I get to spend a good amount of time with wise, wise folks as I travel and work with many different types of leadership teams. This week, wisdom got dropped in one of those rooms and I wrote it down so I could share it with you.
The future belongs to those that show up.
The days ahead belong to those that are present and accounted for.
In other words, the future does not belong to those that are absent and MIA.
Showing up seems to be way more than half the battle in life and leadership.
Showing up means to be who you are and consistently move to who you are called to be as faithful as you possibly can be in all the places you find yourself.
I am learning more about what I care about and what I don’t care about. I am learning what type of person I am and I am okay with being that person in all the rooms that I am.
I am a person (and by the way are drawn to people) that…
– Has favorite Bible verses and stories -Always sings loud the line “I shot a man in Reno…” -Has quite a few favorite Office episodes -Has quite a few favorite authors: Berry, Merton, Nouwen, Peterson, Tolkien, Palmer -Would rather work outside than inside any day of the week -Would rather be in the woods/on the farm than at a mall/concert/large public gathering place -Would be okay if Facebook would go away forever -Would rather live in the country than in the city -Hates inconsistency in all its forms (this is why politics gets my goat right now so much – has very little to do with party affiliations) -Sees the world in metaphors and stories -Chooses the rhythm of a farm over the rhythms of industry/efficiency/social media -Enjoys time alone -Enjoys time with my family and close friends -Would be a baker, teacher, rapper, music producer or counselor if I had the chance to choose another career -Enjoys writing and needs to do it to be sane -And a whole host of other things
Why this list?
To be present and show up, I have to realize who I am and what I care about and what I don’t care about. I, like many others I suspect have done a lot of pretending, mask wearing, a role-playing to make ourselves fit in and not ‘disturb’ those around us.
And by the way, we all have different lists. No two lists are going to be identical, but the point is not for you to be like me or me to be like you. The goal is that we all show up with all that we are. We all be present.
The goal is to be who you are and consistently move to who you are called to be as faithful as you possibly can be in all the places you find yourself.
Here is to the future and to those that show up.
St. Paul sums up my thoughts well in this way:
12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection (wholeness) – for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:12-14 (NLT)
Strength and courage,
kp
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