Putting courage in someone

March 3, 2022

By Jeff Becraft

Leadership really it is not about me… it has to do with lifting up others around me. As I learned from a friend named Jermaine, if you turn the M in “me” upside down, then it becomes “We”… and that it the most important word of any team or organization.

It is not about me getting to the top… it is about getting everyone else to the top.

As one Youth Corps grad put it, “I want to be a success so I can lead others to success.” And that statement came from a high schooler. When I was in high school, I would never have even been thinking along those lines.

After Poetry Night one year, a student stated, “I have never been to a place where everyone supports one another like this.”

It starts at Orientation… and then is fueled with Leadership Weekend… and then the goal is to implement the idea of encouragement in everything we do in life.

Another YC grad stated, “The encouragement I received completely changed how I saw myself and what I realized I was capable of.”

No matter what our title is or what position we are in, we each have a role. We tell the students, “When someone gets introduced, you have a 5 second window to put courage into that person’s life. And those 5 seconds could shift their life by 5 degrees. So don’t be half-hearted; really bring it. You only have that window for 5 seconds.”

Encouragement:  taking courage and putting it in someone.

It doesn’t take any special talent… it just takes effort.

 

Jeff Becraft is the Director Emeritus for Youth Corps and has dedicated much of his life to helping shift the vision of people’s lives. Youth Corps is a life-changing leadership development experience that inspires high school students to be leaders in the Midlands and beyond. You can connect with Jeff at [email protected].