Reading · Never Too Late · RSS Amplifier

~5 min

BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE FEELS LIKE CONFLICT when comfort matters more than growth.

WHEN SOMEONE REPEATS THEMSELVES, especially with more volume and intensity each time, they often don’t believe they’ve been heard. The second time around, maybe reflect it back: “What I hear you saying is ____. Do I understand you correctly?”

They didn’t tell you again because they forgot about the first time. They need to know they were heard. Better yet, respond.

MY FRIEND JASON IS A LOYAL NTL’ER. I saw him earlier this week and asked what he liked most.
“The basketball and life stuff are awesome. I could use a little less Jesus.”
So, naturally, I decided to give him a heavy dose of both this week.

MY FRIEND ERIC RECENTLY LOST HIS FATHER. He tells a great story about the time he almost got a tattoo in college. Eric’s dad was his best friend so he called him to seek his advice, knowing full well he could do whatever he wanted in his early stage of adulthood.

Dad was quiet and didn’t give advice freely. He only asked questions, which made it harder to glean his counsel. Once I answered, however, I usually was able to come to a conclusion on my own. Dad asked great questions. In this particular case, I had a good friend who had recently gotten a tattoo. He was a cool guy and well-liked and I thought his new tattoo was awesome. I’m detail-oriented so I spent hours researching tattoo artists and subsequently visited one. Over several sessions, we designed a tattoo that incorporated symbols and mountains - a true piece of art that reflected who I was at the time. This would be a statement to others and I believed it was something I could live with forever. Plus it looked so cool! No doubt, this would be very special and a testament of agency. I told my Father about my plan. In this particular instance, he only asked two questions:

Where do you plan on placing this tattoo?

I told him on my back below my neck. In my estimation this was the perfect place in that it could be covered up and the skin doesn’t stretch as you age.

Is this tattoo for you or for others since you won’t be able to see it?

And just like that, my plan to get a tattoo fell apart.

SOME ATHLETES ARE WORTH EMULATING. Future NBA Hall of Famer Russell Westbrook announced his retirement this week. Russ played basketball like we should try to live life—unafraid. His motto is adjacent to Never Too Late and also applicable to you: “Why not?”

Russ was a flawed hero that all of us could relate to. He effort was elite and never questioned. He accepted the consequences and embarrassment of making mistakes in front of everyone without becoming captive to their judgment. While you and I fail in limited settings, Russ failed publicly and unapologetically.

When times were tough at work, he was a rock of certainty and steadiness. You always knew what Russ was about and what he would give you. The lazy fan easily pointed out Russell’s flaws and leapt for joy at his highlights. The trained eye was conflicted with visceral love and hate for how he played. Neither mattered to Russ because his North Star was winning. Some talk. Some do. Russ was a doer. He is one of the greats.

Kind and generous off the court, Russ is known as a great husband and father. I suspect he is also a wonderful friend.

Former teammate Kendrick Perkins said it best: “When you get off the bus on the road and you’re walking into a visiting arena, you have a certain type of swag walking into that locker room because you know you’re getting off the bus with Russell Westbrook.”

KELVIN SAMPSON tells a story of how he decided to leave a loaded Washington State basketball team he had spent four years building to come to the University of Oklahoma where he would inherit a program that was struggling.
He kept asking himself, why would I leave a great situation to start over?
He took a call from the great Dean Smith who reminded him that the returning players on his great team may be the best he would ever coach there and that the new opportunity increased the likelihood of recruiting great players year in and year out.
Dean told me something I already knew but wasn’t yet ready to admit to myself.
It made me reflect on how often we know the right answer but are hamstrung by comfort and familiarity, even when the better opportunity is right in front of us.

COLLEGE SPORTS RIGHT NOW:

Where there is more money, the talent improves and the competition gets better.

THERE ARE PEOPLE, ORGANIZATIONS, INVESTMENTS, AND OUTCOMES YOU CARE DEEPLY ABOUT. But caring about something doesn’t make you responsible for its outcome. Where might you be carrying responsibility that God never assigned you? What would faithful stewardship look like without assuming ownership of the result?

THERE IS A DIFFERENCE between trusting God and releasing something to God. One is a mindset. The other is an action. The barrier between the two is pride.

A PRAYER FOR YOU:

A WORD TO RANDOMLY USE THIS WEEK: Importunity* means the act of asking for something over and over again in a strong, pushy, or annoying way. It is when someone keeps begging or demanding until it wears you down.

You can find importunity in faith, in prayer, in marriage, in friendship and in business, to name a few.

Faith improves my life. Here is a verse I like from the Bible:

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”

- ‭‭1 Corinthians 3:6–7 NIV