“The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.” That one made me stop for a minute. Because sometimes we don't intentionally lower a standard. We just don't address something. A missed commitment happens again. A conversation keeps getting pushed off. Something isn't quite right, but we decide, “It's not that big of a deal.” Until it becomes normal. So, I'm curious: What's something you've realized you've been tolerating longer than you should? Or, if you finally addressed it, what made you decide it was time?

"Nobody is gonna hit as hard as life." ~ Rocky Balboa, played by Sylvester Stallone in Rocky Balboa. Rocky is older here. His fighting career is behind him, and this isn't really a scene about boxing. He's talking to his son, who has started blaming his circumstances and his father's shadow for where he is in life. Rocky doesn't rescue him. He reminds him that getting knocked down isn't the problem. Staying there is. I think leaders sometimes make a mistake by trying to remove every obstacle from someone's path. We want to help, so we fix things, step in, make the call, or take the problem off their plate. But at what point does helping someone actually prevent them from becoming stronger? Think about the best leader, coach, teacher, or mentor you've ever had. Did they make things easier for you, or did they teach you how to handle things when they got hard?

"You can't handle the truth!" ~Colonel Nathan R. Jessup, played by Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men. Jessup wasn't a coward. He wasn't incompetent. He was a highly decorated Marine who genuinely believed the mission justified his decisions. In his mind, he wasn't breaking the rules. He was doing what weaker leaders couldn't. That's what makes his character so compelling. Every leader eventually reaches a point where they have enough success, enough experience, and enough authority to believe their judgment is beyond question. Some never come back from that. So here's the debate. Is the most dangerous leader the one who knows they're wrong... Or the one who is absolutely convinced they're right? I'd love to hear where you land on this one.

What's one thing you learned this past week that you will do again or avoid in the future?

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us." Gandalf, played by Sir Ian McKellen in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Gandalf says this to Frodo after Frodo wishes the burden of the Ring had never fallen to him. Gandalf doesn't tell him life is fair. He doesn't promise things will get easier. He reminds him that none of us gets to choose the circumstances we're handed. We only get to choose how we respond. Leadership isn't tested when everything is going your way. It's tested when the timing is terrible, the resources are limited, and the responsibility still lands on your shoulders. Here's the question. Looking back on your life, did your greatest growth come from the opportunities you chose, or from the responsibilities you never asked for?