“People of quality are a lot like burnt marshmallows, a bit crusty on the outside, but always sweet and tender on the inside.” Tim Burke
I was the founder and CEO of The Tactical Games, arguably the toughest sporting event in America. Standing in front of several hundred people, the National Anthem playing, I broke down crying. I was vulnerable, sensitive emotional .. before nearly 300 of my athletes. I began to wonder what sort of digs or pot shots the guys would take at me later. Would they laugh at me? Or lose respect for me? Well, I couldn’t take it back now. I was literally in front of them – some of them standing less than six feet from me – so they could see me. I knew they were watching, witnessing the trails of tears running down my cheeks. My country and my flag make me cry with pride.
Nobody made fun of me. Not even one person made a joke about me crying. What did in fact happen is my act of genuine feeling gave permission to an entire group of men and women to be totally genuine, transparent, and real themselves. Instead of digs and pot shots, I got comments like; “Bro, I love our country too.” And, “Bro, I thought I was the only one who cries when the National Anthem plays. Thank you for being genuine.”
The façade that society imposes on us, the idea that we are to be unaffected by emotions, that somehow, we can’t have a single “chink in our armor”, or can’t show emotion because it makes us weak, is an illusion. And the idea that we can’t be vulnerable is a sad lie.
The reality is that a person of quality will be emotional about what they love.
Instead of trying to promote ourselves as being unmoved or impermeable to anything outside of us, people with integrity will be genuinely moved by things that matter to them. Some years ago, I developed the idea that people who have a high level of honor and integrity are very much like burnt marshmallows: a little crusty on the outside, but soft, sweet, and tender on the inside. I know the world would be a much better place with more burnt marshmallows!
So, what moves me? People’s lives being changed for the better.
I’ve experienced this during my many years as a Green Beret, at the Tactical Games, and other places. In fact, I’m so passionate about it I am now embarking on a new journey of inspiring a movement of leaders to discover and live out their unique truth. Together with some amazing partners, I’ll be offering training, coaching, and team building to ensure the future has ample numbers of burnt marshmallows to make our world, our communities, and our businesses better places to live and work.
Come with me on our journey as we introduce our clients to synergistic teamwork, personal growth strategies, and life-changing curriculum to take people to a better place in their lives and in their leadership endeavors. Email me at tim@live-true.net to learn more about how you too can become a burnt marshmallow.