Strong Two: Stay Committed

“Never, never, you must never either of you ever remind a man at work on a political job that he may be president. It almost always kills him politically. He loses his nerve; he can’t do his work; he gives up the very traits that are making him a possibility. I, for instance, I am going to do great things here, hard things that require all the courage, ability, work that I am capable of, and I can do them if I think of them alone. But if I get to thinking of what it might lead to-…

I must be wanting to be president. Every young man does. But I won’t let myself think about it. I’ll be careful, calculating, cautious in word and act, and so – I’ll beat myself. See?” -Theodore Roosevelt , when asked by reporters if he was working toward presidency.

Theodore Roosevelt excelled at every position he ever had in politics because he knew what it was to be committed. When he was the youngest member of the New York State Assembly, he assumed that it was the last thing he would do in politics. When he was President of the New York City Police Board and then the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, he thought those would be the last things he did in politics. Then as the Governor of New York, he believed that he would be finished after that. But as we know, he became the Twenty-Sixth President of the United States. He attributed that accomplishment to the fact that at every stage, he committed to it as if it was the last thing he would ever do. He gave his life to it, and never looked at a position as a stepping stone to something else.

It seems to me that what gets “number two guys” in trouble is that after a few victories, they begin to think of what their next step could be. They think that at the next place, they can be the number one, and they start to behave in a way that sabotages that possibility. They get careful, calculating, and cautious in word and act, instead of committed.

I believe that in order to be a Strong Two, you have to commit to your position as if it is the last thing you’ll ever do in your career, your ministry, your life. And that commitment will be the thing that garners you the experience, the favor, the influence that leads to promotion.