It was a challenging week emotionally, a long-time friend lost her Dad and even though she and I are no longer intertwined in each other’s lives it’s an awakening. It’s that thing that Oprah says, every death should be a reminder to those of us left behind to ‘live’. Leave no stone unturned, no song too quiet to hear and no dance un-danced. Live…
What does that look like? In my opinion, it looks like caring less what people think of your hair and more of your character. It’s about striving to be good to everyone and anyone because you can. I have always loved the Olympics and one reason is that it’s the greatest place on earth for 17 days. Why? Because it is a community of goodwill chalked full of war without weapons. Where people in general are good to each other because the fever of the moments and celebration and human excellence are overwhelming and overpower the other ‘bad’ in our lives. It’s hard to deny, ask anyone who’s been there, its awe-some.
Think about your work life, how do you live at work? Do you hold grudges, talk about others behind their back, and complain with no solution in mind, steal post-it notes and pens…update your Facebook on company time? Do you play fair? If it was your company would you be okay paying you for what you do with your time? Do you conform to the office bully or do you stand tall and be firm in what you know is right and do you live with great character in full on visible form out loud? And if you don’t, why not? What prevents you from being that exemplary human being? And if you know your reason, is it a good enough reason? Is it about fear? And is your fear ‘true’? And is ‘living’ about fear?
None of us know what’s around the corner. The upside is that we can see a corner, that we get another corner. Take note, what you do today is important. If you are good to people today, it’s important. If you do the right thing it’s important. If you don’t steal the $0.03 bag at Superstore just because you can and because its only $0.03, that matters. It matters because all of those $0.03 add up.
Think about people you consider great leaders and ask yourself what makes them great? I bet they play fair and I bet they are a really good example of a human being. Because great leaders don’t steal post-it notes or 3 cent bags. They don’t steal them because their integrity is worth far more than $0.03. And if you think no one’s watching, you are wrong. Someone is always watching. How can you lead by example to show your team that integrity has value, that character is important and that being good to each other is all a part of living, and living well? One way is to be unabashed about striving to be a great human being. Or at minimum, it’s a place to start.