Your voice is born in solving your own struggle. Wisdom is found while running through the mud. Struggling in the mud makes you useful. It's where solutions emerge, not from standing on the sidelines. You are the message.
Strength hides behind:
- Disappointment with yourself and others
- Insecurity whispering in your ear
- Failure you’re courageously facing
- Fear gnawing at your heart
- Doubt plaguing your mind
- Weakness you struggle through
- Bitterness resolved
Strength is born in struggle, and service is sharing what you’re learning while running through the mud.
Three marks of strength are born in the mud:
- It feels inadequate, and you’re never quite there. We always fear we’re missing something or falling short. Just give what you have.
- It seems obvious and simple. Solutions born in struggle feel too basic to matter, but others think they’re profound. Wisdom is simple.
- It’s still growing. You haven’t fully solved your struggle, and don’t expect to. People who have it all together really don’t.
Wisdom from the mud:
- Your authentic voice is the one you speak – first to yourself, then to others.
- Personal struggle, once embraced, opens your heart. The pain you feel alerts you to the pain of others. Insulated leaders don’t connect.
- There is no completion. You’re always running through the mud.
- Those who reflect on their journey enhance their effectiveness.
- Connect over pain points, and share solutions you’re learning. It’s not necessary to share intimate details of your muddy story.
I asked John Maxwell what he learned from success, and he said, “Not as much as from failure.”
What has running through the mud taught you?
