1st Base – We point the finger; we are reactive
2nd Base – We are convicted; we become proactive
3rd Base – We experience success; we become distinctive
Home – We serve others; we become predictive
Over lunch during the 2016-17 winter break, L.E.A.D. Ambassador Austin Evans reflected on his
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| Austin is at top row between the S and A |
experience in December 2016 when noted white supremacist Richard Spencer spoke on the campus of Texas A&M.
My wife, Kelli, who also is the Executive Director at L.E.A.D., and I listened with great interest.
Austin has the privilege of serving as the Off-Campus Senator for Texas A&M, which is a “big time” responsibility as far as I’m concerned. In this position, Austin leads more than 45,000 students of the predominately white institution.
DOES L.E.A.D. and the Atlanta Public Schools system work? You tell me.
Austin said his effort to lead students who were outraged with Spencer’s presence on campus was far from easy.
If I were a student there, I would be outraged, too. I would have called for new leadership, too.
That’s what I refer to as First Base thinking. At First Base, we point fingers and react negatively to things that are negative.
Today, I’m regarded among many as a servant-leader, a responsibility of which I am humbled. For me, humility isn’t thinking less of you, but thinking of more of others. Robert Greenleaf coined the term servant-leader at a time when people didn’t know if being a servant and a leader could coexist.
Can a janitor be regarded as a person of significance at a Fortune 100 company like the CEO?
I believe so. Servant-leadership, among many things, is helping people answer these four questions:
1. What is your calling in life?
2. What world problem do you want to solve?
3. What is your earthly talent?
4. What is your spiritual gift?
Helping people answer these questions is a home run for me. When I get out of the bed every morning, I want to hit a home run. Sometimes I fall short and only hit singles.
Second Base
Don’t be deceived. Not only have I not always been a servant-leader on purpose, I didn’t want to be one. I saw people who were serving others as being weak at times. Giving of myself in exchange for money was my paradigm until 2007 when I was convicted.
I listened to myself speak to people in a way that caused me to pause and say, “You know what, C.J., you’re selfish and arrogant. But you knew that all ready about yourself. The crime is that you aren’t doing anything about it and it will be your downfall.”
Looking back on that conversation with myself was a second base moment. The good
news is that I arrived there after making a stop at first base, where I was pointing fingers and blaming everybody else for my failures.Second base in our maturation process is where we become convicted by our hostile responses to things that legitimately and illegitimately cause us to get angry. You realize as a principle that anger only hurts you and not the person that caused it.
In fact, our body temperature rises when we are angry (up to 90 percent of our body is water).
So, basically, we’re cooking our organs when we’re angry. Realizing this at second base allows us to become proactive to prevent ourselves from being angry more times than not.Success happens at third base when we’re getting things done. I began to read a lot of John Maxwell books at third base. These books helped me become a better version of myself. It helped me seek accountability partners. It helped
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| Austin and I with Georgia Governor Nathan Deal |
me to ask myself with boldness, “What do you want to do with your life C.J.? How are you made? What makes you unique?
This transformation doesn’t happen in my life without my experiences at first and second base.
I developed a clear mission in life at third base to be significant by serving millions and bringing them into a relationship with Christ, starting with Kelli and our daughters, Mackenzi and Mackenna.
Simply fulfilling this mission was a success for me.
I then established a clear mission for my businesses and success was based on fulfilling it. Failure became feedback and taught me how to make adjustments that led to more success. I became very distinctive among many of my peers. I began to serve as a role model of excellence, which I define as meeting expectations.
What I enjoy the most about being at home plate is the ability to be predictive. Those who I serve need me to often times provide answers to questions they don’t even know to ask.
As a philosophy, I seek God daily, so that I can be obedient to His commandments. This is great for me, because now I don’t have to exist aimlessly in the world trying to figure out what to do, who to serve and how to serve them.
Baseball is like life in that we don’t want to strike out or be stuck on a base. You can’t score if you’re striking out and stuck. We have to do things and/or have help from others to move around the bases.
The key to winning is to touch home plate a lot.
Your Guide
First Base
1. What are some of the most common things said to you that trigger an attitude of anger?
2. What are some of the most common things done to you that trigger an attitude of anger?
3. How does being angry make you feel?
Second Base
1. How does it feel when you are right?
2. How does it feel when you are wrong?
3. Who are the people that you trust enough to correct you when you are wrong?
Third Base
1. How do you define success?
2. How have you achieved success within the last 48 hours?
3. What do you have to give to the world?
Home
1. Who’s your role model and why?
3. What will be said about you when cease to exist on Earth?