One of the mysteries of leading is whether or not you made a difference. Did your guiding, teaching, caring, loving help to make that person a better person? More often than not, we’ll never know. That old saying, “We don’t know what we don’t know,” is powerfully true when attempting to lead others, maybe ourselves, too. I’ll have to ponder that one.
It’s great when you DO learn whether or not “they got it.” If there’s evidence that they didn’t, you’ll quickly question what you might have done differently and more effectively. Don’t burn yourself out doing that. Too many external influences to figure that out.
What a blessing when you discover that your effort DID work! I was with my daughter and her family in Missouri a couple of weeks ago. Elyse is my baby, so whenever she asks me to do something, I do it. You know what I mean if you have a daughter or daughters. Shortly upon my arrival, Elyse asked me if I would be willing to speak to the sixth graders at the middle school where she works. I love kids! All of them! I accepted her invitation after asking what she wanted me to talk about. Character and leading were what she was looking for the kids to get some guidance on. Those are my specialties, so I accepted, not realizing that she wanted me to do four talks that week. Hey! Anything for my girls!
I talked with all of the sixth graders about making good choices and some of the virtues of good character, selflessness being one of those. As I just said, I didn’t know if they got it. I believed they did, but no way to know, until I did!
I talked with my 11-year-old granddaughter’s class on the last day that I was there. Pequeña, my 11-year-old granddaughter, was in that class. She was like a sponge! She heard every word that I said, evidently. And understood the message. That evening, as we prepared to watch a movie together as a family, Pequeña asked if anyone wanted popcorn. We’re a popcorn-loving family, so everyone raised their hands. She was excited about popping that popcorn for all of us. She did, then filled a bowl of it for each of us. She’s a good popcorn popper, by the way. As we began watching the movie, I noticed that she didn’t seem to have a bowl of popcorn. I asked her if that was the case. She acknowledged that there hadn’t been enough for everyone, so she served everyone except herself. WHAT?! She’s eleven! What eleven-year-old kid does that?! Well, Pequeña does. She hadn’t said anything. She would have gone without had I not noticed. Luckily, her mom suggested that there might be a bag in the cupboard. She found it, popped it, and shared it again, this time, taking some for herself. You know that Warriors don’t cry…but sometimes our eyeballs sweat. Who’s crying? I’m not crying!
I can see that scene in my mind and my heart as if it were just occurring. There’s little better than knowing that HEIRPOWER! does exist and that you and I can help our followers and loved ones create it. Whether we’re “successful” will remain a mystery, but also a blessing when it’s validated. THANK YOU, Pequeña, for being you!
Until next time, be GREAT! You ARE!
HEIRPOWER!
bob vásquez!
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