Dear Growth, When I first started Dear World, it was called Dear New Orleans, and I hadn’t discovered dry erase markers or washable ink. Back then, I used Sharpies. A lot of Sharpies. I smiled after shoots imagining people later that night standing over a sink, scrubbing their arms and faces, trying to get the message off. Looking back, Sharpies were probably closer to tattoos than office supplies. Maybe we should bring that back. Because some things should be harder to wash off. That thought came back to me recently looking at an old photograph I took of Drew Brees. In it, his palms are held up to the camera. On one hand: “1…2.” On the other: “WIN FOR YOU.” That wasn’t just something we wrote for the photo. It was the pregame chant Drew led for most of his career. Before the tunnel, before the noise, before 70,000 people had an opinion, Drew would gather his team and start with the same words: “One, two…” and the room would answer. It was simple, rhythmic and a ritual. Great leaders know how to make the important things unforgettable. The older I get, the more I think leadership is mostly about what we’re willing fight to keep in our lives. Our habits. Our standards. Our values. The beliefs we repeat long enough that they become part of who we are. I think a lot about the You in Win for You. Drew told me it was about the fans and his teammates. Drew almost had his career cut short to a shoulder injury. Famously he said that he needed New Orleans as much as New Orleans needed him when he came to the team the season after Hurricane Katrina. That’s what always stood out to me about Drew. For all the records and accolades, he always reminded people that his success and his growth came out of pain. He also says there is no static, you’re either getting better or getting worse. So Growth, you’re inconvenient. You hurt.. You expose my blindspots. You make me do the things I don’t want to do, more than I want to do them. That’s why the Sharpie metaphor feels right to me. The most meaningful things in life should probably leave a mark. And Drew did have to wash off the same words he’d been leading men with for years — “WIN FOR YOU” — on the night he finally held his only Super Bowl ring. Not a bad thing to have to scrub off in the sink. Write your future, Robert PS: Want to forward or share this story to someone who might need it? Use the same link: https://stories.dearworld.com/book/growth-is-inconvenient PSS: Watch Hey Drew, Sorry about the Sharpie.
