Integrity

Who are you when no one else is watching?

"We all have two battles or two enemies going on. One with the man across from you, and one with the man inside of you. I think once you control the one inside of you, the one across from you really doesn't matter."

I am a huuuuugggggeee fan of the Dallas Cowboys (I just lost 3/4 of my potential readership) and I am incredibly excited about the job that Dak Prescott has done in leading the team to an 11-1 start and to the longest winning streak in franchise history! That being said, I am even more impressed with the job that Tony Romo has done by accepting his new role as the Cowboys backup quarterback. Tony is teaching lessons in leadership to his teammates in what are trying times for him as an individual. Tony's character has been exposed in this process and he has proven to be a man of high integrity.

In the press conference above Tony is transparent and honest. He makes it clear that he is not happy with how circumstances unfolded and acknowledges that he had moments of self-pity and doubt. It would have been easy for him to become disengaged or disinterested once he rehabbed from injury and his position had been taken away by someone else. Tony however chose to be a part of something bigger than himself. He has embraced his new role on the team and is doing his part (what he can do) to help the team win. When you observe Tony on the sidelines he is always looking at the play sheets and mentoring Dak when appropriate. Instead of dwelling on what he couldn't do he instead figured out what he could do to add value to the team. Tony has embraced his role as a mentor to Dak Prescott and in the process has himself learned a valuable lesson: Our greatest adversary is ourself. Our own self-pity, self doubt, and self obsession is what holds us back from being the best version of ourselves that we can be. Once we master the person inside of us outside forces cease to have a hold on us and we are freed to live our lives joyfully.

Whether you are the janitor sweeping a bathroom or the backup quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, what you do matters. So do it to the best of your ability.


Integrity as defined by Webster

1. firm adherence to a code of especially moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty
2. an unimpaired condition
3. the quality or state of being complete or undivided

In his book Becoming a Person of Influence, John Maxwell writes that Integrity should be viewed like the foundation of a house during a huge storm. "If the foundation is sound, then it will hold up against the raging waters. But when there are cracks in the foundation, the stress of the storm deepens the cracks until eventually the foundation-and then the whole house-crumbles under the pressure."

If you have read this far thank you and welcome to my blog!

I have decided to start a bi-weekly journal of leadership principles that have I have collected over the course of my life thus far. The reason for this is because I am passionate about developing leaders and my hope is that this blog will be used as a tool of reference for someone in their own personal development. The title of the blog Are You Adding to or are You Getting Through? stems from my personal mission "to add value to the lives of others by enjoying what it is that I do" I am a Grand Opening Supervisor for Chick-fil-A. I have the privilege of traveling the all over the United States and leading the openings of new restaurants. During this process days can get long and being on the road constantly (50 out of 52 weeks a year) away from friends and family takes its toll. My anchor that gets me through is my vision of owning a restaurant where I can develop young leaders by creating a culture of constant growth to make the world a better place. Every day we see on the news stories of corruption, hate, greed, etc. I want to use the platform of Chick-fil-A to grow and develop future leaders to be a light that shines in a dark world, and that can inspire a hope for change.

It is my desire to become a better leader and a better writer so please if you have any feedback for me on this article or any that I post in the future I would love to hear it. Post in the comments below or if you want you can send me an email or shoot me a text. Thank you for reading.