The Turtle and The Fencepost

One of the greatest treasures in life can be a simple word of wisdom or encouragement from someone that you meet along your journey. I have many of those moments that I am able to recall over the years of being surrounded by so many influential people throughout my life. One of those moments involved receiving a small gift that has remained on my desk ever since as a reminder, a small marble turtle.

My years that I spent in college pursuing my undergraduate degree in education allowed me to also gain so much great experience in my career portfolio as well. During the first few years of school I was blessed with the opportunity to work for the office of Technology for the University, this job alone placed me in rooms all across campus that allowed me to meet some of the most talented and qualified professors. It was when I had the opportunity to step into a classroom myself as a student teacher that I initiated a change in my job on campus. It was this change that would allow me to work directly with the Vice President of Advancement for the university and many times directly with the president of the university himself. For most that might not seem like a very big deal, but for the boy who had only dreamed of being an educator and working in education, it was a pretty big deal to sit at the table with the president and have your voice be heard so early on in your career.

I had the privilege of being surrounded by those that I aspired to be like professionally from very early on in my career. I took every opportunity to question them on their own educational journey and how they chose to navigate the world of education along the way. I found myself filled with such an ambition to do what I knew was placed inside of me as a dream, to work in the world of education.

One afternoon I found myself sitting at my desk in my office on campus working on some reports for the Student Alumni Association and I received a notice from the secretary in our office that I was needed in the presidents office. Now I am not sure if you have ever been called to the principals office but that was not common for me, so naturally my mind began to race at all the possibilities of what it could be, I knew it was uncommon by the look on my bosses face. I rolled my chair back and began to make my way to the door, as I got the expected “oooo, what did he do now?” comments from my office coworkers.

I made my way down the long hallway from my office in Institutional Advancement (which ironically is the same office I grew up in visiting my Nanny who served as the Director of Financial Aid for this school) to his office at the opposite end of the building. I walked into the first section of his office where both of his secretaries sat with their busy looking desks and spaceship qualified phones. I was pointed to his door that was open, and I heard his voice calling for me as I stepped towards the opening. I walked through the doors to find his smiling face sitting behind his desk and upon greeting me, he stood up and shook my hand, naturally picking on me that it took me so long to get down there, which in reality was less than a minute from the time he called. I laughed and replied that I will know from that point forward to run when he calls. Our conversation was one that I don’t believe I will ever forget.

I don’t place value where value does not need to be placed, and I certainly do not view success from the perspective of one’s career, but to me it was a big deal to be called into the office by the president of a university who has far more important things to handle. It was in this conversation that I could actually feel every single dream I had to work in education become within a tangible distance. He let me know that throughout his career in education, he has found out that there are many fence posts to climb. Educators have to make the journey from one degree to the next, working their way up the ladder and then one position to the next working their way to the top. He proceeded to encourage me by complimenting my work ethic and sharing moments within his own career that I found to be so fascinating. In the time he was sharing with me, he proceeds to reach forward on his desk for a small white gift bag with the college logo on it. He extends the bag to me and as I reach for it he tells me that he has made it apparent throughout his 40+ years in education to remind others of what he had been reminded of many times. I opened the bag and inside was a small, marble turtle.

Now, it was in this moment that I was humbled and honored all at the same time. One part of this story is that because I worked as an employee of the college I was familiar with how much of an honor it was to receive what was referred to as “the presidents turtle” but I also never in a million years would have put my name on that very small list of people to get one. He proceeded to remind me of the saying that has been shared many times on many different occasions, if you ever see a turtle on a fencepost, you should know that it did not get there by itself. He wanted me to be reminded to be sure and surround myself with others who would help me to get on the fencepost!

I walked away from that meeting with my turtle and a word of wisdom that had remained with me from that day forward and something that I still apply to my life today.

One thing that you have to realize is that not everyone is for you in this life and not everyone will celebrate you the way that you deserve. It might be time to escort some people out of the VIP section and into the cheap seats and start surrounding yourself with those who encourage you, celebrate you, treat you with kindness and to do so without any stipulations. There is freedom in knowing that you are the CEO of you and with that comes the ability to hire and fire your associates accordingly.

Did you know that you are more likely to exhibit the characteristics of your top 5 closest friends? So the real question is, are you okay being like those you surround yourself with? Sometimes in order to reach the next level, it requires us to change our surroundings.

One of my goals in life has always been to surround myself with those who encourage me to be better than where I am currently. I have seen the impact of how remaining in the wrong environment has on us as well. One of the quickest ways for anyone to make the wrong decision is to be surrounded by the peer pressure of making the wrong decisions. Those who battle addiction in various forms can attest to how difficult it can be to fight the addiction while being exposed to the trigger. The hope that we have in our journey is that through Christ we are made more than conquerors and through His Holy Spirit we are able to overcome!

You don’t need permission to become a better version of yourself, you need to surround yourself with those who see you in the fullness of your potential in Christ! Sometimes that means stepping away from those who drain you, discourage you, or only use you to elevate themselves to your level.

I want to challenge you to go after your goals and your dreams in life! You do not have to settle for less under any circumstances. You were given that dream for a reason. I cannot remember a day in my life that I did not see myself working in the world of education. I grew up with a desire to teach and a love for school that has never left me. So I am sure you can imagine how I felt to walk out of my school, be forced to resign, and be falsely accused out of retaliation that sent my world into a spiraling depression. I was planning on going to the next level, not going to rock bottom.

There were many days that I sat in my house and wondered where my purpose went, and why were all of my dreams broken? My view was so limited, and just encase you were wondering, everything moved so slow during this season of my life. I could not find any sort of joy in trying to re-imagine what I was supposed to be doing with my life now. I tried to cultivate new dreams of owning my own business but nothing seemed to fulfill that 2nd grade dream that I had held onto forever.

I want to encourage someone who feels like that dream has died or that season has ended by letting you know that I am writing this blog to you today from the fencepost, and I did not get here on my own! I was surrounded by people who wanted me to be exactly what God wanted me to be! I made it through the hardest season of my life because of those around me who believed in me, poured into me, prayed for me, and picked me up when I was at my lowest point! And you deserve the same thing!

It’s time to allow yourself to get to the next level of you! God had placed so much potential on the inside of you and you deserve for those around you to recognize it! The dream that I thought was long gone and the season that I knew was over forever was truly just beginning. I am truly living life with a whole new perspective, and the view from the fencepost is worth it!

To my people who never left my side, and who believed in me from the beginning, your love and support will always be a tangible gift of Gods grace! To my beautiful wife who is my other half and my nanny who is my real life super hero – thank you for seeing me as the turtle on the fencepost even when I could not see it myself, this next season is just the beginning for us!