Enlisting, equipping and then releasing young leaders to be all God created them to be is critical to becoming a sustainable church or organization. You must always be green and growing as a staff.
But the temptations which face young leaders has an intensity unlike anything we have seen before. The Opposite Sex, Money, Drugs, Greed, Debt, Violence. All are pitfalls which can derail a burdgeoning career. Providing young leaders appropriate coaching and guard rails are necessary for their and your long-term success.
This is something the National Football League is quite aware of. Shown above is session conducted by Coach Herm Edwards at a 2011 league event called “The Business of Football: Rookie Edition”. As a former player and coach, his insights are something all young leaders can learn from regardless of their profession.
The following are 29 Things Young Leaders Must Know To Be Successful I gleaned from this session. All quotes are from Coach Edwards.
- Free Advice Can Have Great Value – “A lot of things in life are not free. This is free.”
- Take Personal Responsibility For Your Preparation – “The only thing you can control, you be ready to go…If you’re not ready to go physically, that’s on you.”
- It’s A Cold World Out There – “We don’t care. Nobody cares.”
- There Is A Limited Amount Of Opportunity. Take Advantage Of It. – “1,900 football players are professional football players. That’s it.”
- Talent Is Never Enough – “Right now they got more experience than you. Nothing you can do about that. You might have more talent but they have more experience.”
- This Is Your Job – “It’s your job men.”
- Providing For Your Family Is A Privilege – “It’s not a right but a privilege to play and coach in the National Football League.”
- Unto Whom Much Is Given, Much Is Required – “Talent, expectations and production can sometimes be a curse. You’ve got so much talent you don’t live up to it.”
- God Gave You Your Talent – “Talent, you didn’t earn it. God gave it to you.”
- You Must Produce With Your Talent – “You got talent but does the production equal the talent?..If you’re not a productive player then it becomes a curse.”
- Don’t Waste Your Talent – “You’ve got an opportunity. Don’t waste your talent.”
- Have A Plan For Your Career And Life – “Expectations. A goal without a plan is a wish…What’s your plan to be a professional football player?”
- Take Personal Responsibility For Your Success – “Nobody’s going to play for you. Nobody’s going to practice. You got to do that. You got to do all the work.”
- Your Habits Will Make You Or Break You – “This is where young players struggle. Priorities. Your habits create who you are.”
- Be Willing To Change – “If you’re not willing to change your habits, you’re not changing.”
- Jesus Christ Should Be Your Top Priority – “My priorities are real simple – My Faith. My Family. My Occupation.”
- Only Your Faith And Family Should Be Above Your Career – “Somewhere on that list, this football thing is kind of important. And if it’s way down the list, you got issues men.”
- Success Comes With A Cost. Make Sure You Are Willing To Pay It. – “I’ll tell you something about being famous. Be careful what you wish for.”
- You Are Always Being Watched – “When you leave this room today there are cameras watching you wherever you go.”
- Immature Behavior Is Embarrassing – “It’s embarrassing (when a player gets in trouble).”
- Your Immature Behavior Affects All Of Us – “You think it only affects you. It affects everybody.”
- We Love Your Passion But Be Humble – “You think, ‘I’m all this.’ You ain’t all that.”
- Leadership Is Temporary. Steward It Well – “When you get that jersey it’s rented. When you come out of the league they’re going to take your name off and give somebody else your number.”
- You Have More Influence Than You Know – “Everything you do on the field, and now off the field, it becomes news.”
- When You Get Off Work Go Home – “Nothing good happens after 12:00 o’clock…After midnight, something bad’s going to happen.”
- You Get One Of Everything – “In life all you need is one of everything. When you get your first paycheck – one car, one house, one piece of jewelry.”
- You’ve Got One Wife – “You get one girlfriend OR you get one wife. You can’t have both.”
- Don’t Mess Up Your Family – “If you play for the Dallas Cowboys and you go to Philadelphia, you still got that one girlfriend or that one wife. Don’t screw that up.”
- “You’ve been told.”
Young leaders, now that you have gotten the pep talk, go take the world by storm!
Click HERE or on the image to the left and as a free gift for subscribing to this site, you can receive my new Ebook 1869 Leadership Quotes: Timeless Truths From 2015 Global Leadership Summit, That Church, REACT and Catalyst Conferences. If applied, these insights will make you an exponentially better leader. Enjoy!!!