Five Ways to Empower Yourself
John Baldoni
Helping others learn to lead with greater purpose and grace via my speaking, coaching, and the brand-new Baldoni ChatBot. (And now a 4x LinkedIn Top Voice)
The other day, I was asked how I empower myself. It was a question I had not been asked before, but after a moment's reflection, I replied with four words. Learn. Work. Connect. Serve.
Learn.?College, my physician father used to say, is where you go to learn how to learn. While that statement does apply to college, it can be broadened to include any experience that teaches us lessons – be it a sport, a craft, an art, or an application of a skill. Our challenge – indeed our responsibility – is to integrate those experiences into learning lessons.
Work.?There is dignity to work. Putting yourself into your work means you are applying what you know to what you can do. There is a satisfaction to labor, a job well done. Hard work may be the most satisfying because you know you have applied not only your knowledge but your energy. Fatigue from work (not overwork) indicates that you have put forth the effort.
Connect.?Loneliness has become so widespread that it is a health condition affecting one in five Americans. Too many of us lack the connection with others. Robert Waldinger, MD, who leads the Harvard, the longest-running study of adults dating back to the late Thirties, writes in his book,?The Good Life, that what matters most in life is not wealth or health. It is the connection to others. From relationships, we create a community, a place where we feel we belong.
Serve.?The purpose of life is to serve yourself and others. You serve yourself by applying the four words above. Doing so puts you in a position to serve others. The late Frances Hesselbein taught us to live is to serve.?
Her good friend Alan Mulally, former CEO of Ford Motor Company, lives by this mantra. With one addition.?Love.?Without love, our lives would be empty. We both need it to enrich us as we, in turn, use it to enrich others. Love powers our ability to serve.
What you do with those five words – and any others you find relevant – will enable you to define how you want to live your life. Choose wisely, and continue to apply what you have learned to make a positive difference for yourself and others.
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