“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.”
— Thomas Merton
Living the Good Life
I recently went to Cass Lake-Bena High School to speak with coaches, but as often happens during these opportunities, I became the student instead. As the room shared symbols of what we value most, one coach with Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) ancestry offered a word—and a story—that captured me: Minobimaadisiiwiin (pronounced MEE-no-bee-MAH-dee-zee-win).
The coach explained minobimaadisiiwiin as “the good life,” not in a pop psychology way, but with a deeper meaning—a life lived with the right balance with self, others, and the community around them. It’s being a good person in all aspects of life; a way of walking, not necessarily a finish line.
As I sat and listened, I realized I was hearing something different from what the mainstream culture typically celebrates about success and leadership. It extends far beyond individual achievement.
The Ojibwe People's Dictionary defines mino-bimaadiziwin literally as “the good life,” but as that coach explained (thank you, Coach Dawn Staples!), this concept runs much deeper than simple translation suggests.
This “good life” is a collective idea. As Anishinaabe scholars describe it, Minobimaadisiiwiin is about shared well-being—good relationships, mutual care, and living in good ways together. This “good life” is so much more than the happiness and contentment of personal success. Change-maker, scholar, and author Aimée Craft notes that in the Anishinaabe language, “when it comes to that concept of mino-bimaadiziwin we can't appropriate it to the individual, there is no prefix that tells us that it's individual or collective.”
In a language and worldview thousands of years old, there's no grammatical way to make “the good life” about just yourself. It's our flourishing, not just mine.
An Ojibwe teaching uses sweetgrass—braided strands—as a living picture of Minobimaadisiiwiin. It represents physical, emotional, spiritual, and communal health woven together. When the strands are braided, they're stronger; when they're separated, they weaken.
Leadership and coaching works the same way.
We often talk about “work-life balance” as if we're trying to keep different parts of our lives from touching each other. Minobimaadisiiwiin suggests something different—it's not about separation, it's about integration. It's balance in relationship, where all aspects of well-being are woven together into something stronger than any single strand. I recently heard a great way of describing this balance: It’s about being happy to go to work and then happy to go home. It’s a gift to be able to do this. That is what psychological wealth looks like.
Minobimaadisiiwiin also invites us to widen our definition of what “winning” means.
People over points. Did those we serve grow as teammates and humans today? Did our students leave class more confident and connected than when they arrived?
Belonging over busyness. Did everyone feel seen, safe, and valued? Or were we so focused on accomplishing something that we missed the people?
Right relationships. Are our decisions honoring past, present, and future community? Are we being good stewards to everyone and everything in our care?
Whole-person wellness. Are we building strength across body, mind, heart, and spirit—rest included? Are we modeling the balance we want our students and athletes to achieve?
Cass Lake sits in the heart of the Leech Lake Reservation, home to the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. The community is literally building spaces and programs that reflect “the good life” in motion—wellness initiatives that address the whole person and the whole community, recognizing that individual health and collective health are inseparable.
This isn't just philosophy—it's practice. It's Minobimaadisiiwiin in action.
Minobimaadisiiwiin asks us to consider what if “winning” means everyone in your sphere grows stronger? What if success means creating conditions where others can thrive, even if it means less spotlight on you?
Here are some ideas for us to make Minobimaadisiiwiin part of our own way of living:
Open with gratitude, close with appreciation.
Name the win beyond the score.
Schedule recovery like you schedule your work.
Design for belonging.
Lead with Minobimaadisiiwiin. (How does this decision serve the good life of everyone involved? Let that guide your choices.)
Chi-miigwech (a big thank you) to that coach for sharing her wisdom and helping us all see leadership through different eyes—eyes of what it means to live and lead well. It's a reminder that true success is never just about us and that's not just good leadership or coaching. That's the good life.
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“The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination.”
— Carl Rogers
Connecting this quote to the story. Minobimaadiziwiin is about walking in balance day by day, weaving relationships and choices into a lifelong journey of living well together rather than reaching a final endpoint.
This week’s Chasing Influence tip: Measure success not only by results, but by the relationships you build along the way.
If you enjoyed this story, a series of three Chasing Influence workbooks is available. Stories are accompanied by discussion questions and answers. Each workbook contains 33 lessons to use with any team.
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