johnmaconline

Anybody who can read a map can lead when you’re on the perfectly mapped grid of the city streets. “We want to go over there. To get there, we walk two blocks north and then 5 blocks east.”

But what about when you’re off the grid?

If your spacecraft is in peril, you’ll want a leader who can assess quickly, keep the team focused and prioritized, and command clearly.

If your Church community is faltering, you’ll want a leader who cares about and cares for the people.

If your startup just launched, you’ll want a leader who has a vision, creates a followership, and remains open to possibility and opportunity.

Not all leaders are equipped to handle the wilderness. To navigate off the grid, you’ll need one who assesses the terrain, gives a shit, digs in, anticipates, adapts, and rallies others around a common goal.

If you’re stuck off the grid, you can look for that kind of leader.

Or you become one.

I had a special moment this last weekend.

Shared it with my youngest son, which both made it more special and has me reflecting on it. 

Daily life is a procedure. Wake up, do these things, go to bed, do it again tomorrow. A pattern. The grind. A script we follow without much thinking.

The magic, of course, is in the “do these things.” If you’re aware, you can be present. If you can be present, you can appreciate. But yeah, it’s hard. Hard to appreciate when you’re neck-deep in it. Plus, I’m a destination guy, and I’ve got a destination on my radar right now. As I’ve aged, I’ve gotten much better at awareness and presence, but old dog and new tricks, ya know. 

But this weekend broke the script in the best way possible.

Thank you, Luke, for not only forcing me out of the grind but sharing it with me. I’m still processing how special it was. May never fully process it.

For sure, I won’t ever take it for granted. 

(P.S. We went here. I’ve seen them 5 times now — 1986, 1988, 1989, 1992, and now again in 2024. That’s 32 years between shows 4 and 5. 32 years of build-up discharged in one 36 hour period.)

Knowledge is facts, figures, and theories. You’ll find the path to knowledge in books, museums, and YouTube.

But knowledge doesn’t get you anywhere until you turn that knowledge into learning.

Learning happens when you take that knowledge and act on it. You try stuff. You build skills. You turn book smarts into street smarts. What to do into how to do it.

It’s the practice — the behavior — that matters.

Knowledge is useful at a dinner party, but learning is how you change your life.

Your skins cells are replaced every 2-3 weeks. Your red blood cells get replaced every 4 months. Fat cells every 8 years. Skeletal muscle cells may take 10 years.

The whole process adds up to a full replacement of your cells approximately every 7-10 years. You’re an entirely new you every 7-10 years. But are you?

Stand next to a stream and watch the water flow. The stream exists in perpetuity, but the individual water molecules flowing through are replaced every few seconds. The contents of the stream is entirely new as each second passes. Is the stream the same?

You are not a static being but a dynamic process, continuously evolving, never truly the same. If you don’t like who you are right now, just wait a bit.

Your opportunity to replace your current self is just around the corner.

Many people just want to be told what to do. That’s not a judgment or a bad thing. It’s just a fact.

If you’re a listener, be careful who you’re listening to. A hack that faux-leaders have used since the dawn of time is to be the one who talks the loudest. Julius Caesar, Napoleon, and Hitler gained power partly because they were the loudest talkers.

On the flip side, you can stand out by being the one who does the telling.

Use that power wisely.

The speed of sound. The four-minute mile. The top of Mount Everest. The 2-hour marathon. Human flight. Splitting the atom. Cloning a mammal.

All invisible barriers that were once thought impossible to cross. It makes sense, though, because we like barriers. Especially invisible ones. Barriers make our lives more understandable, deterministic, and easier. We like to live inside the box.

But we crossed these barriers. How?

By being open and willing.

Open to new beliefs. Willing to challenge. Open to possibilities. Willing to try new paths. Open to other ideas. Willing to put in the work. Open to (apparent) magic. Willing to believe.

This works for you personally as well.

What are the invisible barriers that exist in your life? Are you open and willing to overcome them?

It won’t be comfortable, but it will be worth it.

Ever have a moment where someone recounts something you did, assumes you would do something, or replays a dream in which you played a part?

Yes, of course, you have.

When you hear it, did you ever think or say, “Yup, that sounds like me.”

How did that make you feel? Happy? Embarrassed? Cringey? Empowered? Meh?

This tells you something about yourself and how you show up in the world. Do you like how you show up in the world?

As a leader, you can apply the same principle to your team, organization, or community. Observe how others describe what you did, or what they assume you’ll do, and how they perceived it. Listen, seek feedback, and ask yourself, “Does that sound like us?”

Whether you like or don’t like the answer, now you have an opportunity.

Don’t waste opportunities.

I

I looked over something I had written years ago, and I was appalled.

The writing itself, of course (oh dear), but I give myself grace on that because that’s just experience. But the content, oh my. I just don’t believe it anymore. What was I thinking?

And then it hit me.

I was a different person at that time. Since then, I’ve seen different things, had different experiences, and lived more life. Of course, I don’t believe it anymore. Why would I?

That’s ok. In fact, it’s better than ok. Rethinking, refreshing, and revising one’s beliefs is not only natural, it’s growth.

Give yourself grace when you change your mind. And maybe, more importantly, give others grace when they change theirs. Both science and humanity require it.

The Chicago White Sox did it first in 1960.

They were the first to add the player’s names to the back of the jerseys on their road uniforms. It was marketing aimed at enhancing player identification.

It worked, and it spread.

Today, only three pro teams do not display the player names — Yankees, Red Sox, and Giants. Somewhat ironically, they’re all baseball teams.

“We play for the logo on the front, not the name on the back.”

Who do you root for? Do you follow your favorite player from team to team, or are they dead to you once they don the enemy colors?

The magic happens when you don’t have to choose. “My favorite player plays for my favorite team.”

The same is true for brands, political parties, institutions, and systems.

Who do you root for, the player or the team?