Being Legendary: Unleashing Our Inner Power
Yesterday as I was coming home from showing dairy cows at the Indiana State Fair I heard Pop Evil’s great song, “Be Legendary.” As I was listening, I thought about how well the lyrics of this song relate to a post I did last week titled “Don’t Let Others Limit You.” The lines “Fight the power, scold the doubters; They don’t know how we roll; Keep an eye out, watch your back now; We’re coming for the crown” embody a bold, defiant attitude centered around resilience, self-belief, and persistence in the face of opposition or doubt.
Relating this to my blog post “Don’t Let Others Limit You,” the message is quite aligned. In that post I emphasized the importance of trusting ourselves, embracing our unique strengths, and not allowing external judgments or negativity to hold us back from pursuing our goals and leadership journey. Both the song lyrics and the blog post encourage standing firm, pushing past critics, and striving relentlessly toward success or greatness.
In essence, the song’s empowering call to fight against opposition echoes my advice to resist external limitations and prove others wrong through determination and self-confidence. Together, they inspire us all to stay strong, assertive, and committed to their own path regardless of challenges or doubts from others. As the song says: “Edge of glory, write your story
Seize the moment, no regrets
Our name in stone, forever more.”
Leading From Where We Are
Yesterday I wrote a post entitled Grounded in the Present: Embracing the Power of Being Where Your Feet Are. That post was inspired while doing leadership development for high school students involved in FFA, BPA, student council, volleyball, basketball, and football at Shields Valley High School in Clyde Park, Montana. The post was about a great comment made by a student. He said, “We need to be where our feet are.” This was also a great reminder to that we must also lead from where we are.
Leading from where we are means focusing on the present moment and leveraging our current resources, strengths, and understanding to guide our team effectively. The qualities I mentioned—active listening, attentiveness to details, and prioritizing tasks—align perfectly with this approach because they encourage us to be fully present and engaged in the situation at hand.
By listening actively and paying close attention to what’s happening now, leaders can make thoughtful decisions based on the real-time context rather than being distracted by past setbacks or future worries. This mindset helps build trust, as team members feel genuinely heard and understood, fostering authentic connections. Ultimately, leading from where we are empowers us to act with clarity and confidence, even amid uncertainty, creating a resilient and adaptable leadership style rooted in awareness and connection.
Don’t Let Others Limit You
This is another post inspired by the students at Shields Valley High School in Clyde Park, Montana. I was in Montana all this week doing a student leadership development event. These students were very engaged and thoughtful. I took lots of notes from their thoughts that inspired me. I’ve already blogged about this event once in Grounded in the Present: Embracing the Power of Being Where Your Feet Are. Another great comment made by a student was “You are not limited by other people.” I loved this because so many times we let others limit us by letting them influence what we are doing, by telling us what we should be doing, by letting our parents live vicariously through us, telling us we can’t do something, negativity, or other ways.
We stopped a moment to discuss this comment. These students were very cognizant of how others can limit us. We can all learn several valuable lessons from thinking about not being limited by other people. Here’s how:
- Empowerment and Self-Potential: We are encouraged to recognize that our abilities and potential are within our own control. External opinions or doubts shouldn’t define what we can achieve.
- Resilience Against Negative Influences: We often face peer pressure or criticism. This phrase reminds us that we are not confined by others’ perceptions, allowing us to stay true to our vision and values.
- Independent Thinking: It promotes confidence in making decisions based on our own judgment instead of being overly influenced by others’ expectations.
- Encouraging Innovation: When we understand we aren’t limited by others’ beliefs about what’s possible, we’re more likely to pursue creative ideas and initiatives.
- Fostering a Growth Mindset: Recognizing that limitations aren’t imposed by external sources motivates us to focus on our personal growth and continuous improvement.
Overall, these high school students gave us a powerful reminder for to trust ourselves, embrace our unique strengths, and not let external judgments restrict our personal journey.
