The statement “we can’t conqueror what we are not willing to confront” is one that I have often heard and occasionally even used myself. I believe this statement to be true and want to offer a few thoughts on the topic of confrontation. I have often found myself on the receiving end of a confrontation gone wrong and can even admit that I have occasionally handled confrontation poorly myself.
I had the privilege of being the Keynote Speaker for the Dr. Martin Luther King Prayer Breakfast that held at Anne Arundel Community College on January 21.
Here is an excerpt from my speech. You can download and read the full speech here.
When I was a little boy I would sneak into my dad’s closet when he wasn’t at home, and do my best to imitate him. I would put his shirt on. I would pull down one of his ties off of his tie hanger, and to complete the look I’d find his best pair of shoes in the closet and slip my little feet into his shoes. I’d then try to deepen my voice and mimic him as if to say: this shirt may be big on me now, this tie may drag along the floor, and these shoes may be to big to fill now, but ‘one day’ all of this will fit me just fine. As I look back on those days playing in dads closet and playing on my dad’s basketball team I realize that’s it’s no longer the first quarter, It’s now the 4th quarter!
I represent a generation of people who are not only ready to take the big shot, but are ready to fill the shoes of dreamers!
People we have big shoes to fill and big shots to take. It’s the 4th Quarter so play like a team, move the ball around, don’t waste any opportunities, and lastly keep on dreaming! Who will dare to be a difference maker or a game changer?
Just thought I’d share a couple of lessons that my dad taught me growing up. This is stuff that I’m thinking about more than ever these days. I found that these never get old. I thought I’d share with you stuff that I’m working on so that we could grow together…
Things dad would say: