Good morning, Team! It’s Saturday! (I was on Spring Break last week and this one got away from me a little.)

Feed the chickens.

Milk the cows.

Stack the hay bales.

It seems easier to identify with a young farm kid working hard from dawn to dusk than one who grew up in town. I happened to grow up in town and my humble beginnings took place on a job site, not in a farm yard.

Grease the loader.

Haul the gravel.

Crush the concrete.

Reflecting back, I realize I’ve been earning a wage for a half century, gaining experience in construction, engineering, management, leadership, governance, consulting … and along the way, picked up a few nuggets of wisdom, like…

Calvin Coolidge wrote: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

John Maxwell says, “Leadership is Influence.”

Mahatma Gandhi said, “a good sign of a leader is not how many followers you have but how many leaders you create.”

My goal as a kid was to please my Dad and create value for the family business.

My goal as a young man was to work hard, raise a family, do things right, create value for the companies I worked for and have some fun.

My goal as a middle-aged man was to work harder, spoil my family, do the right thing-no matter how hard, create exceptional value and relax once in a while…

In the fourth quarter of my working life, I seek to influence, impart wisdom and help others reach their full potential. That could happen at the front of the room with a tie and sport coat, at the back of the room cheering on and nodding my head or sitting shoulder to shoulder in a circle beating the drum and sharing stories of the lessons I’ve learned from my journey so far.

That’s me, in a nutshell.

What’s your leadership journey and how do you plan to finish it?

Have a blessed weekend!