The King Within

Most good leaders never seek to be leaders. They aren’t only hesitant, but they refuse the job offer.

Such was the case of Moses of old as was Britain’s king George VI. Both of those two stuttered by the way, yet were placed in positions that required public speaking – lots of it. 

The film King’s Speech is a great film in the traditional sense. Good story, good acting, a sense of humor and enough seriousness to move you. The future king’s speech therapist sees in Bertie (who becomes King George VI) what he doesn’t see in himself. He sees the guts the man has, when he himself is blind to it.

Isn’t it so true, that some of the most gifted, beautiful, intelligent, passionate people are oblivious to their talent? Isn’t it so frustrating to stand by that person and see the potential they aren’t using?

Probably the secret great men and women hold is that of a champion. Someone who is in the background, cheering them on, believing in them. (As they say, behind every great man, there is a great woman.) It really is a tough job to be in the spotlight, and who can manage that well – alone? Probably no one.

This king had his speech therapist and his wife. Moses had his brother. And the rest of us need to be championed too. And need to champion others. Inside all of us there is plenty of potential that isn’t in use. We are held back by fears, feelings of inadequacy, lies we believe in, past failures  and so on. The king (or queen) within needs to be called out. He/she’s been in hiding long enough.

Successful Failure

To succeed in life you need to fail.

It seems to be God’s number one training tool for such Biblical personalities as Adam & Eve (banished from the garden of Eden to live the consequences of failing to trust God), Moses (son of a princess, spent 40 years herding sheep in the desert after he took matters into his own hands and killed a man), Joseph (showed off his future calling to the annoyance of his brothers who sold him as a slave), Jonah (decided to run instead of obey and spent three days inside a whale) and the list goes on.

Modern day successes have had their dark times too. Lucille Ball was dismissed from drama school. The Beatles were turned down by a record company who said, “guitar music is on its way out” and Michael Jordan didn’t make it to his high school basketball team.

These stories could have ended here. Instead they picked themselves up and learned from their failures. Actually failing only proves that you have tried.

Go out and be a a successful failure today!