Here is a story of a regular man who continually put one foot in front of the other to do his part to push the world to a higher place.

He was an all-star player for the Pioneers of Progress, even if he is almost wholly unknown outside his sphere of influence. He is gone now, leaving us for his final post in December of 2014, but how he lived while he was with us made some very large footprints.

For almost twenty years my father-in-law, Dr. Herb Tolbert, made a zig-zag pattern across the United States with his wife, all their worldly possessions, and a large, furry cat. Always on the move for the best and most strategic job position higher education could offer, he was not one to shrink at the idea of major change, both in his geographical location and in the universities he sought to improve.

The reason for the somewhat frequent uprooting will not surprise those who work to the best of their abilities and for the best of those around them.

Though he was hailed as an expert in enrollment and student retention (with the statistics to back up his reputation) and was hired enthusiastically by Universities with anemic retention rates, he constantly butted up against the Purveyors of Same: Same tactics. Same paperwork. We clock in. We clock out. We do not change.

Change is hard work.

It stirs the pot. It throws people off their feet. It makes those who wish to simply do their jobs as they always have and then go home look like slackers. Never mind the lack of camaraderie or the lack of striving to better a system for the community at large. The Purveyors of Same will not tolerate the upheaval. Especially by someone new.

Herb battled this disease of indifference even more fiercely than the one that held his lungs like an iron fist. Though he suffered heavily the physical hardships that come with bronchiectasis, his fiercest conflicts were against the attitude that second-rate is good enough.

It was common for him to start a new position, hired on to usher in a springtime of changes, only to spend a majority of his time pushing against old-school thinking and a work force rising to the lowest accepted level of mediocrity. Eventually, he had to assess whether he was able to foster the changes he was hired for. Many times, the push back was so fierce it made the task impossible.

Rather than succumb to staleness or resort to constant strife, he was wise enough to know when to shake the dust from his sandals and move on.

The team effort is asthmatic in our country with too much what’s-in-it-for-me attitude dominating the majority mindset. There always seems to be that one person trying to poison the wellspring of progress in the name of Good Enough or Too Hard. It takes a brave group of people to stand together and sweat for higher, faster, stronger.

It takes even more courage to do it alone.

But it’s not just university politics that suffer this disease. Clinging to mediocrity is a cancer found in every industry, every school, every place of worship, every type of relationship. Wiping out its effects depends on the people it infects. How committed are they to take on the hard work required to make changes? How easily will they roll over when they get the pushback of “we’ve always done it this way and we’re getting along just fine” and how much are the people willing to sacrifice for  those around them? 

Marriages, businesses, getting healthy, friendships, using your gifts. You name it and it’s either following the wide path of mediocrity or climbing the little mountain trail to a better view.

Herb was a climber.

He tried to improve everything he put his hand to and he brought excellence to every position he held be it VP of enrollment or grandpa. It’s like that old saying moms and grandmas have preached for centuries, “leave it better than you found it!” Herb hoped to inspire this push for better in his staff, his family, his church, and his nation. What he found, like many people, is you cannot move to a different job or neighborhood, church or relationship and expect to find better if you aren’t willing to bring better even in the face of serious opposition.

What he didn’t require, however, was for people to hop on the train of progress with him unwillingly.

When someone staked their claim, refusing to participate, or made demands he just couldn’t adhere to, he left them on the platform and allowed the train to pull away without them. They would always be welcomed aboard, but he would not wait around like a nursemaid for a toddler in tantrum. He fully recognized free will and with it the ability to make positive changes or poor choices.

It was the most frustrating part of the relationships he struggled with, but he acknowledged that he could not will a person to goodness, progress, team work or reconciliation. He fully accepted that some people miss opportunities by their own choosing. Instead of pleading with the stubborn, he led by example simply because he did what he believed in. He stood for what was right and good and held himself to that standard. We are all better for it.

Now that he is gone, we have some big hiking boots to fill.