Mr. Timberlake.

Full disclosure. This whole blog post is about Justin Timberlake. Either you.are.welcome OR feel free to close out this tab now.

Have I been a fan of Justin since he was part of *NSYNC? Yep.
Did I cry when I saw him in concert in 2000? Errmmm...uh-huh.
Did my husband surprise me with a trip to see him in Seattle during his 20/20 tour? Yup.
Am I insanely nerdy excited to see him at Golden 1 tonight? Totes.
Does he also inspire me as a school leader? Indeed. And how.

Whether watching his Oprah's Masterclass episode or watching him accept his Innovator Award, Justin has the mindset to try new things, accept failure and pick up and move on.

During Oprah's Master Class interview of Mr. Timberlake, he talks about being a beginner and what it takes to become a master at something. In this interview, he says, "To be a master at something, it takes a long time at a high level. And to do that is to always be a beginner. If I'm not learning from something that I'm doing, that means I've already done it before. Do something different. Even if it's within the same medium, to try new things...that makes more sense to me than doing the same thing over and over and over and over again. I like being a beginner. I like the moment where I can look at everyone and say, 'I have no idea how to do this. Let's figure it out.'...That inspires me. That motivates me."

Yes! This! Always learning. In a leadership position at my site, I feel like I am constantly learning. Whether it is a new issue with a parent or student I haven't heard/seen before, or maybe an initiative handed to me from my district. I am always a beginner. And there are times, I'll admit people, that internally, I am saying to myself, "I have no idea how to do this. Let's figure it out." And I thank my lucky stars that I am surrounded by staff who I can sometimes share this with - and they jump in with a spirit of YES! LET'S FIGURE IT OUT! I love how JTim says, "If I'm not learning from something I'm doing, that means I've already done it before." Amen.

That thirst to learn and grow. I share this with my man, Justin.

Ok, aside from crying when I saw him back in the day, I actually felt tingles and some tears well up when I watched Mr. Timberlake's speech at the 2015 iHeartRadio Awards as he accepted his Innovator Award. He talks about being called weird and different. How his mom taught him that being called weird was a good thing. During this speech, he also references President Theodore Roosevelt's "The Man in the Arena."

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

Oh Justin, Justin, Justin...these words. All these words. I remember being a kid (and even through high school and college, and ok...even sometimes these days) being called weird and different. I was the kid who came back to school with a completed project that looked NOTHING like everyone else in class. Yowch. Thank you, Mr. Timberlake (and your precious mother), for reminding me that it is OK to be weird and different. Reminding me that sometimes that's what it takes to innovate.

And his reciting of "The Man in the Arena." Ok. Truth. It's printed out and framed in my office. As a school leader, I have come to realize and accept that having critics is part of the gig. It sucks and sometimes things can really sting. If I step back, though, and take a second to realize how vulnerable school leaders must be in this capacity, it reminds me that I am not alone and that it takes courage to step into a leadership role. This also helps me stop to think about other leaders within my district and how what they are experiencing should not be criticized by me who is not (yet) brave enough to step into the arena of district leadership.

So, yeah. I get that JTim is not the first pick of who might inspire a school leader, but he does inspire this one. Thank you for all the inspiration, Mr. Justin Timberlake. I will see you tonight. I will be the middle-aged mother of 3 with bags under my eyes (because...11 month old teething) tearing up when I see you.