When You’re Good at Something…
Recently, I was on a group coaching call for a mastermind I’m in with Tim Storey. If you’re not familiar with Tim, he’s a a best-selling author, world-renowned speaker (he’s spoken to audiences in over seventy countries), and a life-coach. He’s worked with musicians, world-class athletes, business moguls, and famous actors. He hangs out with George Clooney at Clooney’s place on Lake Como in Italy. He helped Robert Downey Jr. get back on his feet when he was struggling with addiction. He even appeared on Oprah. Tim is often referred to as America’s Comeback Coach and here’s what Oprah said about him.
“Tim believes no matter what we’re facing, we’re all capable of turning any setback into a comeback.”
More importantly, at least for me, is the work Tim does with the people we haven’t heard of. He works with inmates, children in orphanages globally, refugees, victims of human trafficking, and so many more.
On that call I referenced, Tim had Roger Clemens on as a guest. If you’re not familiar with Clemens, he one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball history. In his twenty-four year career, Clemens won 354 games (no one wins over 300 games anymore), struck out the third most batters of all-time, and has seven Cy Young Awards (this award is given to the best pitcher in each league every year). Seven is the most all time. He’s also won two World Series rings. Clemens was and is, all-time great (as a note, Clemens was accused of using steroids by his former trainer and then accused of lying about it to congress. He was ultimately found not guilty of those charges).
Clemens said something on the call that resonated deeply.
He told us, “When you’re good at something, you tell other people. When you’re great at something, they tell you.”
I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s felt, at times, like I needed to beat my chest. To tell other people how good I am at thing X or thing Y. But I don’t do that anymore. In fact, just last week, a school leader at a partner school was annoyed (playfully) with me because I kept introducing myself as Michael from Skyrocket (my other company), and not “founder” or “CEO.” She kept telling people as she began introducing me, “He created this. He created all this stuff” referencing the frameworks they were being trained on. At one point, the room gave me a round of applause.
Now, I’m not suggesting I’m great at anything. But I’m also aware of the things I am really good at. It just feels so much different to put something cool into the world and just let it be. To let it live. Whether it’s a product or your leadership in general.
The best boss I’ve ever had introduced himself like this when he first met my wife.
“Hi, I’m…I work with Michael.”
I knew he was the boss. He knew he was the boss. My wife knew he was the boss. He just didn’t feel compelled to say it.
If you’re good enough, you won’t feel compelled to tell others about your accomplishments, titles, status, etc. Instead, they’ll tell you.
