“Leadership is influence. Nothing more, nothing less.” – John Maxwell What does it actually mean to be a leader? I think we’ve complicated leadership over the years. Leadership isn’t a title. It isn’t being the loudest person in the room, having the biggest office, or having 100 people underneath your name on an organizational chart. … Read more
Stay humble. Stay hungry. Stay teachable. Keep learning. Keep getting smarter. But for goodness’ sake… MOVE! “I’d rather have ignorance on fire than knowledge on ice.” I look back at the first eight or nine years of building Atlas, and if I had to describe a lot of what we were doing, it would probably … Read more
But growth has a price tag, and the currency is discomfort. I hear this all the time: “Sam, I just want to be a better leader.” I love hearing it. But I’ve learned something over the years: most people want to become a better leader until becoming a better leader requires them to become a … Read more
Different decisions deserve different amounts of emotional energy. I think we tend to overcomplicate things. The older I get, the more I realize that one of the greatest skills in leadership isn’t making perfect decisions – it’s understanding what kind of decision you’re actually making. Last week, a friend shared a framework with me that … Read more
You don’t need to see the next ten miles. You just need enough light for the next step. I’ve thought about this a lot over the years. What if leadership came with a crystal ball? What if, before you ever took a leap of faith to launch a business, start a church or non-profit, took … Read more
John Maxwell said, “You cannot simultaneously be improving and proving.” I spent a lot of years trying to make sure everyone liked me. Looking back, I didn’t realize it at the time, but I had become a professional people pleaser. I wanted every client to be happy, every employee to agree with my decisions, every … Read more
Decide today what you will no longer negotiate, tolerate, or excuse. Raise your standards so high that average becomes super uncomfortable. Do you sit down with a notebook at the beginning of the new year, start writing out goals for the year ahead, and almost immediately begin comparing those dreams to what happened last year? … Read more
Jesus said it this way: “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” (Luke 6:45) I’ve been thinking about something lately. A lot. One of the biggest lies we were ever taught as kids may have sounded harmless, but I think it’s done more damage than we realize. “Sticks and stones may break … Read more
“Discipline equals freedom.” – Jocko Willink When I first heard Jocko say that, it stuck with me. At first, they seem almost contradictory. How can discipline create freedom? But the more I’ve reflected on them, the more I’ve realized they’re true in every area of life. Discipline creates physical freedom. Financial freedom. Spiritual freedom. And … Read more
We often think leadership begins when we receive a promotion or a title, but the truth is leadership begins the moment someone starts following our example. Yesterday was Father’s Day, and as I sat down to write this week’s leadership blog, I couldn’t think of a more fitting topic. Not because every person reading this … Read more