The summer after my senior year of high school, I took a job that had a dramatic impact on my life. I became one of the primary care providers for a 19-yr-old young man named Zebulan.

It might sound odd, having a 19-yr-old caring for a 19-yr-old, but there was one major difference between Zebulan and myself; Zeb didn’t have the use of his arms or legs.

I made meals, fed him, helped him go to the bathroom, watched movies with him, sat and talked about life, girls, and other teenage guy-stuff.

What could a 19-yr-old quadriplegic have to teach you about leadership and growing your business? A LOT…

Here are three critical lessons I learned that summer that are still shaping how I think about business, success, and leadership:

#1 – Slowing Down Speeds Everything Up

When you can’t use your arms and legs, the pace of life isn’t the same…for anything. That may seem like a disadvantage, but for Zeb, it was his superpower. And as a leader, we’re no different.

When we run at a habitual frenetic pace, having our main objective of each day attempting to check off as many tasks as possible, we become a hamster in a wheel. We are running hard, spending lots of energy, but not truly making progress on the things that ultimately move the needle.

Taking time to slow down, even for 30 min. in a week, to think, to process, and to reflect, allows you to think more clearly, strategically, and invest your energy into the RIGHT things rather than the trivial many.

Not sure what that looks like practically? – reach out to me and I’ll help you get clear on that in 10 min.

#2 – Perspective is Everything

There wasn’t a day I left Zebulan’s house where my perspective on my life, my problems, and my opportunities weren’t clearly understood through their proper lens.

The lens through which you choose to look at your world today will determine what you see.

Problems or Opportunities?
Scarcity or Abundance?
Failure or Growth?
Stressful Situations or an Adventure?
The Option to Complain or Embrace Gratitude?

Are you grateful for where you are in the process, the opportunity you’ve been given to face the challenges you have, and the gifts you’ve been given to lead others entrusted to your care?

What’s the LENS you’ve been looking through these past few weeks in your business/life and how might your perspective need to change?

#3 – You’re NOT the Hero

As the leader, we often feel like we must have all the answers. Sometimes we feel like we need to work tons of hours to justify the money we make. And let’s be honest, it feels good to feel needed in our organizations.

Zebulan understood that he couldn’t do it all. In fact, he couldn’t do most things. But part of our problem as leaders is we’re so talented, there’s not much we CAN’T do.

And therefore, our team finds us inserting ourselves into operations of the business where we don’t need to be, rather than trusting our team to do their jobs!

Stop trying to be the hero. You are the GUIDE, not the hero. Setting personal limits, like Zebulan, is the #1 thing you need to do, to generate higher levels of success. Consider:

Limiting your hours,
Limiting the # of meetings you sit in,
Limiting the scope of your responsibilities,
Limiting your involvement in projects.

Not being the hero allows your team to step in and fill those shoes. Stop being the hero & the be guide.

To your success,