Be a Leader, Not a Cheerleader
Leaders Don’t Chase the Party. They Set the Standard.
My retreat doesn’t even start until Tuesday.
I’m here two days early. On purpose.
Because I know better.
Tonight, I wandered over to check out happy hour.
It was a personal nightmare: deafening club music, 300 men packed like sardines, every last one of them in a speedo, cocktail sloshing, voices trying to scream over the beat.
I lasted maybe 32 seconds.
Maybe.
Another 47 seconds and my soul would've been sucked out through my sneakers.
So I turned around. Walked out.
Not because I’m no fun. Not because I’m judging.
Because I know who the fuck I am and what I'm here to do.
I'm not here to get drained before the real work even starts.
I'm not here to be a mascot, clapping and chugging and trying to keep up.
I'm here to lead.
If you’re running a retreat—or anything where people are counting on you—you better learn the difference.
You can’t give them what they came for if you burn yourself out trying to match their chaos.
You can’t hold space for transformation when you’re running on fumes.
You can't lift people if you’re too busy playing court jester to every fleeting mood in the room.
They didn’t sign up for a cheerleader.
They signed up for a leader.
Be one.
Take the time. Guard your energy like your life depends on it—because it does.
Leadership is knowing when to step the fuck back so you can show the fuck up when it matters.
Be the storm they can anchor to.
Not the confetti they forget in five minutes.