Doesn't mean you can't roar

"You can be a lion, just because you don't win or you can't control your enemy, doesn't mean that you can't roar!" Steve Erwin.

Wow! who ever thought that not winning or losing control could be synonymous with a Lion?

When I think of a Lion, I think of strength when confronted by the concept of futility, fierceness, stoic patience, and uncompromising principles. These are traits I also believe that positive leaders possess. But then I got caught sitting in DC late last night watching the Discovery channel before I finally was able to fall asleep. I was struggling with the anxiety I was experiencing and the need to sleep. My eyelids wanted to close, but my head wanted to run a marathon. In the morning I would be giving one of the toughest presentations in one of the scariest manners possible, and (needless to say) I wasn't feeling much like a Lion, a Tigger, or anything too terribly inspirational.

Tough: I was about to give a talk on screening and accessing Medicaid to 400 National leaders on Juvenile Justice at 8:30 in the morning on the last day of their conference, AND I only had 20 minutes as part of a panel to discuss it.

Scary: I had to send in the Power Point a month before the presentation, AND I had never done this presentation before. Can you say CONTROL ISSUES! I was losing it. I felt like I was going to throw up all night. After I got to DC at 9:30 that night, all I could do is sit in bed, run to the bathroom, sit in bed, flip through channels on the TV, and go back to the bathroom.

After I had become accustom to my little routine, the channel flipped (as I don't remember changing it), to the Discovery channel. Here I am watching "animals on the prowl", and the announcer starts to describe two lions preparing to fight over their territory or something. I sat there (or rather half sat and half laid down in the hotel bed) mesmerized. One lion had his whole family behind him, and was working on familiar ground. The other lion, well...he kinda stumbled upon the land with his own youthful stupidity and wanted a drink of water and to entertain the local folk. Next thing you know the incumbent lion was in the new lion's face. It really was comical in a way.

The "Newbie", as I will call him from now on, was like "Hey! Dude, you wanna play? I have a good story!". The "Incumbent", as I will call him from now on, was like "Yo! You are in my turf and I am not too pleased? Whatcha doin here?".

Here is how I summarize the conversation between the two lions last night (in my head of course):

Newbie: "Well..ah..I was walking, turned a bit right, turned a bit left, sniffed some flowers, and then someone said..hey come this way. Now I am here. Whatcha up to?"

Incumbent: "What the heck do you care. That is for me to know and you to not ask about...hmmph."

Newbie: "Umm. Okay man. I was just following the flow and...well heck they asked me to come. Didn't mean to crash you.....r.."

Incumbent: "Party not yours. I have been here for 30 years! How dare you come walking in here with your new ideas, your stuff that we tried once and it didn't work, your....well how dare you!"

Newbie: " Okay. Can I buy you a drink? I saw a nice Pomegranate martini a couple of rocks down. How about a peace offering?"

Incumbent: "a Polmmegra?? Huh! get the heck out. NOW!"

Newbie: "Okay...alright... I' m going..."

Girl in the back: "Hey Incumbent! Wait we want to hear the newbie. Wait a minute, don't go! We want to here from you?"

Newbie: "I don't know what I lost, but I can still Roar. ROAR!! [..in other words: See you in the funnies! I am here, just find me when you are ready.]"

I laughed my head off. I had been stressing about walking to some foreign territory, asked to present by some foreign entity(ies) (National Association on State Health Policy as a requirement for the MacArthur Foundation for the National Coalition on State Health Policy...Phew!) in some kind of foreign political battle, with no control over my presentation (Power point released a month ago), and on the last day of the conference. I was allowing the situation to dictate my response, rather than falling back on my character and my natural state of self. No more of that! Thanks Discovery Channel!

I am a Lion, I can always ROAR! And Roar I did.