Maya Angelou

Give from what you have

How can I be a mentor, teacher, coach if I don’t know everything?  No one knows everything, but everyone knows something.  Each of has unique strengths, skills, and experiences to draw upon and provide guidance to others.  Maybe it’s just a different perspective that is needed at the moment.  I find that in mentoring I can help others in this way. I also discovered that I have benefited from each opportunity.

“I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.” – Edward Everett Hale

To help others.  When someone willing to learn and grow asks for my help, I do what I can to share what I have learned, experienced, and witnessed to provide a potential roadmap to be considered.   I am not saying that my views are the only path, nor even the right path for the individual.  I am merely recounting what I have done or would do in a similar situation. John Maxwell says we should, “Be a river and not a reservoir,” meaning to pass on what you get to benefit the next person.

 “When you learn, teach. When you get, give.”– Maya Angelou

To help yourself.  Helping others through mentoring returns many dividends.  First, I get to experience someone growing to achieve more than they have before. Next I build a connection that may one day provide help to me.  Third, I learn more about other strengths, skills, and experiences than I have that I would never understand if it were not for mentoring.

“Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.” – Booker T. Washington

Fix your sight on greatness

What is the ultimate success you could ever think of accomplishing?  In this success are you the best there ever was?  Knowing your ultimate success and setting your sight on being the best, that is how you will discover your greatness. 

Greatness is not something that can be achieved in a day, the steps to greatness are daily achievements. 

Daily Sacrifice. What are you willing to not do?  It takes sacrifice to achieve greatness.  If you try to be a little of everything than you won’t be a lot of anything.  There is a limited amount of time and you have to invest it in those things that matter most. Don’t chase after anything just because it looks good, save your efforts for those things that will make you great.  Great speakers don’t stay out late the night before an early morning presentation, they get a good night sleep. Great athletes don’t binge watch the latest television shows before a big game, they practice.  Great leaders don’t fill their to do list with endless projects, they prioritize. What should your daily sacrifice be?

“You can only become great at that thing you’re willing to sacrifice for.”  – Maya Angelou

Daily Effort. What are you willing to do?  Show up every day. Do the best you can at that moment with the task at hand using the tools and skills you have.  Consistent effort in everything, no matter what.   Do you want to earn your Bachelor’s degree, or Master’s degree?  Go to class, do the homework, study for the tests.  Do you want to play professional sports?  Give it your all in practice, workout, study the game. Do you want to be an executive leader? Stay current on the latest trends, set clear goals, invest in the development of your team. It’s what you do every day that matters.

“Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.” –  Dwayne Johnson

Daily Impact.  What impact are you willing to have? Our days are filled with opportunities to make a difference.  It doesn’t have to be a monumental action. A smile, an encouraging word, a helping hand might be just what is needed.  Recognize that what you do every day is an example to anyone watching.  Are you demonstrating the actions that lead to greatness?  Your success is not yours alone.  Do you use your success to help others succeed?

“The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.” –  Bob Marley

Be different – make a difference.

The future will be different than today, that we know for sure. Maybe you can get there first by not holding on to the way things have always been done. There may be a better way. You may have unique insights. You have individual talents – use them. Who knows – you might just change the world.

“The ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”– Steve Jobs

It’s ok to stand out. If you really want to have an impact and make a difference, you going to have to reconcile yourself to being different. Otherwise you just doing what everyone else does and that rarely changes anything.

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”– Dr. Seuss

It’s ok to try new methods. You can’t be satisfied with just being different – new methods have to be better at getting you to the future There’s no guarantee that the new ideas will always work. But you can be sure that the same ideas won’t bring you to the new answers needed for the different future.

“You shouldn’t do things differently just because they’re different. They need to be better.” – Elon Musk

It’s ok to change along the way. It’s actually better than ok, its preferable to change. I had a mentor tell me that my goal for any given year was to go so far, I would need a telescope to see where I started. Expect to learn, look for opportunities, and grow from them.

“If you are always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be.”– Maya Angelou

 

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