Turbo Leadership Systems^™

What is your EQ?

A few weeks ago at the Lincoln High end of season football honors and awards banquet, our grandson, Tyler Dennis, who we affectionately refer to in our family as T-Rex, was one of three team members given the "All-Star Team Members" award for the city of Portland. Tyler is a senior at Lincoln High, the same school his sister was a cheerleader, and his dad and two uncles graduated from. Donna Lee, his grandmother, and I have been to most of his football games since he was about 8 years old. Tyler loves football; it is his one true passion. There is a problem though; the problem is that he has been small for his age. Last year we went to every game in the rain and cold, and watched him sit on the bench game after game.

Being benched all year didn't keep him from going to the gym for hours almost every day this past summer. When football practice started in July in 95° temperatures, he was out there with his team day after day, week after week.

He has shot up in height this year, though he remains the lightest senior on the team at 155 pounds. He's now taller than his granddad and both of his parents. This year we got to watch him play first string at every game. As the cornerback, he made interceptions and deflected long passes which would have been big plays for opposing teams. With Tyler's help, the Lincoln High Cardinals even made the first round of the state playoffs. The one thing about Tyler that everyone knows, including his coaches and fellow players, is that he plays with more heart than most of the rest of the players on his team. Tyler is all in.

Tyler proves that it's not PQ, physical attributes, or IQ, intellectual attributes, that count most in our lives. Instead, it's EQ, emotional attributes, that ultimately win the day. None of us have control over our physical height, and to some degree, our strength and coordination, PQ. Some of us are naturally more intelligent than others, have a higher IQ. The one thing we all have control over is our EQ, our emotional

quotient, our willingness to commit fully to whatever it is we are doing. Tyler's success demonstrates that when we persevere, discipline and believe in ourselves, give everything we've got to whatever we're doing, there is a payoff. We may be "on the bench" for a season or two, but if we remain fully committed to our goals, we will achieve significant success in the long run.

You may be going through a tough spot right now. Many of us are. This is a difficult time in America's economy. I urge you to remain true to your calling, to find your passion and redouble your commitment. I promise as you do, you will be recognized as one of the "All-Stars" and 2012 will be your year to win.

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