ryan russell

 Wrapping up the trip to ATL visiting the leaders at NorthPoint;  listening to Coldplay on the way home as a way to escape the babies on the plane. (“Fix You” might be in my top 10 songs of all time – I will post them on the family blog some other time) There are quite a few notes to write in regards to learning from NP…

As young leaders it can be daunting to look into the future and dream. Which leaders don’t want to make an incredible impact with the gifts & tools that they have at their disposal? Which artist doesn’t want to make phenomenal music? “Where do you begin?” It can be paralytic if your imagination is too vivid. It can also be fueled by selfish motives if you aren’t careful.

Let me propose a theory: Great things begin small w/ convictions held by unassuming, visionary suspects.

When you are young, you won’t be seen as a leader without suspicion. You will be seen as a slight renegade or maverick. Leaders have a way of being slightly off beat in their early environments if they hold convictions and future dreams that they are working out in their minds and trying out in their arenas. With suspicion will come some tests that will lead you to the assumption at first that there must be something wrong with you — however, there might not be something wrong with you other than a dream of an alternate reality or future.

Rick Holliday was generous enough to give me a great amount of time today. He was one of the “original 6″ founders of NorthPoint and remains on the management team 13 years later. I have read extensively from Andy’s books and listened to several podcasts that contain pieces of the story about their roots. What imprinted me today was seeing the passion of the early convictions of the original 6 of NorthPoint in Rick’s enthusiasm during our conversation. I am sure that I still don’t have all of the narrative of the journey but what I do have leads me to the conclusion that great things begin small w/ convictions held by unassuming, visionary suspects.

So, get started with your convictions…

What are you sure of?

What must you be doing with your life?

What do you value that you must live out?

What are you going to start doing about it?

How can you get started small?