We’ve all seen it. A team gets a big win. A company hits its goals. A leader finally earns that promotion.
And then… they ease off the gas.
They stop doing the very things that made them successful in the first place.
That’s when momentum stalls. That’s when culture drifts. That’s when leadership dulls.
Let me share a story about an archer who learned this lesson the hard way.
THE ARCHER
There was once an archer who became the best in his village. Every arrow? Bullseye. Every tournament? Victory.
People traveled from miles away to watch him. His reputation soared.
But one day, convinced he’d mastered it all, he decided he no longer needed to practice. “I’ve made it,” he thought. “Why keep training?”
So he set the bow down.
Weeks later, he entered a tournament. This time? Miss after miss. The crowd was stunned. The archer was humiliated.
Frustrated, he returned to his old teacher and asked, “What happened? I was the best.”
The teacher replied: “Excellence isn’t something you own. It’s something you rent. And the rent is due every single day.”
YOUR PURSUIT OF GREATNESS
- For Leaders: Winning once doesn’t guarantee winning again.
- For Teams: Culture drifts the moment you stop reinforcing it.
- For You: The moment you stop sharpening your edge, your influence begins to dull.
As a leader, you don’t just practice for yourself—you practice for everyone who follows your example.
YOUR TURN TO REFLECT
Where might you have eased off the gas?
- Celebrating the last success but not preparing for the next?
- Letting the team’s standards slip?
- Forgetting the habits that got you here in the first place?
Leadership is rented, not owned. And your team can feel when you’ve stopped paying the rent.
CALL TO ACTION
This week, recommit. Sharpen your edge. Show your team what consistency looks like.
Because the rent for greatness? It’s due today. And tomorrow. And the day after that.
