Our church is very fortunate to have 4 or 5 really outstanding preacher/teachers. The message from our Campus Pastor yesterday was outstanding. Like any good message, it realllllllllllllly got me thinking about a number of things. Two points that he made, though, stood out to me. The first is the title of this post. It spoke to me about the situation for those who find themselves in a subordinate role in their organization. For football coaches, it’s the role of an assistant coach whose sole responsibility, for example, is coaching nothing more than a position. For someone in the business world, it’s the employee who looks at his/her job and sees him/herself at “the bottom of the barrel” in the company. Here’s what you need to know: You are NEVER “just a...” and you can fill in the blank! You are never “just a… defensive back coach.” You are never... “just a running back coach.” You are never... “just a JV coach.” At the office, you are NEVER “just an… account manager.” You are never “just a… sales clerk.” EVERY position in an organization is critical to the overall success of that organization.
In his message, our pastor compared his job as a Teaching Pastor to the folks who clean the rest rooms each week. He shared how he could deliver a great message but…. if a visitor walked into the rest room before service and it smelled bad or the toilets weren’t clean, it could be the most powerful message ever delivered…. it wouldn’t matter! That visitor is very unlikely to return! In football, a punt gets blocked late in the game because the Punt Team Coach didn’t spend the time going over the key points of protection schemes. Why? Cuz he is “just the… Punt Team Coach.” See? Each position is critical to the organization’s overall success. If you’re thinking that… “I’m just the O Line coach.” Your attitude is going to affect your performance! You don’t stay focused during practice; thus, your linemen don’t either. On Friday night, when your QB gets sacked 5 or 6 times because of pass blocking errors… whose fault is it?!! It’s pretty obvious to me. You may not see your job as being very important until….. it’s time for you (or your people) to “step up.” Then, everyone will see that you were NEVER “just a ……” Do you see what I’m talking about here?
Your attitude means everything! hummmmm??? I just thought about the guy in the Army who’s assigned to do nothing more than pack the parachutes for his regiment. When a parachute fails to open during the jump, it becomes quite apparent how important his job is! His attitude stunk; thus, his work performance suffered. In this case, it cost lives! What you do matters! Take pride in what you’re assigned. Give it your best.
I love what our pastor closed with yesterday: “desire trumps willingness.” It’s great that you are willing to take on a job. However, that is often not going to produce the best results! You need the desire (the right attitude) that you are going to “do your best to become the best that you are capable of being.” That is Coach John Wooden’s definition of success.
Want to be successful? Adopt Coach Wooden’s philosophy. It will carry you far in life!
