Terry Esau: Good leader with a need for speed

Caribou Coffee was particularly refreshing this morning. I was energized by the adventurous soul of Terry Esau — a handsome, successful self-proclaimed “extreme right brain” guy. You’ve likely heard his work: for years he’s produced music for Blue Chip company advertisers. Perhaps you know of his books: Breathing Lessons, Surprise Me and Be the Surprise. I’m currently reading Surprise Me one chapter a day. He prayed: “Surprise Me, God” every day for 30 days, and wrote daily about what he discovered. So far, its a very good read.

We engaged in a high-intensity chat about the Seven Fs (I was drinking decaf!) He’s living Faith in a major way and carrying out an intense love of Family. Like many, Finances have been puzzling lately (we all know that feeling.) We had great Friends, Fun and Future dialogue…But he lit up when we talked about Fitness. He’s a high-performance cycling junkie. He has a bike (probably two) that cost more than my first car, and probably weighs less than the books that he’s written. I love this quote: “two-wheeled carbon-fibered aerodynamic second mortgage.” He talked with simultaneous calm and vigor about going out for an hour ride to break a sweat and kick some asphalt. In general, I’m lazy as hell about any kind of exercise that takes an hour. Except for golf, I’m a sprinter. However, we both shared a moment when we agreed — it makes us happy to sweat.

Often Good leaders set a great example by repeating simple Success Habits over and over again because it really works. I might even consider following those spandex asphalt speed junkies someday soon. Terry is planning on attending the Good Leadership Breakfast on March 26. If you come, I’ll introduce you to him…and maybe we can ride together someday. www.terryesau.com