How powerful are you?

As the owner of Douglass Screen Printers, Inc. and Good Works LLC (both of which are image management companies), and the president of the National Association of Women Business Owners, the idea of power is very important to me.  By the world's standards, power is often measured with the yardstick of wealth or fame, and many would say that power is taken rather than given. 

I believe that my upside attitude (and my power) comes from servant leadership and expands in direct relationship to the help I extend to others.  We receive power from others who have given it to us willingly, usually because we have been careful and considerate leaders.  One of my favorite authors says that true power comes from faith, diligence, awareness, concentration, and insight, skillfully woven together by the wise leader.

The challenge constantly before me - before all leaders -- is to help others toward success.  All of us strengthen our communities when we act as builders, creators and transformers with people and groups in all of our spheres of influence.  There is no better reflection on us as leaders than the successes of others, and there is no better measure of our success as a business than being an able and willing contributor to our communities.

Create the right kind of power.  Give what you can wherever and whenever you can.  Be the change you want to see in the world.

As my client and I sat stoically in our booth, the light from across the room got brighter and so did the hum.  The traveling fiesta stopped about three feet from our table where a band of seven began belting out the most popular song in the English language, "Happy Birthday to You!"  When they were finished, one of the seven placed a large piece of oozing, flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce and an assortment of fresh berries in front of the woman with the orange, silk brocade blouse and yelled one last, "Happy Birthday, Ma'am!"

My client looked uncomfortable, and I asked if everything was okay.  He said, "I don't know why people make such a big deal about birthdays, or why they are willing to publicly humiliate themselves to celebrate.  It's just another day."  Wow!  That was not what I was thinking at all!  In fact, I was smiling and humming the birthday tune under my breath.  However, I'm a believer in destiny, and this was the moment I had been waiting for:  This wonderful talented successful business man had been my client for one month, and he had been struggling with why he needed a list of what made him different or special, why I always wanted to "get personal" on him because he only wanted to talk about business, and why he needed to celebrate everything - big and small - in life.

Sometimes opportunities come at the most unusual moments.  Here we were in a well-known chain restaurant, eating our pasta and breadsticks, and the universe opened the door to combine all three challenges into one BIG birthday cake lesson.  This was my chance to reveal one of the greatest mysteries of life, and the conversation that ensued went something like this...

As I sat there for a moment in awe, a quote from Albert Einstein came to mind, and I cited his wisdom, "Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value."  I said it softly and as if it was directed to no one in particular and paused just long enough for him to start wondering where I was going with this.  Birthdays.  You come into this world on a particular date in time.  No one really knows what you have to offer; only you hold that secret.  When you die, your tombstone will have three things for sure - your name, the date you were born, and the date you leave this world.  The dash in between is so small it is often forgotten and yet, it represents who you are and what you've done with your time on earth.

You cannot separate your business life from your personal life.  What you are in your personal life carries over into who you are for your clients.  You limitations and strengths affect every relation ship.  There is an African proverb that says, "I am the connections that I weave."  Making the choice to connect at all affects how much influence and meaning our work will actually have.  These choices are the moments you create for the dash that represents your life.  If you choose to focus on achievement rather than celebration, you just might miss all that makes you (and others) unique and special.

As my mini-presentation came to an end, I could see he was getting emotional.  I was afraid I was losing him or that he would be come too agitated to really be able to listen.  But, I was on fire inside, and I had to finish:  "Success is what we want it to be.  For each of us, it is a little different. For some, it is about family and making people around us feel loved.  For others, it's about the amount of money earned.  To some, it's feeling important.  However, it is all worth celebrating."

How often do you stop and think about what makes you important, special, and truly worth celebrating?  Is you birthday important enough for others to want to celebrate right along with you?  Do you celebrate the challenges as much as you celebrate the happy moments?

Every day, you receive the same 1,440 minutes.  I challenge you to find at least 5 things every day worth celebrating.  Maybe it's getting to work on time, maybe it's getting a haircut, maybe it's having clean laundry, or maybe it's getting a parking spot.  Whatever your day, remember to celebrate who you are and what you bring into this world!