Jason Shick

“Life is not a spectator sport. If you are going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion, you’re wasting your life.” –Jackie Robinson

Our world is crying out for quality leaders because we have created a world of spectators. People spend hours watching television, movies, you-tube videos, and sporting events. We cheer for our teams, we wear the logos, and get passionate about the game. Don’t get me wrong, none of these things are inherently bad or wrong in themselves. Looking at the entire picture though, it seems that we are producing (or already have) a generation of people who are afraid to take risks and are passionate about the wrong things. 

Powerful and real leadership requires that you steps up to the plate on important issues and take a swing.  The problem with being a spectator, other than the fact that you can’t influence anything, is that you learn to criticize and complain. This certainly carries over into other areas. How many times have you worked with somebody who seemed more interested in pointing out problems than working toward solutions? If you are aspiring to grow your capacity for leadership, you must spend less time in the stand and run onto the field.  Actively look for opportunities to challenge yourself, grow, and gain valuable leadership experience.

The best opportunities for getting some experience under your belt will be marked by two characteristics. First, they will require you to be uncomfortable. If you are comfortable, whether it’s in your job, home life, spiritual life, or financial life- it means that growth has come to a halt. This can even be seen in the sports arena. Athletes must push themselves every day. If they get comfortable running a mile or lifting a certain weight, they must increase the intensity if they wish to go to the next level. I might even argue that any time you are uncomfortable you are growing in some capacity, either physically, emotionally, spiritually, or mentally.

The second characteristic of a great opportunity for leadership growth is that it will require you to step onto the field, It will require you to actively engage the problem and stop being a spectator. It will require that you stop the criticism and start taking action. It will require that you stop watching and start doing. Doing what?… you ask. Just do something for crying out loud! Turn your passion toward something more than Sunday afternoon football.  In his book, Wild at Heart, John Eldridge speaks about a mans deep desire to be a hero. The problem is that a great leader, and subsequently, a great hero, must take risks and be willing to lose some games. Unfortunately, it’s become way too easy for men to identify with a hero on the field. So that becomes the closest thing to a hero they will ever be. They make choices based on fear rather than vision and never become the hero for their family they deeply desire to be.  My brother recently told me he was talking to a successful businessman who had this piece of advice to anybody who wants to be successful- “volunteer for everything, if somebody wants something done you should be the first to volunteer.” As the old saying goes “if you are willing to do the things others are not willing to do, someday you will be able to do the things other cannot do.”

John F. Kennedy said “The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust, sweat, and blood. Who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best in the end knows the triumph of high achievement and if he fails, fails while daring greatly so that his place will never be with those cold and timid souls that know neither victory nor defeat.” This is the great call to action by one of the most well respected leaders in the world. Find a way to get out of the grandstand and onto the playing field. Stop wasting time being a spectator. Be a hero… life is not a spectator sport!

Tags: drive, John F. Kennedy, leadership, passion, sports, Success, wild at heart

This entry was posted by Jason Shick on Saturday, September 19th, 2009 at 12:20 pm and is filed under Success. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.