It was an exciting weekend. Many jump-for-joy wins and many heartbreaking defeats. Every match a winner and a loser.

James did not place at the State Wrestling Championships. He lost his first two matches which took him out of the running to place. There are 11,000 wrestlers in the State of Michigan of which 896 make it to compete at the State level. James was one of this top 8%.

Thank you to the tremendous response I had to my email and all the encouraging words you offered. I shared them with James. Amy responded to my email and asked that I share with James these words from Michael Jordan:

"I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. "
~Michael Jordan~

How many times do we forget the value of failure and all the learnings that come from failure? Do we bounce back with renewed energy and commitment?

James has set a new goal for next year to place at States and is already taking a look at the competition that would be at his weight class next year of 171 pounds.

It is quite an experience to watch someone grow and develop. It is very rewarding and contributes to why I love being a leader and am so committed to developing more leaders.

Soon I will be offering you an opportunity to listen in as I interview leaders about their leadership style and how they contribute to building leaders. Watch for more details coming in this summer!

Once again thank you for the warm words of encouragement. They were very much appreciated!

Lead passionately,
Susan

My son, James, a Junior in High School has qualified to compete in the State Wrestling Championship for his weight class at 160 pounds. We are going today to the opening ceremony which includes a Grand March of all the wrestlers from all over the State who have earned the right to compete at this prestigious event.

I am so proud of James. He had set this goal of competing at the State Wrestling Championship seven years ago when he saw a friend of ours compete at the State level. He told his Dad then at ten years old, "I’m going to States, Dad. I’m going to be here."

And here he is – going to States.

As a Mom, I am very proud! As a Leader, I am very impressed. James declared a goal and has worked very hard and diligently to achieve this milestone. I have observed the breakdowns and breakthroughs of his journey. I have seen him dig deep to be the last one to compete in the Team tournament and having to win against the opponent to have the team win and do it!

So I ask myself as a leader what can I learn from James? My observations of how he has recovered from defeat, how he works physically and mentally to step up his efforts has me looking at my own commitments. Am I committed enough to my goals? Am I working through my breakdowns? Do I have the confidence to continue on, to take it to the next level? Am I contributing to the team to make a difference?

These are powerful questions and my son is indirectly having me step up my game. So I ask you too to observe those around you and see what you can learn from others who are demonstrating leadership. You may be surprised who you may be learning from…

I will keep you posted this weekend on the events of the State Wrestling Championship and how my son is doing!

Here’s to stepping up your leadership,
Susan