3 Points to Ponder
- “Our job as people of impact is to build bridges of connection with those around us. If we do it right, people want to walk across those bridges, back and forth, to join one another. Do you spend more effort shouting across the divide or building a bridge?”
- “To serve means to meet the needs of someone else. It isn’t good enough to say ‘I’m here for you.’ Rather, we need to say ‘There you are and I’m coming to you.’ Whom can you speak these words to this week?”
- “Motivation drives action. Are you aware of your current motivations? Are they helping or hurting you to become the best version of yourself?”
2 Quotes to Share
“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.
“We are not in the coffee business serving people, we are in the people business serving coffee.” -Howard Schultz
1 Story of Impact
A couple of weeks ago, I was able to visit Mount Vernon, the beautiful estate of the late General George Washington. Being a history buff, connecting with the past gives me joy and this was a world-class opportunity. We had a larger group, so we broke into two. One group, the one I was in, was with Tour Guide Gayle. The other group was with Tour Guide Mike (not his real name). Gayle was a gem, working the grounds for 33 years! She oozed knowledge and coupled it with graciousness in our lack of knowledge. She invited us into secret places, sharing VIP knowledge. After the tour with her, I wanted to become a Mount Vernon Tour Guide! The other group had Tour Guide Mike, who later the group deemed Military Mike. Mike shared the same knowledge as Gayle, but he made multiple people in the group feel stupid. He was more concerned with keeping on pace than the moments of Mount Vernon. When people were talking to their peers, scolding soon followed. When someone looked at their watch, he’d ask if they needed to be somewhere else. After some time, the group turned on him and the experience was lost. Same location, same knowledge, vastly different experience. What was most important for him wasn’t important to the group. And it definitely wasn’t presented in love. Take a quick inventory of your priorities. Are they in line with the people you are trying to impact? How about your motivation? Is it from a place of love? If either of these is out of alignment, what small steps can you take to get them in alignment this week?
