There is a perfect analogy I listened to the other day that speaks volumes by John Hope Bryant that I want to share with you.
There are three types of people, like three types of birds. There are eagles; there are buzzards; and there are turkeys.
- Eagles:
Eagles don’t fly in packs. You have never seen a flock of eagles.
Eagles are high altitude birds, but they are not arrogant or pumped up. They are not full of themselves. They don’t have to be. They are who they are.
In human terms, they are reasonably comfortable in their own sky. There is power in that alone.
Eagles raise their children differently.
An eagles nest is made of sharp little twigs. The message is if you get big enough, where you start bumping up against the inside of those twigs… it’s time for you to go out and get a job. You cannot be 45 years old, and living with your mother.
Eagle parents literally push and prod their little ones to get out of the nest, and to learn how to fly on their own. They recognize that they cannot protect them for the rest of their lives. They have got to grow up.
An eagle is not afraid to take the road less traveled.
An eagle lives with a certain level of intentionality. A what I’m for kind of bird.
2. Buzzards
Buzzards are a completely different sort of bird. Buzzards love packs. Buzzards are low altitude birds.
Buzzards are always stepping on your head, to elevate themselves.
Buzzards are always player-hating, and never player-congratulating. They always have something negative to say about somebody.
But John says he can find respect for people like buzzards, because at least they are consistent with who they think they are. They really believe that this is who they really are -Bottom feeders.
They are not playing a game with others and he can respect that, even if they are not his cup of tea.
But there is anether sort of bird, which is actually worse.
3. Turkeys
Turkeys are the worse kind of people. Because a turkey is actually trying to be something they are not.
A turkey has wings, and they can’t even fry. They fly in short bursts, rather than long distant travel.
If we’re going to be leaders we have to deal with these difficult consistencies, both positively and effectively. We must learn to step over the mess and not in it.
At the same time we need to give live, grace, and even forgiveness, even when getting absolutely nothing in return.
No one wakes up in the morning and just says, “I want to create a wonderful life or business. It requires that we become purposeful. And become rainbows, after storms.
We need to learn to successfully manage pain. Because in that pain is where we create ourselves.
We need to be able to say with absolute confidence and inner comfort. “I would rather someone respect me and learn from me, than to like me, and never respect me.”
From Pity to Praise 