I just finished reading a book titled, Catalyst. You can download it free as a Kindle Book, Nook Book, iBook, Google Book, or PDF here: https://www.g5.tv/catalyst. It turns out there is an ‘I’ in Team.
There’s a fine balance between ‘Me’ and ‘We’. If we’re focused only on ‘Me’, we come off as pretty self centered. Some people seem to go through their entire life with a ‘Me’ focus. When we focus only on ‘Me,’ it seems like we’re getting the maximum benefit of life, but the truth is that we aren’t.
We can do a whole lot better in life with a ‘We’ focus. When we are willing to share the glory and the credit, ‘We’ can accomplish a whole lot more than the same number of ‘Me’ people. We will accomplish a lot more, and we will go further in life if our approach is ‘We’. And although it seems counterintuitive, a ‘Me’ focus actually holds us back in life.
But this doesn’t mean that we avoid all recognition, position, and authority for the sake of the team. Often we think this is what we should do.
For example, if we are the right person to lead the team, we don’t serve the team by shrinking back and avoiding the position. If we’re the right person for the job, we should say so for the sake of the team. And if we don’t, we are withholding from the team. In a way, we are still ‘Me’ focused gaining self-righteousness.
Imagine what would have happened if Michael Jordan decided that he was taking too much of the glory and that he wouldn’t take any more shots. He’d always pass the ball to a teammate to make the shot. My guess is that this wouldn’t work out so well.
If every person on the basketball team decided it’s better to assist than to score, no one would be there to score. And in fact, there would be no assisting either. There’s no assisting if there’s no one shooting the ball.
It turns out that there is an ‘I’ in Team after all. The best approach to life is to have both a ‘We’ and ‘Me’ attitude. This is where we show up fully using our talents and strengths for the benefit of everyone involved.
This is exactly the attitude towards life that we suggest folks have in living their legacy.
