A few weeks ago a former student greeted me in the store. At first I didn’t recognize her. We initially made that “I know you, from many years ago” eye-contact. She approached me and said, “Hi Mr. Wolf, how are you doing?” I smiled and responded, “Embracing the Challenge, and you?” She laughed and said, “I’m super-good and getting better!” I smiled and asked her name. We conversed for a few moments and she reminded me of the class taken with me over 30 years ago through a positive thinking club I led while principal of Mifflin’s Junior High. The class utilized a leadership curriculum written entitled, “See You at the Top” written by positive thinking guru, Zig Ziglar. The “super good” response was the way in which students in the club responded to each other when asked, “ How are you?”. I told them that we would always respond to each other with that phrase as an affirmation of our belief that we have value and we get better everyday. After a few moments of conversation we said our goodbyes and she asked me a question. “Is the phrase ‘Embrace the Challenge’ a new response to the ‘How are You’ question?” I explained the idea behind it, she smiled and politely said, “I like being super-good and getting better and I still use that phrase.”
While reading this week I came across an article written by Thomas Oppong, entitled, “Your Self-Consciousness Is Killing Your Creativity”. There were a number of thoughts that jumped at me:
- “The best gift you can share with your audience, no matter how small, is your authentic self (there’s that authenticity idea we considered last month)
- “Failure is only a form of feedback”
- “As long as you look for someone else to validate who you are by seeking their approval, you are setting yourself up for disaster.”
- “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great!”
That last one really hit home with me as it is a Ziglarism (named after Zig Ziglar). It’s a simple thought and a play on words, but the message is so powerful.
We all have unique gifts that we have the opportunity to use and share on a daily basis. Believe in yourself. If you haven’t already, it’s time to start being great!
Have a fantastic week, stay super-good, and Embrace the Challenge,
Rick