The Ordinary Impact

I saw a shirt in a local coffee shop that said #BetterTogether across the back. And I believe that. I really do. Unity. Community. Togetherness. These are all better than isolation, division, or just going it alone. But, full disclosure, my circle is small. Not because I don’t care about people, but because trust is hard sometimes . I believe in community, but I don’t always fully embrace it. There are moments I hold back. Because being #BetterT ogether sounds nice… Until someone challenges our opinion, our politics, our preferences, or even our parenting. Then, suddenly, it’s #BetterApart, or #BetterQuiet , or #BetterGone . Because togetherness isn’t just about gathering. It’s about growing. And that requires humility. It means admitting we don’t have it all figured out. It means being open to change, not just in others, but in ourselves. And that’s a lot harder than wearing a shirt with a hashtag on the back. Too many times, we default to living more like #BetterIfYo...

I got it wrong. Not in the dramatic, headline-making kind of way. But in the quiet, frustrating kind. The kind where you miss something you wish you’d caught. The kind where you replay the timeline in your head—trying to figure out how, when, why you didn’t see it. I care deeply about the things I commit to. I try to be prepared. Thorough. Attentive. But I missed something this time. And that miss had consequences. It was humbling. Embarrassing. Disappointing. And it meant having to step away from something I genuinely wanted. Not because I didn’t have the passion or the experience— but because I missed a step that mattered. And that part was on me. So I did what I’ve had to do before—what most of us will have to do at some point: I owned it. I apologized. And I reminded myself that doing the right thing doesn’t always feel good in the moment. But it’s still the right thing. Here’s the thing I’m learning: Messing up isn’t the end of your integrity. But hiding it—or pretending...

Recently, I listened to a podcast entitled  Work Life  with  Adam Grant . He focused on the issue of having too many people on a team trying to be the star rather than those same individuals trying to make the team more successful. The main illustration for his point was the  Butler Basketball Team  and their former coach  Brad Stevens . The Butler Bulldogs employ principles that they call The Butler Way , and the more I thought about each of the principles, the more I thought that each of them can make an impact as much off the basketball court as on the basketball court. The first principle is  humility   and even though it seems like a simple principle to live out, many people neglect it without a thought. The Butler Way describes humility as knowing who we are - strengths and weaknesses . People who act out of place of humility understand their limits. They also work to fit within their role on the team because their desire is...