Lead by Legendary Example

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some books are read. Others are experienced. And once in a while, a book is spoken out loud by someone who has to sit with every word long enough for it to settle into their own story. When that happens, the work is tested differently. Not by reviews or rankings, but by the voice that carries it and the life behind that voice. That is what happened when Fred Lane stepped into the narration of Lead by Legendary Example; and what he discovered inside those pages might be the clearest invitation yet to take a second look.

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Fred didn’t just narrate Lead by Legendary Example. He lived inside it.

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When someone spends hours speaking your words out loud, something happens. They don’t skim. They don’t speed-read. They feel every scene. They carry every sentence. And sometimes, they see things even the author forgets are there.

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Fred Lane, who narrated the audiobook, recently shared what the experience was like for him. What struck me wasn’t praise. It was perspective.

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He talked about feeling the warmth of Sunday dinners at my grandparents’ house. About the weight of the Sioux City Air Disaster chapter. About the quiet power in the 9/11 story. He said the grandfather-and-grandson casket scene in Chapter Four “got to me every time.” That tenderness mixed with strength, he wrote, is rare.

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Coming from someone who has led large construction projects, owned a company specializing in bridge and concrete structures, served as a senior project manager and director of operations, and even held elected office as a mayor, that observation carries weight. Fred has sat through leadership trainings. He’s read the books. He’s seen leadership done well and done poorly.

His words were simple: “this one stands with the very best of them.”

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What meant the most to me was this: he said the book never feels like theory. The principles are carried out in lived examples. Leadership isn’t framed as something you study. It’s something you practice under pressure. In hospital rooms. In boardrooms. In funeral homes. In kitchens. In crises.

And that’s the heart of it.

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Lead by Legendary Example isn’t about position. It’s about presence. It’s about integrity that holds when no one is clapping. It’s about vision that survives when plans collapse. It’s about servant leadership that shows up quietly. It’s about adaptability when life pivots without permission. It’s about mentorship that leaves fingerprints long after you’re gone.

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If you passed over the book the first time, I understand. There are a lot of leadership books on the shelf. But sometimes it’s worth taking a second look; especially when someone who has built bridges, led cities, and managed large teams says this one carries something different.

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It’s lived.

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And when it’s lived well, others notice.