Today, I Did Good

My dad used to say to me every morning before I left for school,

"Do good today."

And when I hit the teen years, I challenged this with,

"Why can't I be average? I'm sick of trying to be good."

And he would chuckle and say,

"Okay. Do average today."

And that was all I needed to go forth and blow average out of the water.

Now mind you, I didn't realize it at the time, but average was never in the cards for me.

Ohhh, how I longed to be the person in the room nobody noticed.

The person who could be late, a little off, or not show up at all, and nobody gave a rip.

But if I wasn't there?

I'd get phone calls.

So average seemed dreamy to me.

Anonymous.

Safe.

I keep a picture of my dad displayed in my office where I created a business out of being me.

He surely would not believe that I've built it all on leadership—

leadership I learned from him as I played Barbies beneath the kitchen table while he helped my brother with physics.

Or as I watched him quiet a skittish filly at the end of a long lunge simply with his giant hands and calm voice.

Or as he discussed his sales manager with the ever-present spot on his tie, his belief in the production employees, or his secretary who photocopied good recipes to bring home to my mom.

I was listening.

I was absorbing.

I was learning how leadership feels before I ever had language for it.

There's not a lot of applause for the work I do.

The transformations aren't always obvious to the naked eye.

And because the work is sacred and private, I can't share the specifics of any particular journey.

So when I get a day that feels like:

Job well done.

I'm learning to honor it.

The same way I would honor anyone else who has put real value into the world.

Today, I showed someone what a settled nervous system looks like.

Today, I organized the spiraling thoughts of a real up-and-comer.

Today, I wrapped up loose ends that weren't mine, but I'm generously offering.

Today, I helped someone ask for what they want in a future they're going to design, with a plan that uses leadership as the anchor.

I'm doing this.

And today,

I did good.

Not average.

You were right, Daddy.

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