There are those people who fundamentally change your life forever.

Often, you find these people in the least likely of places. You might think that you would meet your greatest leadership teacher on a stage, or in a leadership course. For me, this isn't anywhere near the truth.

My Greatest Leadership Teacher Worked At Village Inn

You wouldn't expect it, but this is the truth.

You could also say he was a "snowboard bum". He worked as a Cook, and whenever he was able, he would hit the slopes. As often as he could, he would be on the mountain.

But this isn't where I originally met him.

In fact, our parents went to high school together.

We grew up together. I have pictures from before I remember, hanging out at the Denver Zoo. So young, and yet he had a profound impact on my life.

He was the kind of guy everyone was attracted to.

You didn't know why, but you just couldn't help but like him.

His aspirations weren't world-changing. He didn't lead business teams. In fact, he never worked a corporate job in his entire life.

The corporate world would never have taken him anyways, much to their loss.

He had a very simple life overall, yet I couldn't help but want to follow him.

He could've asked me to go anywhere. He could've asked me to do anything. Truthfully, I probably would've gone to the end of the world for him.

What Made Him Someone Worth Following?

I wouldn't have been able to tell you back then, but I have figured it out over time.

It's likely he would not have been able to tell you this either.

His goals were simple, but he chased them daily. He had values that he lived into every single day. He knew EXACTLY who he was, and he loved himself completely for it.

He also loved everyone else exactly as they were.

When you know who you are perfectly, you can also see people perfectly exactly as they are.

He didn't train this ability in classes. He didn't take workshops or buy books on the topic. He didn't watch the newest neuroscience to learn about himself.

He simply knew it, deep in his soul.

The only deep learning that he did was on the Bible, and it taught him a lot.

It was due to his deep understanding of himself. It was due to his passion to live life his way. It was because he fully embraced who he was and didn't care what others thought of it.

This made him an Exemplar - someone others wanted to be like.

From a psychophysiological level, he was perfectly in tune.

He wasn't afraid of who he was or was not, or whether his actions were aligned with his goals, which made him psychologically sound. His life put him into Flow states often which rewarded him from a neurochemical level. His physiology was so in sync, you could literally feel how in harmony he was.

These factors perfectly made people attracted to him.

His Psychophysiology Made Him a Leader

I wish that I could introduce you to him. I wish that I prove to you how in tune he was with his psychophysiology. I wish that you could have gotten the chance to meet him in person.

Today is his birthday.

It is his 30th birthday.

His time was short. A brain tumor. He now is in heaven.

I know he's looking down on all of us.

I hope he's proud.

I wish I could share future successes with him in person. I had so many plans that I wanted to do with him. Plans I will now have to do with him watching over.

Scott, I love you, brother.

I'll see you again someday.