What are you cultivating?
“The successful people I know are simply those who have become selective.” — Unknown
I tend to view life like a buffet.
I see it all, and it’s easy to want it all.
When I’m in flow at work, my dreams for Interleap get bigger and bigger. When I’m on vacation or with family and friends, I long for more space to invest in relationships. When I’m on the tennis court, I wish I had more reps there. When I see a service opportunity, I feel called to jump in and make an impact.
The abundance of opportunity is a gift. It can also be a distraction.
We live in a world with more options than any generation before us. More information. More opportunities. More comparison. More voices telling us what we could be doing next.
A few weeks ago, I was talking through some of this with one of my favorite mentors and former coaches.
Technically, Michael coaches tennis.
But the best coaches rarely stay inside the boundaries of one topic.
I learned to play tennis as a kid, stepped away from it for nearly twenty years, and eventually found my way back. Along the way, Michael became far more than a tennis coach. Around his courts, people refer to practices as “sermons” because wisdom has always been part of the lesson.
Looking back, I realize he wasn’t just teaching tennis. He was teaching people how to think.
During our most recent conversation, I found myself doing what many of us do. I was talking about all the things I wasn’t doing enough of.
Not playing enough.
Not practicing enough.
Not making enough progress.
He stopped me.
“Leslie, in a season like this, you have to keep it simple.”
Then he said something I’ll carry with me for a long time.
“The best players I see are not complicated. They don’t have the most reps. They aren’t out here playing all the time. They keep their game simple, and they’re very clear on what they’re coming out to do when they play.”
Tennis has always reflected life for me.
Excellence doesn’t come from doing more. It comes from being clear.
The best players—and the best leaders—aren’t trying to play every game at one time. They’ve decided what matters most in a season, and they give their energy there.
That conversation has stayed with me because I see the same tension everywhere.
The leaders I work with aren’t lacking ambition. They’re trying to build businesses, lead teams, invest in their families, stay healthy, deepen friendships, serve their communities, and continue growing themselves.
The challenge is believing we can pursue all of them with equal intensity at the same time.
Sometimes leadership isn’t about adding, it’s about choosing.
A few questions to consider this week:
- What is your game in this season? What deserves your best energy right now?
- Where are you making life more complicated than it needs to be?
- Who are the people in your life who consistently call you to become better—not by demanding more from you, but by helping you see more clearly?
- Are you spending more time consuming what others are building, or cultivating something meaningful of your own?
- What could become extraordinary if you simply gave it your focused attention for the next 90 days?