Who Do You Admire?

“Tell me who you admire, and I will tell you what kind of person you aspire to become.” –Sam Keen

I like that quote because, like race car drivers, we steer our lives in the direction we are looking. If we have inspirational leaders in our sights, we start leaning toward what they represent.

So here’s a worthwhile exercise to undertake: Make your own Personal Hall of Fame of people you admire and why.

Customize your categories. My categories have been:

• Great Leaders.  These are people I don’t know personally, but admire from afar.
• Enriching Teachers/Mentors. These are people in your past or present who have cared about you and your future enough to give you wise counsel
• Guardians of Authentic Me. These are close friends that are willing to call me out on my stuff, to help me live the best version of myself–by my values
• Men of Valor. These guys are role models of the kind of manhood that honors women, displays courage, lives out their faith, and embodies integrity
• Other Grace-Filled People. These are people I’d want as brothers and sisters as an adult (I’m an only child.); they are accepting, forgiving, and just make me comfortable to be around.

Or, if you don’t want it to be as elaborate as mine, simply list your good friends and list their qualities that attract you to them. Then tell them! You never know how it might make their day to know what positive effect they’ve had on you!

Then it’s time to follow their lead. Incorporate their winsome traits into your life so that you pay forward what they’ve invested in your life.

Hope it doesn’t sound corny or superficial, but I want to invest in you! It would be my honor to be on your Hall of Fame list someday. Whenever you share one of my blogs or social media posts, or whenever you apply a tip that I share in a seminar or coaching session, it gives me great joy that I’ve had a small sliver of impact in your desired future. For that, I say, Thank you.