“Who are you?”
A quite common question to get to know a new acquaintance.
Yet, it’s a question that often plagues me. Who am I? In the literal sense, I am Tony… Deeper yet, I am Anthony John Hixon, a name given to me by my loving parents after my grandpas on both sides.
Yet I’m so much more than just my name. The roles I fill are numerous, the responsibilities, heavy.
That of…
Husband: Keri chose to say “I do” over 26 years ago and she is still by my side. As her husband, I have the responsibility to love, provide, protect, and honor her.
Father: I’ve been blessed with 3 awesome children. Which makes them the only 3 humans on the face of this planet that can call me “Dad”. As their dad, I am responsible for their care, protection, provision and love.
Financial Advisor: I’ve been blessed to help advise my clients with their financial goals for over 23 years. Stewardship is a high calling, I didn’t earn my client’s money, they did. They’ve simply entrusted me to help steward it along their financial journey.
Friend: I have a close group of guy friends that are in my inner circle. I connect with them often and am intentional about checking in on them and supporting them when needed. They do the same for me.
Son: Mom has passed, but my dad is still farming. As his son, I try to stay connected and support him the best I know how. I’m not a farmer, but it’s in my blood. Each season, I check in to make sure the harvest is going well.
CEO: I have a team of 13 people who count on me to make good decisions. In a firm our size, it turns out that most of those decisions are hard, but they’re counting on me to make them. They each have families to support and it’s my responsibility to give them dignity in their work and to sign their paycheck.
I’m also an uncle, church member, worship team member, board member, endowment chair, college alumni, and Cleveland Browns fan (there’s always next year.)
Roles. Titles. Responsibilities.
It begs the question, “So if that’s who you are…who do you actually want to be?”
Let’s face it, at any given moment on any given day, I don’t perform all those roles at the best of my ability. I’m human. I fail. I get tired. I burn out. I drop the ball. I don’t show up with the right attitude. I take on more than I can handle. I don’t delegate enough. I make the wrong decision. I react the wrong way. I stay Below the Line for longer than I should.
And so, for all the roles and titles and responsibilities I shoulder…what do I want to be? Quite simply, I want to be… worthy.
To be worthy of something is to possess the qualities or abilities to merit the role. Of all the things I’ve listed, I want to do well enough to merit the role. To work hard to earn the title and to be worthy of the responsibility.
Sure, it’s hard sometimes. But the hard is what makes it good. Being a dad, for example, is tough. But the reward of that role has been well worth the work I’ve put in. Being a CEO is challenging, but to do work that I love with people that I love is worth the effort.
The roles that I serve, I want to be worthy of them. Which means, I have to continue to earn them. To work at them. To get better. To not stay complacent, but to grow and learn and develop.
What about you? What roles do you serve? Are you worthy of those roles? Do you possess the skill needed to merit the role?
Don’t give up. Keep working, keep pressing forward, keep striving ahead.
Be worthy. And live on purpose today.
