Doughnuts. No, I am not referring to the pastries, but rather to the spare tire that comes with your car — the one that looks like it belongs on a bicycle. I recently had a flat tire and had to get it fixed. To get my tire repaired, I had to put the doughnut on my car so that I could get to the tire shop. When I say, “I had to change my tire,”I really mean supervise while a couple of the other state officers actually changed it. After the doughnut was on, we headed to the tire shop. Keep in mind, though, that you can’t drive more than 50 miles per hour with the spare. Therefore, I carefully drove to the shop and eventually got my new tire.

While most people would look at the doughnut and think that it’s useless, ultimately, that doughnut is what gets you from having a stationary car to one that can hit the road. Many of you are participating on Career Development or Leadership Development Event teams right now. Some of you have been dreaming of being on the team you are on right now, while some of you feel the exact opposite. You might be the youngest one on your team, you might have needed to switch teams last minute, or maybe you are repeatedly the drop score for your team, but that’s okay. We all feel like doughnuts sometimes. Often, you are the one that makes a difference for your team. You are the one who will work hard, keep your head down and at the end of the day be the one who pushes your team to advance to state, break a record or place one rank higher than last week. Without you, your team would be stationary. With you, though, your team can transform into something you never imagined.

When a car has a flat, the doughnut becomes the most important tire. And when your teams face obstacles, you can be the most influential member.