bradley will

I used to think there is no such thing as luck.  Actually, I still partially do.  I have come to the understanding that we create our own luck.  I think it was Samuel Goldwyn who defined luck the best when he said, “The harder I work, the luckier I get.”

While reading Jim Collins classic best-selling book, Good to Great, I have learned most of the CEO’s of great companies (level 5 leaders) attribute their success to good luck and the blessing of being surrounded with great people.  Now, we know to get to that level of success that their is a little more than luck involved.  Obviously, these are incredibly talented, incredibly driven individuals, but they don’t seem to take credit for their success.

I recently faced a challenging situation at the bar out with a bunch of old college buddies for a friends birthday.  In conversation someone snarkily said to me, “I see you on Facebook all the time and I don’t get it, what do you do?  I mean I don’t mean to be rude, but how do you even make an income.”  Now my first response was going to be the standard 30 second business card trying to explain what I do.   This would have been highly noneffective in this scenario as it would have had the chance of sounding like I am smarter than him and I never want to make someone feel that way.  So I told him, “That’s a good question.  I guess you can say I play around on Facebook and Twitter all day and for some reason people pay me for it.”

And I laugh while I tell you this because he just had a dumbfounded look on his face.  It pretty much sounded utterly ridiculous to him.  He asked for some more clarity and I described my work with young entrepreneurs and how I consult with small businesses and entrepreneurs in developing a social media strategy.  Then it seemed to make no sense to him, like “why would someone pay you for that”, as he led conversation into why the economy sucks.

I am understanding not to go around tooting my own horn and rocking to my beat.  I am not anything special, but sometimes the ego says I am and I have to fight back against it.  Especially with all my old friends who probably think I am a lunatic for all the drastic changes I have made in my life.  Back to those level 5 leaders; they always display humbleness and humility.  Many of us were not raised to act this way. If you are having trouble finding it, I can assure you it is deep down in you and it can be brought out in you as soon as you are willing to release the ego.

It isn’t easy for people to poke fun at themselves.  How could I even begin to describe to this man what I have gone through in the past 3 years to get where I am today?  I believe wholeheartedly that I would not be here today if it wasn’t for all the great leaders I surround myself with.  I am extremely lucky that we crossed paths, even while believing in entirety that it was meant to be.  The only way it can be explained in another persons eyes is through good fortune.  And as a humble leader, I am content with calling the success of my journey so far… good luck.

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