Life, Leadership, and Football

This is something that I have been thinking a lot about lately, and it is an idea that has helped me grow more than I could have imagined over the last three years or so. To begin with, let me just say that I have never considered myself to be a "creative" person. Generally, I would rather color inside the lines of a picture that has already been drawn than draw my own picture. Now, having said that, I would make absolutely sure that my coloring job would be meticulously done. I am a hard worker, and I like to think that I am a pretty decent problem-solver. However, "creative" has never been a word I would use to describe myself. That type of thinking was really prevalent in my career for my first eight or nine years as an educator. I have always loved learning new things. I love to read, and I do it as often as I can. I even enjoy professional development (most of the time). To that end, I have been really good at consuming. I listen and apply with the be...

I read an article once that featured Richard Robinson, the CEO of Scholastic Books. In the article Robinson tells about a time when he was visiting their distribution center in Jefferson City, Missouri. As he was touring the facility, he started talking to a man driving a forklift, and during that conversation, he asked him, "What is your job? What are you doing here?" I'll never forget what the forklift driver said. "My job is to help children love to read."   What a statement! If Robinson was asking us the same question in our own workplaces, how many of us would have responded with such a statement? Most of us would respond with something along the lines of "I'm a teacher," "I'm a coach," "I'm a forklift driver," or "I'm an insurance salesman." All too often we allow our job titles to define us. It's easy to do because most of us take great pride in our job titles. I know I am proud of...