Years ago, when I lived in a home-based Christian community, one of my housemates was this practical jokester named Bob.
Bob did most of his pranks on the phone. He was legally blind — so that fact, coupled with his wonderful sense of humor, allowed us to play pranks back on him, too. Some of my favorite memories in my life are from his pranks played on us, or pranks we played on him.
For example, occasionally Bob would intercept a telephone call from a telemarketer. “Hello, this is JC Penney’s calling. Is the head of household in?” Bob would say, “Really, is this JC Penney?” And they would say, “Yes, it is.” And he would say “But I thought you were dead!”
In retaliation for his goofy jokes, we would sneak in and shake his bed with him in it, and call it an earthquake, or put tabasco sauce on his toothbrush (we threatened — I hope we didn’t actually do that!)
So when we’d get to this time of year, early March, Bob would say “Army Day is coming! Army Day is coming!” And we’d say “what do you mean, Bob?” to which he would reply, “March 4th!!! you know, March Forth!!!”
It’s kind of silly, right? But fun. Silly fun, and exactly why I love Bob so much. (Along with that he is one of the most amazing human beings I’ve ever met, full of as much love as mirth and merriment).
But as I was sitting here thinking OMG it’s March 1st, I remembered Bob. I remembered March Forth, and realized today, I am thinking about Marching First.
By this, I mean being a leader in my unique way.
“Instead of looking for a great leader, we are in an era where each of us needs to find the great leader in ourselves.” ~ Werner Erhard
There’s more news than is fit to print on leadership. If I’m going to get marching, I better not get sidetracked.
I’ll put it simply. Today, Leadership is going first. It’s not necessarily being seen going first. It’s not having a following, per se. It’s making a step forward, crossing the line between the known and the unknown, exercising courage, and clocking some form of personal gain. Every day, something like this. For ourselves. Building, banking courage, banking the ability to cross that fear threshold.
Let’s just say, here we are on March First, and it’s a fine excuse for a modicum of daring — for letting the kite string out a time or two. A great day for letting something fly a little bigger and a little higher even experimentally without anyone showing the way. And for making progress. Even a thimble full of progress is progress.
Thanks, Bob. Love ya, bro.
March 1st. 2017.