Live Your Life Above the Line

In your reflection last week, who did you decide you can have a positive influence on each and every day?

There has been a letdown in our house after watching a lot of the Olympic action over the past two weeks. I am continually amazed at the talent, the skills, and the sense of pride to be an American which came out time and time again throughout the games. God Bless America!

My latest read is once again from a book that Jason read and even had all his coaches read before this new season. It’s called Above the Line by Urban Meyer. It’s a book on “lessons of leadership and life from a championship season.” The take away is far more than just a football book. It’s a book about life and creating a culture of leadership that is above anything else I’ve ever read.

Meyer is extremely candid about his struggles of balancing football and life in general. The key ingredient for him to change, even after all his successes, was because he was coachable himself and willing to learn and grow.  Leaders are learners.

“Leadership is based on trust that has been earned.” Successful leaders earn trust, set clear standards, and then equip and inspire people to meet those standards. With this definition in mind, who would you say are the leaders you surround yourself with on a regular basis? I know I was fortunate enough to have a principal, my last 15 years of teaching, who was a true leader and was a role model for learning, growing, and inspiring others to meet the clear standards he set.

On the other hand, I have also experienced those who want to be a leader solely on their title. It was because of that title, position, etc. that others were to respect that person, follow their lead, never challenge what the “leader” said. They were usually ones that were not open to learning and growing. These are usually the same people who fight change, fear those that bring on a different mindset, and do their best to squelch anything that wasn’t his/her idea.

I celebrated when I saw that in Urban’s book he stated, “Honesty is one of our core values at Ohio State. Honesty and its first cousin, accountability, are the heart of what we do, and that goes for everybody, staff, and players alike.” Hmmm…I’m not sure we have our politicians and other “leaders” who would be able to state that honesty and accountability is their core value, however, isn’t that why we are struggling as a nation? Isn’t getting back to our basic core values what people are wanting in today’s world?

Purpose is what should be driving all that we do. According to Meyer, “without it, you can work hard and do all sorts of things right and still not get the results you want.” We saw an example of purpose with every event we watched on the Olympics. These athletes worked hard for 4+ years in order to reach the goal of being at the Olympics in the first place. Their focus and purpose was to win a gold medal. Did each person win a gold medal? Of course not, but that purpose was a driving factor.

I was very proud of athletes like Carrie Walsh-Jennings and April Ross, the sand volleyball duo. Despite the loss to Brazil and the chance to go for the gold medal, they never lost their drive to do their very best despite the circumstances. If you watched that match, it was an unbelievable display of talent, grit, and a never give up attitude. They stood on the podium receiving a bronze medal with pride and excitement. Did they want the gold medal? Of course, but they understood they were still true to their core values and were proud to represent the United States of America that day.

Meyer makes sure that everything that is done both on and off the field has a purpose – NOTHING is accidental. How many of us can say that about our lives? Think about yesterday and your actions. Did you have a purpose with everything you did or did you find there was much done out of habit without any purpose? If you find you’re not purpose oriented, now’s the time to be willing to change and grow since that is truly the essence of life and leadership. After all, if we’re not growing we’re dying, according to Jim Rohn.

Meyer’s leadership consultant, Tim Knight’s teaching point states that it all begins with “Above the line” behavior. This behavior is intentional, on purpose, and skillful. To the contrary, “Below the line” behavior is impulsive, on autopilot, and resistant. This is dangerous because we become comfortable and it’s convenient.”  Eventually, this Below the Line thinking produces failure. How many times do we settle, or we’re used to doing something the same old way as it’s much harder to change and do something different.

As Urban states and I would agree, “Above the Line or Below the Line” is the most important choice we all make every day. Above the Line behavior is conscious and thoughtful – a choice made in alignment with our larger vision of where we want to go.”

Also according to Urban in his book,” It isn’t hard to find people who are caught up in Below the Line Behavior. All we have to do is look for those whose first reaction is to Blame (others), Complain (about circumstances), and Defend (yourself) or BCD.”

Knowing these three words of actions representing Below the Line behavior is a great way for each of us to check our own actions. It’s also a great way to teach our children and grandchildren that when we blame others, complain about circumstances, and defend our actions we are acting Below the Line. How powerful would this simple piece of advice help guide each of us in our own actions and be a role model for others?

“BCD has never solved a problem, achieved a goal, or improved a relationship. Stop wasting your time and energy on something that will never help you. ELIMINATE BCD from your life!”

“Getting and staying Above the Line is the foundation for success in anything we do. It does not come naturally. It must be taught and learned.” For us to achieve exceptional results in our personal lives, our health, our emotional and spiritual health, our jobs, our relationships we must learn to consistently live Above the Line to act purposefully, intentionally, and skillfully when it matters most.

I wish you a week of reflection on your Above the Line behavior and consciously avoiding BCD.