A Confession of Sorts

I have a confession to make: I own all 4 seasons of Duck Dynasty. Please don’t stop reading. I beg of you, continue on.

I have another confession to make: I’ve watched each season of Duck Dynasty multiple times. Seriously, please don’t leave… it will get better, I promise.

My wife won’t watch DD with me but will watch Modern Family. It, too, is a show I own and have watched multiple times. The characters are electric and the writing is brilliant. A perfect combination for a great sitcom.

I get a sense of fulfillment from each of these families. I find myself identifying with each plot along with each set of characters. Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” I think that sounds good, so I examined this connection.

Another Confession

I love my family. My wife is everything I could ever ask for. My son is a great kid with a tender and playful heart. I also have another son on the way whom I am excited to meet this February. I am truly blessed in so many ways and because of this, the following doesn’t make sense.

Here’s my next confession: I am living vicariously through both Duck Dynasty and Modern Family.

I feel good on the inside each time I watch the Robertson family having dinner together. They seem so happy and it looks so effortless. In Modern Family, I enjoy the parenting successes and failures of Phil and Claire. Despite each child’s knack for mischief, in the end, they are great kids. Phil and Claire have it good.

Leadership Worth Emulating

Continuing with my confessions above are two truths I’ve discovered while exploring my connection with these shows. The first truth is that my life is far better than I realize.

I shared this post with a friend who has a teenage daughter. I said I was living vicariously through the Robertson family and that I wanted their family life. Her response to me was astonishing.

She experiences these same feelings when she sees my Facebook feed. Her words were, “I love looking at the pictures of your family. You obviously have a close bond with your son. I look back at my life with my daughter and think, ‘I missed those opportunities.’”

The second truth is that there is a single catalyst driving the successes in each family. It is a characteristic that, if embraced, can bring life much meaning. This characteristic is intentionality.

[Tweet “The leadership characteristic of intentionality is what breathes meaning into life, http://bit.ly/1fyfy5g”]

It Is Your Job to Embrace Leadership

Sitting down for dinner nightly, as both shows depict, is not something that comes naturally. This practice requires discipline and prioritization. Likewise, keeping multiple generations of a family connected is not achieved by chance, but rather by placing value on time together and preserving significant family events.

A leader must look into the future and see what he wants, then work backward to plot a course. It takes a life of intentionality, diligently following this map and making adjustments along the way, to arrive at the desired destination.

Do You Have What It Takes?

This lesson has given me a filter through which I will now view my life’s map. My family will not be healthy by chance. I will not achieve professional goals by chance. As a leader, I must embrace the call to be intentional with every decision I make.

Do you have what it takes to live with intentionality? Do you have what it takes to place the highest value on those moments which are pinpoints on your life’s road map? It is not easy and will require discipline, but I believe that the reward will be great for all those who make this way of life a priority.