Your perspective changes how you view any given moment or situation in life. It has the power to make a horrible situation amazing or an amazing situation worthless. I have not talked about my shirt designs on here before but in discussing this shirt and hat design with a colleague of mine, he encouraged me to share my thought process on this one.
There are plenty of films that depict someone randomly thrown into the role of nobility or power. Movies like The Man Who would be King, The Princess Diaries, King Ralph and even Mr. Deeds. Many of them share similar base story lines and plot points; the most important thing that they teach us is that anyone can be given a title or position. As frequently demonstrated in these stories, it does not make them worthy to wear the title. I loved Mr. Deeds, it was an interesting spin on the troupe as the character worked on being worthy of his new found wealth and power. King Arthur is a more famous example if you follow the Sword in the Stone version. What I have learned from these stories is that anyone can be king, the title and ornamentation may make you technically a king. It does not make you a king worthy of being so. I can slap a title on anyone, that doesn’t change who they are or add any inherent nobility to them. To put it simply, you can polish a turd but it is still a turd.
A crown does not make you a King except in name, a fool with a crown is still a fool and everyone around them knows it. So with that knowledge I started thinking about what makes a King a king, are there qualities that really define a King more so than his ornamentation? The answers were not a great surprise once I started thinking about it. The attributes that make a King worthy of wearing a crown are the same attributes sought after by any great leader. Any excellent leader whether a CEO, an NCO, or just a good boss share certain traits.
1. Honor – defined as: adherence to what is right or to a conventional standard of conduct. I will not go into extensive discussion on this topic. Maybe in my upcoming book, but not too deep here. “You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.” Aristotle Honor will guide the very steps you take every day if you stay focused on maintaining it. Without honor you have no needle for your compass and you will never be able to lead.
2. Integrity – 1 the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. 2 the state of being whole and undivided. Integrity is the Jelly to this PB&J of attributes, Honor and Integrity are almost inseparable. To be King you must have both of these things or you will never be a good king. “Without integrity and honor, having everything means nothing.” Robin Sharma
3. Humility - a modest or low view of one's own importance; humbleness. This highly underrated quality often is neglected by powerful people while still being one of the most important attribute for successful people. Humility is not “En Vogue” these days as society feeds on self-promotion and spotlight attention. Validation of how awesome we are is a sickness fueled on social media platforms in a day when anyone can be ‘Insta Famous” for a hot minute.
These 3 qualities invoke more qualities between them but summarize a great deal in 3 simple words. All leaders should aspire to have these qualities because in the pursuit of them you will likely obtain the other qualities that are required.
As a man you are the King of your own Domain if you choose to be, you can have these qualities and if you want to have subjects then you will have to have them. We don’t phrase it that way often however men are frequently put in such a position of leadership. It may be at work or at home or maybe even a group of friends. If you establish these qualities the people around you will look to you to lead. Being King is about who you choose to make yourself. Rule your world with Honor, Integrity and Humility and you will be worthy of a crown. I currently provide for 5 and sometimes 6 people besides myself. The decisions I make affect other people’s lives, so I have to work and make sure to nurture these important attributes to be worthy of their trust and faith. I told you the only difference between a King and a leader was the Crown placed on his head to designate him so. Along with the shirt design my first hat design is adorned with a simple crown. Be the king of your world and have your crown too. Just make sure you work to be worthy of it.
Every man is a King, but not every King is a man. Make bold statements with this unique design, but rule your world like a man. Honor, Integrity and Humility are required to be a good man or King. Which do you choose to be?
Be better tomorrow because of what you do today!