A True Story By DC MORBY

The Bent Nail

When I was seventeen years old, I attended a church picnic at Oaklawn Park. What started as a simple game involving a hammer, some nails, and a wooden plank became one of the most important leadership lessons of my life.

A seasoned contractor who had driven thousands of nails throughout his career suddenly couldn't drive a single one. Nail after nail bent over. People watched in confusion. Even he began to wonder what had gone wrong.

Then someone turned the board over.

Hidden beneath the surface was a one-inch steel plate.

In that moment, I learned a lesson that has stayed with me for decades.

Life is full of hidden steel plates.

Sometimes we blame ourselves when the real obstacle is something we cannot yet see. We begin to question our ability, our intelligence, or our worth, when in reality we're striking an unseen barrier beneath the surface.

That lesson has shaped my thinking as a contractor, corporate executive, business owner, husband, father, author, and speaker. It also became one of the foundational ideas behind the V16 Leadership Platform.

This story isn't really about nails.

It's about learning to ask a better question.

Instead of asking, "What's wrong with me?"

Ask,

"What is the steel plate?"

Sometimes that one question changes everything.

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