THE STANDARD
The weekly briefing for men who lead.
Gentlemen,
Good Monday afternoon!
Quick update (as you probably noticed when you opened this email): Up until now, you've been reading Elite Dads Weekly. Starting today, this newsletter - and future media - will be under one brand: The Standard.
Same commitment, bigger vision.
Let's get into it.
-C
01 - THE BRIEFING
What's worth your attention this week - across the three areas every man is trying to lead well: himself, his home, his world.
In an interview with Shark Tank’s Robert Herjavec, Jay Leno gave his ultimate secret sauce to success: Don’t think you are the smartest in the room; listen and never assume you’ve “made it.” Takeaway: The moment a man thinks he has arrived is usually the moment he stops growing.
A recent study found that married dads are now the most likely group to attend church weekly. 41% reported attending a church service in the last seven days. Takeaway: Be encouraged! Other men like you are prioritizing faith for their families, and the impact is real.
“Never ask what I would do, just do the right thing,” is the advice that Steve Jobs gave to current Apple CEO Tim Cook when he took over the reins at Apple. Cook told CBS News Sunday Morning in an interview earlier this month that “I’ll never forget that [advice] and it was such a gift for me, because he took off of my shoulder this question of, ‘What would Steve do?’” Takeaway: Great leaders don’t create imitators - they create people confident enough to lead in their own way.
Value creation determines survival. That is Palantir Technologies CEO Alex Karp’s unapologetic message to corporate America and beyond. He went on to say that without delivering outsized, irreplicable results, you disappear. Takeaway: This may seem doom and gloom, but the principle remains: titles and credentials matter far less than the value you actually create.
02 - THE CORE
The call to act. An ode to Elite Dads Weekly.
THE QUOTE
“There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time, I owe him my best.”
THE TAKE
First off, Joey D is one of the GOATs and to see someone of this stature carry such a simple standard of “I owe everyone my best no matter the circumstance” - is baller.
But it’s also a powerful model for us as men, husbands, fathers, and professionals.
Two things stand out:
1) Our wives and kids deserve the best version of us as often as we can possibly give it. Exhaust every option that helps make that possible. Of course we fall short some days — we’re human. But that doesn’t mean we stop striving to give it everything we’ve got.
2) The people in our world (our colleagues, neighbors, and even the random person we interact with) deserve the same standard. Scripture reinforces this idea clearly: “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism.” — Acts 10:34. In other words, the standard doesn’t change based on who’s in front of us.
Give your best as consistently as humanly possible.
THE MOVE
If we’re serious about giving our best, we need systems that make it possible.
Three places to start:
Protect your mornings: Scripture, prayer, or quiet reflection before the noise of the day.
Schedule restoration: time alone, time with your wife, or time with trusted men.
Bring more joy into the room: humor, presence, and energy are leadership tools.
Showing up with our best stuff day in and day out doesn’t happen on accident.
03 - THE MODEL
One man worth studying this week (historical or contemporary). What he did, what it cost him, what you can take from it.
Eric Henry Liddell (16 January 1902 – 21 February 1945)
What did he do? Liddell was a Scottish sprinter, rugby player, and Christian missionary. At the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, he refused to run in the heats for his favored 100 metres because they were held on a Sunday. Instead, he competed in the 400 metres held on a weekday - a race he won. He was ordained as a Congregational minister in 1932 and regularly taught Bible classes at Morningside Congregational Church in Edinburgh. He returned to China in 1925, where he served as a missionary teacher. (Source: Wikipedia)
What did it cost him? His life. Aside from two furloughs in Scotland, he remained in China until his death in a Japanese civilian internment camp in 1945. Liddell was imprisoned because he was a British missionary in China during World War II. After the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese military occupying parts of China began imprisoning Allied nationals, including missionaries. (Source: Eternal Perspective Ministries)
What can we take from it? Like the early disciples (and many others) who have died for their belief in the living God, Liddell held a faith so strong that he chose to remain in harm’s way and continue preaching the gospel - a decision that ultimately cost him his life. It’s easy to think of people like this as “super Christians,” but the reality is simpler: they encountered the living God and gave their lives fully in response. That same level of conviction & confidence in our walk - the kind that would put our lives on the line - is available to each of us. The real question is whether we choose to believe it and live it out.
P.S. Liddell's Olympic training and racing, and the religious convictions that influenced him, are depicted in the Oscar-winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire. (Source: Wikipedia)
04 - THE PICK
One thing I’ve found valuable lately.
Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ - 20th Anniversary Edition by Dallas Willard
Our community group is going through this book and I couldn’t recommend it enough. It takes a holistic approach in walking you through how lasting transformation occurs and gives practical wisdom on aligning our lives with Christ through spiritual disciplines.
05 - THE POLL
One question. PLUS see how other men answered last week.
What helps you show up as your best?
Last week, the question was asked, “What do you most want your kids to say you stand for?” Here were the results:
Faith, Honesty (tied) 🥇
Kindness, Loyalty (tied) 🥈
Leadership 🥉
06 - THE BOARD
(COMING SOON) Opportunities, events, and resources worth knowing about.
⭐ YOUR EVENT HERE ⭐
The Board is where we will connect our readers to events, resources, and opportunities worth their time. Know something worth listing? We want to hear about it!
Know a man who'd find this useful? Forward this to him.
Hold the line,
-Collier
