Nate’s Notes 36: Michael Benson: Responsibility, Reputation, Rigor, Relationships

President Benson has dedicated his life to educating himself. I’m sure he could have shared lessons for weeks, which makes the lessons he did share all the more valuable to me.

First, take responsibility for yourself and your actions, especially in a society that tries to shed blame when things go wrong.

Second, protect your reputation by living with integrity, because if we tarnish our reputation, we may never be able to build it back.  

Third, the things that we value most in life come through rigor and hard work. If we’re not willing to put in the work to achieve our potential, we’ll never reach the rewards we’re striving for.

And finally, life is ultimately about the relationships we build and the degree to which we impact others for good. No one is successful on their own. We all depend on each other.

By following President Benson’s 4 Rs we set ourselves up for success in our careers and in life.

It’s a simple idea. Please take it seriously.

President Michael Benson Bio:

Michael Benson is the President of Coastal Carolina University, and a historian who conducts research on the role of higher education in democracies. 

Prior to his appointment at Coastal Carolina, Benson served as president of Eastern Kentucky University, President of Southern Utah University, and President of Snow College.

He earned a PhD from Oxford, and Masters degrees from Notre Dame and Johns Hopkins, and an undergraduate degree from BYU, where he also played on the basketball team. Benson is an accomplished distance runner and concert pianist, and is also fluent in Italian. 

In short, he’s a Renaissance man.

I could have listened to President Benson for days as he shared lessons he’s learned from his storied career. I hope you enjoyed learning from President Benson, because I certainly did.