Into the Great Wide Open

I’ll admit it.

I’m a crazy Tom Petty fan.  So much a fan that he’s the only musician I mention in my About page.

I sat down to write today’s leadership post and all I could hear running through my head was Into the Great Wide Open….

I wondered what it had to do with leadership.

Everyone I’ve talked to says leading is hard.  But they quickly follow that statement with leading is worth it.

Sometimes, after fighting your way uphill, through the forest, you reach a clearing.

You look around and think, oh, this is why I was fighting so hard.  This was worth getting lost and scratched and rained on and frustrated.

You step into the great wide open.  A whole new level of possibilities and opportunities and a brand new view.  Your breath catches in your chest because you had started to doubt whether it was really worth it.

Unfortunately, staying out in the wide open spaces can also make you an easy target.

So take a deep breath, enjoy the view, but don’t stand still too long.  Say a prayer, set your sights for the next mountain, and keep moving.  This isn’t a rat race.  This isn’t keeping up with the Joneses.  This is striving for the best on a daily basis.  Enjoying each victory, savoring it, taking it in, but never becoming complacent that you’ve reached the pinnacle.  I hope I’m setting out for the next set of stunning vistas when I’m 90.

In the words of the great Tom Petty, The sky was the limit…