No excuses, no explanations, get er dun.

On October the third, I attended an Excellence in Leadership seminar, all of which are free and open to all students and are held in order to help students gain useful and necessary knowledge about how to be better communicators and leaders. This particular seminar was led by the Colts’ chaplain, Ken Johnson. From the beginning of his presentation, until he left the room, he commanded attention. He entered the room and began his presentation by singing, “God bless America” in the richest voice I could have imagined. From the second he opened his mouth the audience fell silent, it was as though everyone was in a trance, consumed by his voice. Girls lowered their cell phones, the men stopped their music and when he finished, he was greeted with a chorus of cheers, “amen’s,” and applause. From the introduction, he began to speak about effective communication and from there about achievement and intelligence and self worth. Mr. Johnson spoke about a multitude of topics, all of which circled back around to encouraging the members of the audience to strive to achieve excellence in every area of their lives and communicate positively with others in all areas of their lives. He makes this known not only by the title of his presentation (“Effective Communication”) and the organization through which his seminar was arranged but also through his usage of words and tones, he wanted the audience to be involved and interact so he knew that they were “picking up what he was laying down.” His first main point which, he repeated many times and had the audience repeat back to him, was “don’t be stuck on stupid.” He was trying to get across the point that people who think they “know” something, cannot grow because they chose not to, they become comfortable. While discussing “knowers vs. learners” he made a statement that stuck with me, “if I’m the smartest guy at my table, the table isn’t big enough.” From there he transitioned to talking about valuing one’s self and about vision. He brought up the question, “do you want to be a chicken or an eagle?” Chickens are always focused on looking down, no vision, no plan; eagles they are skilled, and don’t get stuck or fall behind. He continued to weave this and the “stuck on stupid” message throughout the entirety of his speech. He also tapped on the works that he and his wife do. He is part of many organizations that work with at-risk communities and his wife works with underprivileged families to help provide what they need. He also works with youth organizations and is very well versed when it comes to working with and communicating to adolescents and young adults. Not only is he the Indianapolis’ Colts’ Chaplain though, that isn’t where all of his experience comes from. He grew up in an at-risk community and managed to pull himself out and become an inspiration and a confidant for a lot of people who need encouragement and help. While he spoke he used and referenced his book, told stories about his work life, and about other teens and adults that he worked with, he also spoke about his family, his wife (who was sitting front row) and daughter and their relationships with him specifically which gave the audience a much more personal perspective, making his points all the more real and affective. As he spoke to us, asking us to repeat after him, he became louder and more energetic and put more emphasis on his words, and the funny part was the audience emphasized as they repeated his words back to him. Comedy, this man, while well versed in the word of god and very family oriented, could have been a comedian. He was very aware of his audience and brought to the table a lot of humor that I never would have guessed possible from a chaplain. When discussing the wellbeing of his daughter he began to sing a rap song that featured the word "ballin’" and was quite objectifying towards women-I didn’t recognize it, but the rest of the audience did because they sang along. He stopped in the middle of singing and pointed dramatically to a guy and explain nobody talks to his daughter like that or he would have to go to jail and start the “bust a cap ministry.” He imitated the chicken and had the audience flap their “wings” and soar with him like eagles. The entire presentation he remained active and on his feet. The end of the presentation was interactive, answering questions from students and then asking students questions. His final words were, and once again the audience repeated them in unison, “NO EXCUSES, NO EXPANATIONS, HIGH EXECUTION, HIGH EXPECTATIONS. GET ‘ER DUN.” While unorthodox, it was memorable and fun and is something that at least a few of those students and a lot of others who have listened to him speak will carry with him.