Is he watching you? (source: eicheleberger_greg)
This may be something you do not think of often but you ARE a role model. The question is not whether you are or not, but to whom? Let me share with you something that makes you a role model that you can not change, even if you tried.You are older. There is someone who looks up to you just because you are older than them.
Children of all ages look up to those who are a few step ahead of them. 5th graders look at 8th grades who look at 10th graders who look at 12th graders. We know that 12 graders look at college students and so on. Do not make the mistake that you are beyond that now that you are out of school. At times it seems as if it just grows stronger.
This also should remind each of us that we do not have the choice of being a role model or not. It is not our choice to make, someone else makes the choice whether they want us to be their role model or not. We have nothing to do with it.
We all tend to look at someone to be like.
While most of us understand clearly is why we want to be like someone else but we do not understand why someone would want to be like us. Keep in mind that when someone does not know all your faults, just as many of you do not know mine, it is much easier to want to be like you.
Who do you want to be like? Who is your role model?
Who is it that grabs your attention? When you want to be like someone what do you do? I friend request them, follow them on Twitter, and subscribe to their blog. I do not think it is so hard to keep in mind that others most likely do the same to you and I. So when you are watching and learning from your role model what do you look at? Everything, it all gets some of my attention. What they wear, how they talk, business practices and so on. The more I am noticing these things I have to make a decision: which is more important? The person or their decision.
How it plays out.
We must make a decision whether we are bought into the person enough to change to more like them or if we will abandon them because of the decisions that are made. Here is the problem with the whole thing. Most people do not feel strongly enough about anything to keep them from changing. Are you one of those people?
What this means for us.
In the same way there are many who watch you and I and begin changing their life to become more in line with what we do or say. So here is the question we must all confront as we get older. Is my example worth following? Is what I am doing and who I am worth repeating?
Whether or not someone is watching you is not up for discussion with me. Everyone has someone watching them. It is more important to figure out if you are worth modeling after rather than trying to identify those watching you.
deliberatemen.com 
Well Done Tim.
Thanks man. I appreciate your ongoing encouragement.
Those are very poignant questions. Growing up, I know I always looked up to my role models because of their successes. But now that I am a grown up myself, my role models are not just those who have achieved success, but also those who have handled their failures beautifully.
This is a great post, Tim. And a great starting point on reflecting on ones character.
Kriszia, Thanks for the comment, I love your perspective on your role models and you have adjust who you look up to from when you were a child to where you are now. The shift is very important. The way they handle failures is a huge part of what you can learn from a role model. Because most of the time it is not a highly intimate relationship but based more on observation. Their actions can tell you a lot.
Thanks again. I look forward to hearing more from you in the future.
Tim,
another fantastic article. This fits in so well with the idea that we are not leaders when we accomplish something big or become famous, but just by virtue of intentionally using our influence for others, influence that we already have (being a role model, relationships, etc).
Great job bringing us back to reminding me that there are people that I’m influencing now and to take strides to lead them toward Christ, not just influence them to take on my weaknesses. Thanks, Tim