Response Ability!

My Brother Chief, Ted Fest, recently posted an action picture on FaceBook that stated, “Leadership is not about power, it is about responsibility.” Although we think of responsibility as an action leaders take, it’s, actually, a noun, which, as you remember, requires no action, it just is. (I looked it up on dictionary.com.) Part of the definition for the word is “accountable for something within one’s power, control, or management.” Who are you accountable for? YOU! Who can you control? YOU! (Good luck with THAT!)

Now, let me get to the action leaders take… Take that word, “responsibility,” and split it up and you get “response” and “ability.” Don’t we have the power to control how we respond to whatever happens to us? Whether we do control ourselves is another topic. But we DO have the power to control how we respond!

I enjoy driving. FAST! I learned how to REALLY drive while living in Germany. Germans know how to drive! They take it seriously! Anyways, we retuned to The World in 2002 and have had to drive on the interstate a lot. It’s extremely frustrating for me. Americans DO NOT know how to drive and they’re always doing something other than driving while in the left lane going ten miles below the speed limit. I know you’ve seen that.

I’m on the interstate driving to work one morning at zero-dark-thirty. Hardly anyone on the road. I’m going at a pretty good clip. I see the lights of a car behind me creeping up on me. Before I know it, this little old man (I can see him) drives past me a couple of car lengths then, suddenly, moves over in front of me and brakes. I immediately slow down to avoid hitting him! Although I learned how to drive in Germany for reals, I spent a lot of years in Southern California, so I throw him the California salute (you know the one-finger one) and start screaming as loud as I can (I won’t share what I said.). As I almost hit him, I notice his license plate. It’s got a picture of a Purple Heart on it. This man received a Purple Heart!

My question is, do we have the ability to respond to our circumstances? As soon as I see that picture of the Purple Heart on the old man’s license plate, I back off. I take control of myself, emotionally and physically. I never did anything in all the years I served that warranted receiving a Purple Heart. Whatever you did, Sir, I thank you for your service. Please feel free to cut me off anytime.

We have the ability, the power, to respond to any circumstance! Real leaders think before they respond so that they respond appropriately. They have that power. But what is power? You’ll have to wait until next week to find out!

Until next time, Be GREAT! You ARE!

¡HEIRPOWER!

bob vásquez!