6 Awesome Points for Greatness

As I look across the spectrum of a sea of people, I cannot help but notice certain characteristics that seem to stand out among such a vast array of individuals. There are people who I encounter on a daily or weekly basis, some of which I involuntarily engage because we share the same proximity, that all display noticeable traits. What I mean by this is that people have a tendency to wear or carry with them the scent of where they have been and the influence they have been under.

What do you smell like?
If a person’s influence was egocentric, those individuals seem to wear that same self-centeredness. If their sphere of influence was competitive, the individual seems to have a competitive disposition about everything. Nonetheless, what I see in most people is the lack of passion for personal growth.

If the person who influenced them was one who felt that they had learned all there is to learn about their profession or life in general, the person under them becomes stuck in the process of where their leader stopped growing. Because they were trained by someone whom many consider the best in their field, oftentimes, people become condescending toward others, as if their knowledge gained through other leaders is obsolete.

Phil Jackson’s Leadership
I follow sports quite a bit and I consider myself a student of the game – football, basketball, and baseball. One team I am particularly fond of is the Los Angeles Lakers. Phil Jackson is not a good coach; he is considered a great coach. Just because a player played the game of basketball under his tutelage does not make the individual a great player. Most players do not thrive well under Coach Phil’s system; as a result, many are cut from the team.

Six Protégé Points

1. A player may have played one or two years for the Lakers, under the great Phil Jackson, but that does not make the individual a great player.
2. One should not assume the posture of “great” because they were trained by a well-known leader.
3. Never take the name of a great leader onto another team and think that the new coach and players should listen to you because of who you’ve learned from. A great name is a lot to live up to.
4. Moreover, one should not try to get doors open for themselves by dropping the name of some well-known person because it speaks volume about you.
5. People who do well under the training and system of a great leader develop the heart of that leader.
6. It is not necessarily what you have learned that should matter the most, or the person you learned it from; but whether you are illustrating and epitomizing the lessons you have learned.

Conclusion
Leaders, Coaches and Trainers eventually die and systems become obsolete as players become bigger, stronger, wiser and more agile. In spite of this, there is One Leader and system that will never go out of style or become irrelevant, and it is the Greatest of the greatest.

“If you have really heard his voice and learned from him the truths concerning himself (Jesus), then throw off your old evil nature–the old you that was a partner in your evil ways–rotten through and through, full of lust and sham. Now your attitudes and thoughts must all be constantly changing for the better.” Ephe 4:21-23 (TLB)