Early morning thoughts
Walked into the office this morning and a colleague with outside e-mail access had forwarded on one of those chain mails. This one however actually had a great story in it:
A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air. Well, he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air. My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE.
****
Now, I'm not one for these sort of sappy stories most of the time. I've ben to dozens of corporate seminars where people have passionately shared their life experiences, their motivational lessons. And become rather jaded toward the entire genre/industry. But reading this I was reminded of one of the key values about motivational stories and speakers.
What's the real lesson here?
Not that we're all special; if you don't already know that, you've missed the point of this thing we call life. Every single person who I call a friend knows deep down inside that they have something that no one else has: They have THEM. No I didn't think this was worth holding onto because it reiterates that lesson. I find the real lesson here is that this story reminds us that everybody gets into things by choice, accident or fate that are uncomfortable and degrading.
To put it as bluntly as possible; One person's crap is just like every other person's crap. It's hard, it's harsh and it's unbearable, but it's not unique. The thing that gets most of us trapped in the psychological holes that punctuate our lives is the feeling that we are alone or unusual cases of bad stuff happening. We think that we're the first to deal with problems, or that no one else understands. But truth is, we are all going through things, and we are not alone. Whether we're part of the Night or part of the Day we are part of a world full of people who have problems too.
Sometimes it helps to remember that, because we can stop feeling alone. Motivational speakers wouldn't have jobs if people didn't need motivation. At their heart they are substitutors and can be damaging forces, as motivation must come from the inside. But the industry exists not because of a physical dependency (like the tobacco industry) but because it addresses a psychological need that is real and deep seated. Each and every one of us has things we need to get through or get done. We all need motivation to get us there. We all need something powerful to remind us why we strive.
Sometimes it's hard to find that thing inside ourselves. Thus the industry, they offer it. But there is something we can do on our own in those times. If we look for examples of success in those around us we will find it. Everyone how has succeeded has succeeded despite, and because of, "stuff". They may be leaders and "superstars" today, but they dealt with exactly the same stuff that we do on the way there, and believe me most of them deal with it today to.
A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air. Well, he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air. My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE.
****
Now, I'm not one for these sort of sappy stories most of the time. I've ben to dozens of corporate seminars where people have passionately shared their life experiences, their motivational lessons. And become rather jaded toward the entire genre/industry. But reading this I was reminded of one of the key values about motivational stories and speakers.
What's the real lesson here?
Not that we're all special; if you don't already know that, you've missed the point of this thing we call life. Every single person who I call a friend knows deep down inside that they have something that no one else has: They have THEM. No I didn't think this was worth holding onto because it reiterates that lesson. I find the real lesson here is that this story reminds us that everybody gets into things by choice, accident or fate that are uncomfortable and degrading.
To put it as bluntly as possible; One person's crap is just like every other person's crap. It's hard, it's harsh and it's unbearable, but it's not unique. The thing that gets most of us trapped in the psychological holes that punctuate our lives is the feeling that we are alone or unusual cases of bad stuff happening. We think that we're the first to deal with problems, or that no one else understands. But truth is, we are all going through things, and we are not alone. Whether we're part of the Night or part of the Day we are part of a world full of people who have problems too.
Sometimes it helps to remember that, because we can stop feeling alone. Motivational speakers wouldn't have jobs if people didn't need motivation. At their heart they are substitutors and can be damaging forces, as motivation must come from the inside. But the industry exists not because of a physical dependency (like the tobacco industry) but because it addresses a psychological need that is real and deep seated. Each and every one of us has things we need to get through or get done. We all need motivation to get us there. We all need something powerful to remind us why we strive.
Sometimes it's hard to find that thing inside ourselves. Thus the industry, they offer it. But there is something we can do on our own in those times. If we look for examples of success in those around us we will find it. Everyone how has succeeded has succeeded despite, and because of, "stuff". They may be leaders and "superstars" today, but they dealt with exactly the same stuff that we do on the way there, and believe me most of them deal with it today to.