When Dave Ramsey’s signed copy of EntreLeadership arrived in the mail, I settled down for the night and figured I would read a few pages. Two hours later, it was one a.m. when I turned out the light. Yup, the book captivated me right from the start. Bill Kybels, a senior pastor from Willow Creek Church, summed up my feelings about the book:
“I love this book! One minute Dave sounds like a Harvard prof, and the next minute he is coming at you like an alley fighter! Either way you will wind up being a better leader.”
You cannot lead without passion, Dave writes. How true this is. The most successful leaders are driven by passion, and it is this passion that sustains them year after year. After reading the chapter on passion, I immediately thought of Hands & Voices. When I first joined this parent-driven organization, there were just three chapters. I agreed to start the fourth chapter– only because I saw the passion that burned in the eyes of Leeanne Seaver and Janet DesGeorges. Their passion mirrored my own, and I knew I found a home in this organization. If there’s a testimonial to the power of passion that leads, then Hands & Voices embodies it. In less than ten years, we went from a handful of chapters to world wide.
But back to the book. At first glance, one might simply think this is a business book about leadership, nothing more. At first, I wondered what I might get out of it– after all, I’m a mom, a writer, an early intervention provider and a board member. But then I remembered that I’m also a Send Out Cards distributor, and hello… that’s a business. And since I’m at the beginning of it all, I’m where Dave was back when he set up a card table in his living room. Dave calls this his playbook, in fact, he calls this a “championship playbook for business.” But I find that definition to be too narrow. When I turned the last page of this book, I realized it was so much more than just about leadership in business. It was in fact, a playbook for life.
Throughout the whole book, I found myself underlining bits of wisdom that I could apply to every day life. One of my favorites: “You are never too old. You are never the wrong color. You are never too disabled. You are never the wrong political party. There is never a big enough obstacle to keep a person with passion operating in a higher calling from winning. ” Good stuff. And it applies to anything in life.
You know what else I liked about this book? Dave opens up wide about the mistakes he made along the way and shows how he evolved as a leader. How many times have we placed someone on a pedestal and thought to ourselves, “I’m not like them, they’re so successful, so good at what they do, I could never get to where they are.” So we don’t even bother to try. We don’t push ourselves and test our limits, because we’re measuring ourselves against someone who has paid the price to get where they are today.
Not only is Dave a great leader, but he happens to be a barefoot water skier as well. Deep into the book, in a chapter about recognizing others, he shares a tidbit about Keith St. Onge, the two-time World Barefoot Champion:
“Because of our success and the media I do, I have been blessed to meet many famous and world-class people. A few years ago I met and became friends with the world champion in a particular sport. I was a little worried that he would be arrogant and instead he was gentle, kind, polite, and an amazing athlete. As we talked late one night at my kitchen table he told me of the untold hours and sacrifice his father had gone through to help him train through his teenage years. He humbly attributed his world champion status to his dad’s encouragement and sacrifice.”
Without Keith knowing, Dave sent a two-page letter to his parents, Claude and Jackie, sharing what he observed from working with Keith and thanking them for being great parents. “I was totally emotional reading it,” said Claude. “Having Dave compliment our son and us– well, I had tears of joy. I read it more than once.”
“When I got that letter, I felt so proud,” said Jackie. “For a long time, I didn’t feel that I had anything to do with his success. I was grateful that Dave took the time to share what he thought about Keith, that he expressed his feelings in a letter to us.”
The ripple of that letter goes on. When I first read a copy of Dave’s letter to Keith’s parents a year ago, I started to become more aware of how I could recognize and honor others in my life. I sent out cards, letters and emails and took more time to acknowledge the impact of those I’ve crossed paths with. And that’s what EntreLeadership will do for you– it’s not just a playbook for businesses, it’s a playbook for life. Dave ends the book saying, “Go make a difference in the way business is conducted.” But you won’t change just the way you conduct business, you’ll change the way you journey through life.