Do you want to be a winner in 2018 in your family life, at work, in your spiritual life, in your financial planning, in your pleasure pursuits? Then be committed – pay the upfront prices required to succeed. Then be a person of integrity – do what you say you will do.
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