The Choice Is Yours…

I follow Michael Hyatt’s blog and Twitter posts.  I would recommend them highly.  A few weeks ago he sent the following via Twitter.

You are not born a winner.  You are not born a loser. You are born a chooser.

I’ve thought about this posting often since I read it.  As leaders, I think it is something for us all to wrestle with. Think about it.

Being born with the right name, with a trust fund, or movie-star good looks is no indication that you will be successful or fruitful.  It is certainly no guarantee that you will be happy.  Each of us knows numerous stories of people who had all the benefits and pedigrees yet fell short of their potential and generally made a mess of things.

We also know stories of people who rose above poverty, challenges, and odds to achieve amazing heights.  They found joy and fulfillment in spite of surroundings and circumstances.  By all reasonable expectations, these people should have been beaten from the start.  Yet, they prevailed.

So if we aren’t tapped to be winners are losers, what are we?  We are born to be choosers!  We get to decide, on an almost moment by moment basis, whether we will try or surrender, be false or true, give or take…and so on.  Of course, we can’t discount setbacks, storms, happenstance, or just dumb luck.  Those things affect us.  But, as leaders, we must choose the high road.  We must choose to be the voices of reason.  We must choose to do the hard thing when called upon.  We must choose to make a positive difference.

I did not choose my looks or I would have looked an awful lot like George Clooney.  I did not choose my resources or they would amount to those of Bill Gates.  I did not choose my parents, my place of birth, my race.  But, each day I can choose how to spend my life and choose to fight the good fight.  I can CHOOSE.