April Fools!
Is there anyone in your household that enjoys a day like April Fools? A time to have a little fun and play a prank or two. Maybe on an occasion or few - you’ve been on the receiving end of someone’s scheming. In recent years many companies have also jumped on this bandwagon. Show of hands, how many have opened your email or a website on April 1 and they got you with their April Fools joke? I know I have. Regardless I thought it might be a good opportunity for each of us to reflect and learn something while helping others step into leadership.
I remember growing up with a younger brother there was a season where we both probably tried to one-up the other with pranks, especially around this time of year. One year a couple of the pranks got a bit messy, but both that I had laid out (as I recall them), were a success in getting my target. I’ll spare you all the details but will share one involving some saran wrap and a toilet seat and the other some cleverly applied peanut butter to a bedroom door knob. In all situations things were learned - research on my end and experiential on my brothers.
As a former Youth Leader I always told my teens, ‘I’ll never start a prank war, but I will end one.” From pranks in the home to raising the bar when a prank was played on me by an ambitious teenager, I look back and see each was an opportunity to learn. As we enter into the month of April (with some laughs and pranks) I hope we’ll also focus on the younger leaders among us - youth in elementary, middle and high school.
Often we think of youth as immature, jokesters or child-like and we overlook a bunch of opportunities. The opportunity to encourage, inspire and empower them to be leaders now. The opportunity to lean in and listen to their ideas, concerns and experiences. Or, the opportunity to step aside and see how they will lead in a situation. If you’ve never done these things, give it a try - I know you’ll be impressed.
For us at Leadership Harbor, and all through the Maxwell Leadership family (42,000+ around the world) it is Global Youth Initiative (GYI) Month. So, if you find yourself in the company of youth or those who have an impact in their lives consider inviting them to a free youth leadership opportunity. You can visit our GYI Page (www.leadershipharbor.com/gyi) to learn more about this global initiative to pour into these young leaders. Trust me, they’re hungry for learning how to live into the person they’ve been created to be.
Leaders are Learners - no matter what your age. So my challenge to each of you today is to go learn something new. Maybe it’s time to tune into that podcast or crack the pages of the book you’ve been meaning to learn from. Could it be you need to identify your goal or the next step in pursuing your goal? Or perhaps, you need to learn and practice a new prank in celebration of April Fools Day. Whatever it is, do something today to learn a thing or two.
One suggestion I found interesting was if you don’t know the origins of April Fools Day you may take that as a learning opportunity today. Whatever you do, double check those toilet seats and door knobs before using them today.
Make it a Great Day,
Chris