Your Volume Doesn't Define You

An elementary school age version of me gets an autograph from former NFL quarterback, Erik Wilhelm

Jim, "Don't call me Chris," Everett pauses to take a photograph with my brother and me

What do the above pictures have to do with education and/or leadership?

Throughout my childhood, I accumulated a fairly impressive collection of autographs from my favorite professional athletes. I was relentless in regards to the letters that I wrote and sent to them. And I was strategic with how I would maneuver myself to the front of any crowd to acquire the autograph that I wanted.

I've tried to pass-on some of these same strategies to my son.
Here he is, as a four-year-old, after acquiring Alex Rodriguez's autograph during a spring training game.

I didn't have to be loud, which is good because I consider myself to be a quiet person. Typically, I prefer a rather introverted lifestyle. This has always been the case. 

You don't have to ask everyone. But you have to be willing to ask one person. And you have to be persistent to get what you want.

Currently, I'm trying to link-up with Arizona Cardinals head coach, Bruce Arians, for a #DadsOnDeck podcast that #DadsAsPrincipals and #MakerDads are creating (see previous blog post, linked). Connecting with him is a long shot (although, I have received an initial email response from his assistant!), but it's kind of fun trying. It will probably go nowhere and if that's the case, I'm out nothing but my time. But what if it does go somewhere?

There is a lot out there for our taking. In regards to this, social media is amazing. The doors that it opens for us, throughout the world, are limitless. We have tools at our fingertips that allow us to connect with anyone.

I've done that. And I'll continue to do that. I've connected with educators from coast-to-coast and everywhere in-between to grow my Professional Learning Network (PLN) in-order to benefit the staff and students within our school at Van Allen. Going forward, I have BHAG (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals) to connect with authors and other individuals that can lead to impactful experiences for our school. It's a brave new world.

So don't call me shy. Don't call my kids shy. Don't call students shy. Don't call people shy. That's a label. Labels are judgments that people make; they're not helpful.