Le’Veon Bell & Humility

“Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class and be humble.”

John Madden

My fantasy football league finished for the season this week. After running most of the season at or near the top, my team ran out of gas the last stretch and became a bottom feeder. You can learn a lot from sports as a competitor or fan. Let me tell you about a lesson I witnessed from being a football fan…

Runningback Le’Veon Bell was a monster for Pittsburg a few years ago, a hero with killer numbers for the team. He had it all; speed, hands, moves. I picked him up 1st round in the draft the year he held out for more money (not knowing of course it was a curse), he wanted more and was going to sit himself until he got paid.

He did a lot of mouthing off and made rap songs while the team didn’t want to pay more than they already did. He was making a ton, some would say he was overvalued. Well, the Steelers brought up the backup, Conner, who produced more than Bell at his best and is still on the team. Bell? Left Pittsburg and floated to obscurity, never to produce the results he achieved. He now rides the bench as a nobody in KC.

He made it all about himself and saw what was good, selfishly. It wasn’t about building something big or working on a team. He didn’t put anyone but himself first and as it turned out, it was the team and line that made him look good. If he had shared an ounce of humility as a leader, he would have had a different outcome.

The point I’m trying to make: Are you leading with humility or are you making your leadership about you? 

Who can you recognize in your sphere as helping you to shine? Or conversely, who are you taking the shine from that deserves it?

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