Amazing Grace

Leadership Thought of the Day

My eyes rarely well up in tears. Perhaps my heart has become a bit too hardened after so many years of life and work, too many battles and struggles with difficult situations and conditions. I suppose that in many ways I have conditioned myself to brace up like a man, to do the work and bear the burdens that come along with life and leadership. It is not that I am emotionless. I enjoy life, family and friends profoundly. My faith keeps me moving toward my Creator; it is just that I would not be described as one who wears their emotions on their sleeve.

That changed when I had the great pleasure of attending the Andrea Bocelli concert held at the Joe Lewis Arena with my wife and some dear friends last Sunday evening. I was raptured by the amazing vocal talent of Andrea Bocelli and his several guest singers. Several times during the performance I felt the strange warmth of a tear spilling over and cascading down my cheek.

Perhaps the song that put me over the emotional barrier and allowed me the pleasure of letting my “big boys don’t cry” guard down, was when he sang to popular spiritual hymn, “Amazing Grace”. I love this song and I don’t think I ever heard it sung so beautifully. Perhaps what made it so extra special this evening was the fact that Andrea Bocelli had been born with very poor eyesight and that he became blind at the age of twelve. The radiant look on his face as he sang the lyrics, “Was blind, but now I see” gave the song the soul it was always intended to. The fact that he sang it with the incredibly rare talent that God has gifted him with was a heavenly gift to all.

Herein we find our leadership lesson. We all face various hardships and challenges. None of us are perfect, and none of us lead perfect lives. Some in fact face very serious and in many ways awful conditions. Yet, we are all still fit to serve others. We are all fit to help make other people’s lives better. We have gifts and talents that are specifically and uniquely ours, and as we share those with others in ways that help them live their lives and make this a better world we are leading in the truest sense.

Please take a few moments, in the quite of your own space and give a listen as Andrea Bocelli shares his gift.