Be Uncommon!

"The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it is conformity." Rollo May

I don't follow football, but I am a fan of the work of former Indianapolis Head Coach Tony Dungy. Not only does he teach his players self discipline and integrity, but as co-founder of All Pro Dad, Dungy seeks to instill men with the skills necessary to be responsible, attentive fathers.

I just finished reading his latest book Uncommon: Finding a Path to Significance. It was excellent! In between taking copious notes, two things kept crossing my mind: every young man (and woman, for that matter) should read this book, and please Lord give me the wisdom to instill these characteristics in our future children.

Dungy impresses the importance of understanding confidence vs. pride......

"Pride is all about me, but confidence is a realization that God has given me abilities and created me to fill a unique role that no one else is called to fill..and it's not just using the gifts to benefit me, but to help my team and impact others." (pg 19)

Modesty is good, but avoid false modesty......

"Don't be falsely modest, you have amazing gifts. Just recognize that others do too." (pg. 35).

Respecting others....

"Rather than insisting that others respect us, we need to make sure that we are respecting others, holding others in proper esteem." (pg 21).

And this is all in the first chapter!

Throughout the book he teaches men how to love their wife, be better fathers, handle conflict, choose the company you keep, and much more. Each word of wisdom is couched in Judeo-Christian values.

One of my favorite lines was when Dungy mentions the importance of leaving work at work, and spending time with your family when you were home. To paraphrase, he shared that when his team looses the big game in the last 20 seconds, he doesn't really feel like going home and playing Candy Land with his kids, but he does it because that is family time.

I had to return the book to the library, but I am certain it will find a place on our bookshelf so I can refer to it again. I hope you will find time to read it as well.