I’ve been reading this new book for the last few weeks called The Mentor Leader by Tony Dungy.  I know Cliff and Liam will know who Tony Dungy is as they are big NFL fans. Tony Dungy is a Super Bowl winning coach but is also known for his dedication to his players and his mentoring work. 

I was actually pretty excited to start this book as it’s a bit different from the regular success books I read because of the author’s background in athletics.  I’m also excited because I love reading books on mentorship as that’s the kind of business we are in. 

There is a great quote about half way through that I’ve heard in many other books but really stood out in this book.

“I think we all should be looking for ways to improve, ways to grow. Mentors can help us do that, and we, in turn can help others the same way.  Two of the greatest influences in our lives will be the people we associate with and the books or other media we read or watch. So, choose wisely.”

It really is true that you have to watch out who you associate with.  I’ve said it many times before on this blog and it applied when I was younger and my mother told me she didn’t want me hanging out with Billy down the street.  Billy, not his real name, wasn’t a very good kid, always in trouble with the law and his parents were not any better.  This isn’t a lie, I remember is plain as day, the whole family were in and out of jail.  So my association at that age really needed to be guarded and the same applies at the age of 31.

Tony also talks about being a servant leader and references this quote by Martin Luther King Jr. “Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve….You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

I know Lindsay and I always strive to be great servants to our fellow mankind.  It’s 100% because of our association why we are who we are today.  If just some of us can change and be more servants then the  world would be a much better place that’s for sure.  Instead we are mostly a society that thinks about ourselves first before others.  That needs to change.

I highly recommend this book if your into mentorship and success principals.