Dream Big, Work Hard

Up until 1996, my dreams were pretty limited.  I hoped to earn a decent living and provide for my family.  I wanted my children to be healthy and become contributing members of society.  I hoped to build meaningful relationships with my wife, family, and friends.  I wanted to help others.  And as far as work goes, I only looked forward to the next promotion opportunity.

My future was not on my radar.

I was working hard, but not dreaming big.

All of that changed in 1996.  The City of Marietta hired Chief Bobby Moody to lead the Marietta Police Department.  He opened my eyes up to future opportunities I had never even dreamed about.  I already had the work hard mindset, and he encouraged me to dream big.

For the first time, I began to dream about one day becoming a police chief.  I also began working hard toward that goal. 

J.J. Watt Commencement Speech

I recently stumbled across J.J. Watt’s 2019 Commencement Speech at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

For those that do not know, J.J. Watt is a defensive end that plays for the Houston Texans.  He is an excellent defensive end having been named the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year several times.  J.J. graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

J.J.’s story is inspiring, and his speech is worth watching.  He titled his talk, “Dream Big, Work Hard,” which included four lessons about chasing your dream.

Here are J.J.’s four points from his speech with my commentary and observations.

1. The path to your dreams often never goes the way you imagined

I am a baby boomer.  When I started my career with the Marietta Police Department, I intended to finish it there.  I had no intention of working anywhere else.

Once I began to dream about being a police chief, my goal was to become the police chief for the Marietta Police Department.

I saw myself serving in that role before retirement.

I never imagined my dream would take me to the Dunwoody Police Department.  Yet it did.

In 2006, Chief Bobby Moody retired from the Marietta Police Department.  I was excited about the opportunity to fill his open position and realize my dream.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t selected.  After working through my disappointment, I realized that if I wanted to achieve my dream of being a police chief, it was going to be at another department.

On December 17, 2008, I was sworn in as the first-ever police chief of the Dunwoody Police Department.

My dream had come true!

I never imagined that my dream would take me on the path I ended up taking.

2. Nobody accomplishes their dream alone

Can I get an Amen!

I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for the many people in my life who encouraged, mentored, advised, guided and demonstrated what a true leader looks like and set a great example for me.

My wife lifted me up when I was down and believed in me even when I doubted myself.

I learned so much from my peers who worked alongside me throughout my career.  They encouraged me and taught me so much. 

I owe a great deal to many of the leaders I worked for over the years. 

Bobby Fuller was the first leader who took a real interest in me and my future.  He mentored me and set a great example of how a leader should treat the people he or she works with.

Related Post: Climb the Ladder of Failure to Find Success

Jim Whitmire taught me about loyalty and about having fun at work.  Working for him was one of the most challenging times for me, but also one of the most rewarding.

I know I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for Chief Bobby Moody.  He challenged and inspired me in ways I could never have imagined.  Chief Moody pushed me to go back to school and encouraged me to try new opportunities.

I have to give a shout out to my first City Manager, Warren Hutmacher.  Warren believed in me and allowed me to realize my dream by hiring me as the first ever Chief of Police for the Dunwoody Police Department.

Of course, I worked hard to realize my dream and achieve my goal.  Still, I would not have been successful if it wasn’t for all of those named and unnamed people who helped me along the way.  

3. You can learn a lot from your nightmares

Life is filled with ups and downs; highs and lows.  The sooner a person understands that reality, the better.

The fact is we learn a lot more from those downs and lows, from our failures than we learn from our successes.  If managed properly, our failures provide the knowledge, understanding, and motivation to succeed. 

I remember one failure, dare I say one nightmare, which taught me a valuable lesson.

I am kind of embarrassed even to repeat the story here, but I do so because I think it might help someone in their journey.

Shortly after Chief Moody arrived to lead the Marietta Police Department in 1996, we began the accreditation process with CALEA.  Chief Moody decided to select two Lieutenants to lead this effort to achieve accreditation swiftly, or at least more swiftly.

I applied for the job. 

As an aside, Chief Moody came from the Covington Police Department, which was the first department in Georgia to be accredited by CALEA.  Accreditation was important to him.

Chief Moody scheduled my interview on my day off.  Actually, it was kind of in the middle of my day off.  For some reason, I made the decision to wear shorts and a t-shirt for my interview!

I know.  What was I thinking?  I have no idea. 

Needless to say, I was not selected for either of the positions.  I did have a conversation with Chief Moody about the selection process, and he let me know quickly that he was not happy with my dress for the interview.

You can learn a lot from your nightmares.  I know I certainly did.

4. You have a whole lot more to learn

This point might be the most important one of them all.  If you ever get to the place where you think you know it all, and you quit learning, you are doomed to failure.

How do you keep learning?  You read, attend training, teach, speak, and do a myriad of other things to keep moving forward.  If you stand still, everyone and everything will pass you.

I am an avid reader.  Of course, I read just for fun at times, but I also read a lot of non-fiction books to learn.  As a department, we read and discuss a leadership book at each of our staff meetings.  Our leadership team is set to go through “The 4 Essential Roles of Leadership” class through Franklin Covey.

Don’t stop learning until you stop living.

Conclusion

If you dream big and work hard, you can achieve your goals and aspirations.  Your path might get interrupted for sure.  No doubt, you will need some help along the way.  You will likely have some failures that you must overcome and learn from as you move through life.  You will likely get where you want to go if you keep learning.

Dream Big, Work Hard!

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