A father watches his 7-year-old freeze during a karate belt test. The instructor tells him, "It's okay to be afraid, but it's not okay not to try." The lesson applies to leading teams: acknowledge the fear, demand the effort anyway.
So it's okay to be afraid. It's not okay not to try. We tell our kids this all the time. We have our 15-year-old now, but at the time he was about 7, went to his first karate belt testing. And this kid, we walk in, he's more introverted, right? Usually doesn't cause a scene. We walk in, it's his first belt testing. The kid grabs his shoes and tries to bolt out the door. And as a parent, I was looking around, I'm like, oh my gosh, what do I do? This is really awkward. Like, what do I say to him? Like, I, I wasn't sure not sure what to say, and his, his instructor got down on his level and he was like, listen, it's okay to be afraid, but it's not okay not to try. Like, you can be scared of this, but you got to get out there and try. And it's the same thing with our recruits in the business, you guys.
