Once upon a time, in a land far away, in a time long ago, there was a man. The thing he loved was doomed and he knew it. That meant he was chosen to do something about it.
If a saint takes on the downside so others can have the upside, this man was fairly saint-like, taking much of the downside that comes with being an unapologetic prophet, with a terrible, non-stop travel schedule and a willingness to put himself out there for what he believed.
It shouldn't surprise you that this man made a lot of enemies. In fact most of his enemies only really agreed on one thing - how much they disliked this guy. When those enemies made their move the man's friends and followers abandoned him. Worst of all, he didn't end up saving the thing he loved.
In the end the man died a brutal, public death all alone.
The End
If a saint takes on the downside so others can have the upside, this man was fairly saint-like, taking much of the downside that comes with being an unapologetic prophet, with a terrible, non-stop travel schedule and a willingness to put himself out there for what he believed.
It shouldn't surprise you that this man made a lot of enemies. In fact most of his enemies only really agreed on one thing - how much they disliked this guy. When those enemies made their move the man's friends and followers abandoned him. Worst of all, he didn't end up saving the thing he loved.
In the end the man died a brutal, public death all alone.
The End
This Stuff Happens Around Us All The Time
Look around you. When people like you are chosen to save the things they love there is a very good chance that they will fail, and when they fail they often fail in a way that kills them.
In my community, for example, a hometown-boy-made-good was tapped to lead a major local non-profit. A real vision setter and advocate, our hero broke through the community's self-denial and self-delusion, radically changing the conversation (for the better) around some of its most important issues.
He took on all kinds of downside as the leader of this movement, including making enemies, stress, poor health, and family pressures many of us never experience. He took the downside but the upside didn't really happen - he didn't save the thing he loved.
According to most folks our hero has failed. In fact, a couple months ago our hero had a much gossiped about, high profile, lonely exit from the organization he was recruited to lead; an exit under a cloud of poor organizational performance and concern about financial controls. This is the modern version of a brutal, public death.
What To Do About Your Pending Death
May have guessed it, but the story I opened with is about Jesus. Some of you may not appreciate my reference to Jesus in this piece but this is not about religions or miracles. It is instead a story you as a leader should still learn from. This story tells you what you should do about your pending death.
Back in March I told you that You Are Chosen to lead. Last November I told you that you needed to have "soul-in-the-game" as well as "skin-in-the-game". In their stories both Jesus and our hero did this. Following my advice means that you, your vision and sacrifice and loneliness, could get you dead too.
But when the thing you love is doomed, and you are chosen, you get some choices. You may not be able to save that life of yours, or that vision of yours, or that thing you love. But, you can choose to try.
And if you choose to try and still lose, dying a modern day brutal and public death, you get another choice. You can either quit and stay dead, or you can come back to life and try again. If you really love that thing that is doomed, then the choice to make is to come back to life.
According to the story, this is what Jesus did.
Epilogue
It turns out that coming back to life is the choice our hero has made as well. I had lunch with him earlier this week. It is strange that a dead guy with no more traction in our community has so many well supported plans. Here are a few of them:
Just like Jesus and hopefully just like you.
Be well,
Sterling Lynk
Look around you. When people like you are chosen to save the things they love there is a very good chance that they will fail, and when they fail they often fail in a way that kills them.
In my community, for example, a hometown-boy-made-good was tapped to lead a major local non-profit. A real vision setter and advocate, our hero broke through the community's self-denial and self-delusion, radically changing the conversation (for the better) around some of its most important issues.
He took on all kinds of downside as the leader of this movement, including making enemies, stress, poor health, and family pressures many of us never experience. He took the downside but the upside didn't really happen - he didn't save the thing he loved.
According to most folks our hero has failed. In fact, a couple months ago our hero had a much gossiped about, high profile, lonely exit from the organization he was recruited to lead; an exit under a cloud of poor organizational performance and concern about financial controls. This is the modern version of a brutal, public death.
What To Do About Your Pending Death
May have guessed it, but the story I opened with is about Jesus. Some of you may not appreciate my reference to Jesus in this piece but this is not about religions or miracles. It is instead a story you as a leader should still learn from. This story tells you what you should do about your pending death.
Back in March I told you that You Are Chosen to lead. Last November I told you that you needed to have "soul-in-the-game" as well as "skin-in-the-game". In their stories both Jesus and our hero did this. Following my advice means that you, your vision and sacrifice and loneliness, could get you dead too.
But when the thing you love is doomed, and you are chosen, you get some choices. You may not be able to save that life of yours, or that vision of yours, or that thing you love. But, you can choose to try.
And if you choose to try and still lose, dying a modern day brutal and public death, you get another choice. You can either quit and stay dead, or you can come back to life and try again. If you really love that thing that is doomed, then the choice to make is to come back to life.
According to the story, this is what Jesus did.
Epilogue
It turns out that coming back to life is the choice our hero has made as well. I had lunch with him earlier this week. It is strange that a dead guy with no more traction in our community has so many well supported plans. Here are a few of them:
- Sharpen his saw. Take a moment, and just a moment, to recharge. Eat better and get the exercise he craves. (Started. You should saw what he ate at lunch.)
- Spend much more time with his family while planting even more roots in his community. (His wife just took a leadership role with a significant financial institution in town while he's started driving his kids to school.)
- Lead a new organization and power it with his vision and his purpose. (I hear that a major development on this project is close)
Just like Jesus and hopefully just like you.
Be well,
Sterling Lynk