Rediscovering Joy: A Lesson in Presence and Personal Leadership

Rediscovering Joy: A Lesson in Presence and Personal Leadership

Today I met a group of middle schoolers on a field trip to Lake Michigan.

They had just trekked through woods and dunes and a thousand-something steps to reach the shoreline.

I know because I did it earlier—and my legs still remember.

They showed up in jeans and earbuds. Hesitant. Cool. Disconnected. Afraid to step off the platform into the soft golden sand—the sacred glacier remains of the Great Lakes.

But then…

One jumped.
And then another.

Suddenly—
They were laughing.
Galloping.
Wrestling toward the water.

The air changed.
The sound rose.
The space stretched to meet their joy.

I stood still and watched it happen:

The unraveling.
The remembering.
The return.

Ties to coolness and pressure and stress—loosened. Released.

Replaced with squeals and splashes and belly laughs that belonged to freedom.

Remember That?

Remember dropping the script?

Remember not caring how you looked or what others thought?

This… THIS is what we’re built for.

We tell stories about “lazy kids” and “entitled teens”—but these kids? They already worked to get there.

Hot buses.
Long lines.
Dirty bathrooms.
Reluctant climbs.

And when they arrived?

They let it go.
They let themselves be.

Not perfect, but powerful.
Not poised, but present.
Not broken—just becoming.

Both/And.
Messy and magical.
Fearful and free.

The Leadership Lesson

Somewhere along the way, we forgot that was allowed.

For them.
For us.

But my friend… we GET this life.

It’s a gift.
You are a gift.
And none of this—not one breath of it—is an accident.

So wherever you are, whatever you’re facing… you get to choose.

Let it harden you.
Or let it grow you.

Run.
Jump.
Splash.

Be loud.
Be unshushable.
Take up space.

Because joy isn’t extra. It’s essential.

And when you reclaim joy? You reclaim self-worth, personal leadership, and the resilience that makes you unstoppable.

If you enjoyed this post, join my inner circle of people on a mission to design a life they don’t need to escape from!