It's Not What You Do, It's the Way That You Do It!

🌞 Recently, one of my daughters, aged 27, sent me a photo of a note she'd written a year ago, placed next to a jar that looked like it contained lots of other notes. The note read: ‘Dad cancelled an appointment to attend my graduation’.

👍 I didn't know my daughter had a ‘gratitude’ jar, but I was touched by the note and couldn't stop thinking about it. You're a parent for many years, your life is structured around the needs of the family, you work hard to fund your children's future. And yet, the moments that mark a life are often associated with gratuitous, one-off ‘little gestures’.

👉 Of course, our children are aware of the efforts we have made on their behalf, thanks to their rational minds. But their most vivid memories, the ones they will cherish beyond our lifetime, are emotional. These moments, which will arouse the greatest emotions in them, are often also a reflection of the soul of their authors.

👎 As one idea leads to another, I was thinking recently of an example I have just seen of business partners who have spent years contributing to the development of a group's activities in one region of the world, only to find themselves made redundant overnight, in deplorable conditions, at a time when the business was showing promise for the future.

🗣️ Logically, the group's change of strategy can be explained, and it can be said that this is part of the hard laws of business. But emotionally, it hurts those who are the victims. The decision itself of course, perceived as a betrayal, but also and above all the way in which it was carried out.

After all, what image will these decision-makers leave behind?

👍 It's up to each person to decide what kind of mark they want to leave on this earth, or around them, but it's obvious that no one will have any esteem or respect for you for having had a great career or a wealthy life. People will remember one-off moments they have had with you and, above all, the soul they saw in you, for example: generous, encouraging, inspiring or harsh, egocentric or petty.

👉 We need to look beyond our purely material achievements, and think about the kind of person we want to be for ourselves and for others.

👍 It's not what you do, it's the way that you do it.

👏 Up to each leader to choose who they want to be and how they want to be perceived, and stay vigilant!