Chapter 1 - “Leaders Have to be B.A.D?”
“One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest”. - Maya Angelou
You are a LEADER! It takes courage to lead. It’s not an easy work, but it can be very rewarding.
When I thought about writing this book, I began to look for ideas and inspiration. “What does the courage to lead really mean?” How would I communicate my feelings on the courage possessed by leaders? I immediately went to my journal. My journal is the place where I write down all of my dreams and the quotes that inspire me to accomplish my dreams. While going through my journal, I came across three entries.
“What do you believe in?”
“What are your dreams?”
“Go for it!”
In an instant, the three entries reminded me of a recent accomplishment. I had recently completed my very first marathon. While running the un-godly distance of 26.2 miles, a lot of thoughts went through my head. “Why am I doing this?” “Where is the finish line?” “I have a book to write by the end of the month!” “How do I explain courage and leadership?” While I was running the race I noticed 10,000 BAD APPLES surrounding me. We all had the same dream, to complete the marathon.
We all had a BELIEF that we could finish without dying. We all took various ACTIONS to train for the race. When race day finally arrived we all had the DETERMINATION to fight through various mental and physically adversities to complete the race. We all rejoiced! We accomplished our goals and answered the question…”Do you have the courage to be a leader?”
“What does B.A.D. A.P.P.L.E. mean? When I travel the country with my speaking partner Rodger Campbell, we are constantly asked that very question. There are two of us, so people usually get two answers. We both believe people and organizations are like apples. They have to ability to grow into something ordinary, rotten, or extraordinary. Our goal is for everyone to become extraordinary! In order to do this you must become B.A.D. Don’t worry, being BAD is good.
B.A.D. means to have belief, action and determination. We all have dreams in our lives, but do we really believe they can come true? My dream was to run and complete a marathon. ONE MARATHON! In order for my dream to become reality I needed to believe I could complete the race. Without belief there is no action. A dream that doesn’t come true becomes a nightmare. Taking the first step to achieve a dream is the toughest part. You can only take that leap of faith when you truly believe.
Now that I believed, I needed to take action. My actions included: six months of training, consulting with running experts, buying the right equipment and putting down my non-refundable entry fee. As the race date approached, I started to have doubts. I considered changing my mind, until my last practice run. I ran over twenty miles with my girlfriend and I didn’t die! This marathon thing could really happen. I’m going to accomplish something extraordinary!
Race day arrived with a four o’clock AM beep beep beep from my alarm clock. I got up and got ready. I ate my carbs. I drank my fluids. I took my ibuprofen. There was excitement as the race began. That excitement started to fade around mile thirteen. That’s when things really got tough. By mile eighteen I thought about quitting when my leg cramped up. The thought of not accomplishing my dream kept me going. I really didn’t want to run the race again. I mentally stayed determined. When muscles started to lock up, I found the first aid station to get treatment. When I thought I was the only one having issues, I looked around and saw hundreds of other people facing similar difficulties. The torment bonded us. As the finish line approached, I had several friends there to cheer me on. That inspired me more. When I crossed the line the celebration and my retirement began! With bags of ice on my knees and ibuprofen in my mouth, I offered thank yous to everyone who offered me encouragement to achieve my dream.
No matter what you or your organization wants to accomplish; you must be B.A.D. First you must believe in the dream. Second you have to take the proper actions. Finally when the hardships arise you must stay determined to the end. Hardships will definitely test your beliefs. If you stay determined you can accomplish your dreams.
You must also continue to build and develop who you are and those around you. This book is designed to change attitudes. Attitudes are all about belief. You must believe in yourself. You must instill belief in others. Finally you need belief in the dream you want to become reality. When you accomplish your dreams, it’s more than ordinary. It’s special. You get a sense of adulation and you can’t wait to conquer your next challenge. This is success! Success will give you the courage to pursue other dreams. This is being a B.A.D. A.P.P.L.E.!
Chapter 2 - “BELIEF”
“B.A.D. is a way of life” - Rodger Campbell
Being BAD is the key to being a successful leader. It’s the key to having the courage needed to lead. Being BAD will improve your leadership abilities to cultivate the capabilities of the people you lead. It’s the foundation for dreams to flourish. It all comes down to belief, action and determination.
“A leader is an individual who inspires and motivates an individual or group towards a dream.” – Frank Kitchen
I have the opportunity to speak to audiences worldwide. At Leadership Conferences, I like to open with the comment, “Can you please raise you hand if you are a leader.” Surprisingly only a few hands will go up. I’m speaking at Leadership conference! I have never been in a room where every hand goes up. Why don’t people raise their hands? Do they know the definition of the term “LEADER?” Are they afraid to raise their hand? Or do this just lack the belief in themselves. I’ve come to learn that many people believe a leader is someone with a fancy title or an impressive position within an organization or group. The truth is, we are all leaders!
At some point in their lives, people are placed in a position of leadership. They can be the parent of three children, the person who plans the Friday night outing for a group of friends, the student working towards a degree, the person working on loosing weight, the business entrepreneur or the author of an e-book.
All of the people listed in the last paragraph have to inspire and motivate himself or herself or a group to accomplish a particular dream. They will doubt themselves. Just like my marathon story, physical and mental barriers will confront leaders. They will come face to face with fear. The successful ones will posses the courage necessary to make their dreams become reality.
Being the leader is an opportunity many people jump at and many more run away from. Some believe they don’t have the ability to be a leader. Belief can only be established when the definition of being a leader is understood. Leadership isn’t about a title or position. In life everyone will be a leader. It is important to recognize when you are in a leadership position. Once in a leadership position it will be vital to have dreams. Dreams that people can be inspired by. Dreams that people believe are achievable. The courage to lead comes from establishing belief in the leader and the dreams they are pursing.
“A dream is a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal” – The Dictionary
People have dreams that are so amazing; they want the dream to never end. They don’t want to wake up. If they wake up in the middle of the dream, they attempt to fall back to sleep in hopes of starting the same dream again. Some dreams are so believable it’s hard to tell if it is real or not. When a dream is really enjoyable, it will wake you up in the middle of the night. You will start to write down notes and thoughts. When you believe it is possible or really want it to happen, you share it with people around you. The more you believe in the dream, the less fear you have.
There are different names for dreams. People have called them visions, goals, objectives, ideas, plans, targets or fantasies. No matter the name we all have them. Individuals and organizations are inspired by dreams. Many a dream has become reality. It takes just one person to get the ball rolling. Dr. Morris Beverage, the President of Lakeland Community College in Kirtland, Ohio, calls this “The Power of One.” I listened to him give his State of the Campus Address to the employees of the college. He talked about the power of one. He talked about how it took just one person to start the process of making a dream become reality. One dream can inspire a group of people to action.
His talk focused on the origins of the college. He talked about how a small group of local citizens had the dream to start a community college. There were members of the local population who didn’t believe in the dream.
The opportunity to pursue a higher education degree excited others. Word spread quickly and leadership groups were formed. People, who believed in the dream of a local Community College, used their skills and expertise to turn the dream into a proposition in the local election. The proposition passed and over thirty years later the college was celebrating it’s thirtieth anniversary.