In all seriousness – can ANYONE say this quote aloud without catching a comical case of the Italian hands?!

We love this quote from The Godfather about as much as we love attempting to impersonate him…which, is A LOT!

Don Vito Corleone (AKA The Godfather), written by Mario Puzo often talks about his humble beginnings, and the fact that it takes troubled times to grow great men, and great leaders. So, even though this is a fictional character (and one with a questionable background at that!), the essence of this quote really remains a core teaching that many of us can learn a lot from…especially in our current climate!

The Godfather comes from a place of viewing life and death situations as an opportunity for growth, and it’s pretty darn impossible NOT to see parallels of this perspective through our world’s current situation with COVID-19. The spread and threat of the virus is real, and we are watching people get affected in real time. We are seeing people shelter in place and stay inside, BUT also – in this moment – we are seeing people growing by leaps and bounds. Because, EVERYONE is out of their comfort zones – everyone is having to do new things – people are having to learn left and right what this new normal looks like – and that means they are GROWING! So, as we are experiencing things getting taken from us during this troubling time, on the other end of it, this means we’re also going to come out of this with some pretty great (and grown) people!

And – when we think about growth spurts (and way back to when we were those awkward, too long and lanky tweens) growing can HURT, and it can be PAINFUL, and sure as heck at the very LEAST growing is uncomfortable. Your muscles ache and throb and, even though you are excited about what is going to become of you on the other end, the growing process still hurts! And, right now, we think that pretty much the entire WORLD is going through these growing pains!

So, it hurts. And, it’s uncertain – and unknown – and we don’t know how long it’s going to last – BUT, it is during these toughest times that the greatest leaders emerge (and history has demonstrated this to us time and time again)! After all, it’s not the smooth seas that make the great sailor!

People who will grace the pages of history until the end of time aren’t born out of the most pleasant times. So – if we can see the times we are in now as this sort of opportunity – we know that the people who will emerge bigger and better are the ones who are able to be strong and rise above this resilient – EVEN WHEN it’s painful!

Just as our dear mentor John Maxwell says – leaders aren’t born. Instead, they are MADE, by daily action and daily decision! So…the question is…what will YOU do during these days to come?

Wanna grow but don’t know where to go? We’re here for you! Develop each day with our 5 minute quests for growth found right here!