American Hero Team Player

I was watching the Republican National Convention last night. Now before you completely shut me down, understand I am not silly enough to write about politics, at least not professionally. What I am willing to write about is a true American hero who took the stage and engrossed me in a theory and ideology I had not witnessed before.

Former Navy Seal, Marcus Luttrell, also known as the Lone Survivor, spoke passionately and intelligently from the stage. He captured my attention early in his talk and when he said the following, I was immediately impressed with one specific notion.

“I was fortunate enough in life to be born into a patriotic family. Taught me to love this country and the people who make her up, unconditionally. To die for any woman and to fight beside any man, without hesitation or hopes of any individual advancement.”

It’s those last five words that hit me hardest. The complete and utter understanding that being a soldier meant giving up the ideals of individual advancement and working as a team, because that’s how you survive in war.

But isn’t this also how you survive in life?

We were not on this earth to be lone rangers or lone survivors. It’s a terrible tragedy that Marcus was the only one in his unit to return home. However, it was not due to his selfishness or hopes for a medal to be placed only upon him. I cannot speak for him, but I’m sure he would give up many things to have his entire team alive and beside him. He is the epitome of a team player.

How to be the best team player:

1. Support. You can think about many visuals but when I think of being a team player and support, I visualize a cheerleading pyramid. And I was not in any way, shape or form a cheerleader growing up! The support of the pyramid comes from the bottom line. These are the people who allow others to climb on their backs (literally!) in order to achieve a perfect formation. Being a team player doesn’t mean you always get to be the person at the top of the pyramid. No, not at all, being a real team player sometimes means allowing others to shine brighter than you, having their backs or giving them yours while they achieve their goals and dreams. How supportive are you being to your team?

2. Sacrifice. The whole concept of being on a team is working together towards a common goal or achievement. When you fully embrace what it means to be a team player, you realize there is more sacrificing than glory to be able to achieve more then progress towards success. There are plenty of parents, especially mine, who can attest to being the ultimate team player of the family, by consistently sacrificing to allow their children a better future than what they had. My parents, a high school graduate and an associate degree holder both sacrificed time, energy, and finances to ensure my brother and I would have the opportunity to attend college and not cripple our future with the burden of inflated college loans. The best team players will sacrifice to allow others opportunities they may never get. How much are you sacrificing in order to allow your team the best potential for success?

3. Selfless. Marcus Luttrell summed it up perfectly in five words, “without hopes of individual advancement”. The core of being the best team player is the ability to remove your ego and desire to advance individually over the team. It’s a true measure of selflessness. One demonstrated countless times by our military is the selfless sacrifice they make in order to protect and keep safe all things America was founded on. This is not just a military practice; it’s a team member practice. Something any person should embrace and strive to achieve. To be so selfless you’ll place your individual advancement second to the achievement of your team. How selfless are you willing to be?

In life and in business going it alone will only take you so far. In order to truly succeed, you need a team. A team that is willing to sacrifice for you and one that you are willing to sacrifice for. A team you are willing to fight beside to achieve common goals. A team you become stronger because of and who supports each other through any difficulty or victory. This team can come in many shapes and sizes; it doesn’t have to be a sports team or military unit. Your team is the people you surround yourself with every single day, your family, friends and colleagues.

When you make it to the peak of your success journey, do you want to be the lone survivor or surrounded by all of those who helped support you, sacrificed for you, and selflessly carried you there?

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