When it comes to fitness and health, what I hear the most is, “I just don’t have the time to exercise.” It’s true you need the time, but there’s something else you need more.

I’m only twenty-seven. Since I finished college and started working, I have had about five years in the “real world” under my belt. However, a lot has happened in that five-year period.

Like most people right out of college, I have held a couple of different positions since entering the workforce. It’s given me a great perspective on different kinds of leaders. It has also made me think about the kind of leader I want to be when I am finally in a leadership position.

Yesterday, Gail and I were traveling to San Antonio, Texas, where I was scheduled to speak. As we sat at the gate waiting to board, the gentleman sitting next to me was engaged in a phone conversation.

Apparently, he had just had a negative exchange with a TSA agent. He bellowed into the phone, “Yea, you pay an idiot ten bucks an hour, pin a badge on his chest, and he thinks he is God.”

The lead story in the news for the last several days has been Arnold Schwarzenegger’s infidelity. Apparently, he has fathered at least one child out-of-wedlock. There are likely more.

To be honest, this whole thing makes me angry, especially when I consider the impact this is having on his wife and children. He is also one more negative example for our own children and grandchildren.

The literary giant, C.S. Lewis, wrote many wonderful books and stories in the mid-twentieth century. Among his finest works is The Screwtape Letters, in which Lewis portrayed two demons with the malicious intent of wreaking havoc in the life of the “Patient” assigned to them by their dark master. Their ploys were crafty, filled with accusations and lies.

Whether or not you believe they are real, the story compels us to consider what these demons might write about us today. What tricks and treats would they deploy to distract us from our purpose and lead us astray?

Even though we’ve lost a great coach and teacher with John Wooden’s death, he left a legacy that that is especially relevant today: his virtuous leadership style.

In How the Mighty Fall, author Jim Collins answers the question, “How can large successful companies fail after decades of growth and stability?” Tim Irwin asks a similar question about leaders in his new book, Derailed: Five Lessons Learned from Catastrophic Failures of Leadership (Thomas Nelson, 2009). In a moment, I will tell you how to get a free copy.

By all accounts, Steve McNair, the Titans famed quarterback, was a gifted leader. He led the Titans to the playoffs four times and eventually to Super Bowl XXXIV. He was loved by teammates, fans, and the media. In Nashville, he was a local hero.

But off the field, his life gradually unraveled. He was arrested for DUI and illegal gun possession in 2003. Four years later, in 2007, he was again arrested for DUI, along with his brother-in-law. He was traded to the Baltimore Ravens in 2005 and then retired in April 2008 at the age of 35.