Providing Insights on Leadership and Success. Coach Bechler is a John Maxwell Leadership Team Member.
“Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching you.” (C.S. Lewis)
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Have you (or someone that you’ve known) ever said something to the effect of ‘It doesn’t matter if I do what’s right. Nobody notices anyway.’ or ‘Nice guys finish last’.
Well, I have a little story that I always think of when it comes to integrity and character.
Sir Isaac Newton had three laws of motion and the first law essentially said that every object will remain at rest until acted upon by an outside force.
Things don’t change by themselves.
This is an important concept to remember today.
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Marc Polymeropoulos served 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) before retiring in June 2019. His positions included field and headquarters operational assignments covering the Middle East, Europe, Eurasia, and CounterTerrorism. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the Intelligence Commendation Medal, and the Intelligence Medal of Merit. Marc is also the author of Clarity in Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the CIA.
My senior research project was to examine whether John Wooden’s coaching style could work in the current landscape of college men’s basketball. I made appointments to meet six different head coaches at their office for a 30-minute interview.
Every coach gave me some great insights and I received an “A” on the project.
Other than Coach Wooden calling me on my dorm room phone (but that’s another story for another day), the thing that stands out to me the most about the project was one particular coach and how he treated me.
An old Cherokee Indian chief sat down to teach his grandson about life.
“There’s a fight going on inside me,” he tells the young boy, “a fight between two wolves.”
“One wolf is evil. It’s full of malice, anger, greed, self-pity, and false pride. The other is good. It’s full of peace, love, joy, kindness, and humility.”