Grounded in the Present: Embracing the Power of Being Where Your Feet Are
This week I’ve had the honor of being in Clyde Park, Montana at Shields Valley High School doing leadership development for high school students involved in FFA, BPA, student council, volleyball, basketball, and football. It has been a great week working with the students around the theme of “Everyone Is A Leader.” As is always the case, I am being inspired by the students as much as they are by me. One of the students, FFA officer Andrew Long, made the very profound comment on our first morning together that, “we need to be where our feet are.” This fit so well with our discussion of leading from where we are and that everyone is a leader and very quickly became a theme we kept coming back to.
The phrase “we need to be where our feet are” means to fully focus on and be present in the current moment or place. It encourages mindfulness and paying attention to our immediate surroundings, rather than being distracted by past concerns or future worries. Essentially, it’s a reminder to stay grounded and engaged with what’s happening right now.
The leadership lesson from the phrase “we need to be where our feet are” is the importance of presence and mindfulness in leadership. As a leader, being fully engaged in the current moment allows us to better understand our team’s needs, make thoughtful decisions, and respond effectively to challenges. It encourages leaders to listen actively, be attentive to details, and prioritize the task at hand, rather than getting distracted by future uncertainties or past mistakes. Ultimately, it promotes authentic leadership rooted in awareness and connection, fostering trust and clarity within our team.
Needing To Know Versus Wanting To Know Something Else
Loved this line from George MacDonald in his great book, Lilith, a Romance: “We are often unable to tell people what they NEED to know, because they WANT to know something else, and would therefore only misunderstand what we said.” Right before saying that, the raven said, “…you and I use the same words with different meanings.” These statements really hit home because they are so true. I know I have been on both sides of this equation.
First, we are reminded how much our words we use matter. It is also important that we establish a common meaning for the words we use. Our words matter. They matter a lot. I always say that language matters. Another comment from the raven was, “…it involves a constant struggle to say what cannot be said with even an approach to precision…” Sometimes it is just hard to find the right words. When we can find common meanings for our words, we can begin to truly understand each other. To get the point here, think back to a meeting when someone was speaking in the lingo of an industry you were not familiar with. Super frustrating, isn’t it?
Now back to the comment of “…unable to tell people what they NEED to know, because they WANT to know something else…” This is one of those places where we need to be open-minded and malleable. So many times we aren’t hearing what we need to hear because we are listening for something else. Additionally, we get so focused on something that we do not hear what we need to know. One way I combat this is to ask the question, “What do I need to know?” If I am really listening to understand when I ask that question, I put myself in a much better place to learn what I need to know.
Authenticity Matters
Authenticity is such an important leadership attribute that so often gets overlooked. Building trust requires honesty and sincerity—leaders who are authentic foster stronger connections and loyalty. The great band Set It Off has an awesome song about authenticity, “Rotten.” Here is what vocalist and songwriter for Set It Off, Cody Carson, had to say about the song:
“Our new song ’Rotten’ is about the lack of authenticity I see so often out in the world,” explains vocalist Cody Carson in a Livewire interview. “It’s about people manipulating others just because they want something from them. Then the exploiters get what they want via the synthetic sugar they’re pumping out, but eventually… it’s going to rot out their teeth and those people will see the truth.”
I love the lines in the song, “But your sugar is sweet ’til it rots all their teeth; So save the charade, and your candy-coated blade underneath.” I interpret this as a metaphor for the deceptive nature of appearances or superficial charm. Leaders should focus on genuine qualities rather than superficial sweetness, as false appearances can ultimately cause harm or erode trust. What seems appealing on the surface might have hidden consequences. Leaders need to look beyond surface-level charm to understand true intentions and impact. Offering false praise or superficial kindness might attract short-term favor, but it can damage relationships and credibility in the long run.
This song serves as a powerful reminder that superficial allure can be deceptive, and lasting leadership is rooted in authenticity and integrity.
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