Learning How To Receive Recognition

The following is the speech I delivered at the opening night of the MSP Titans Of The Industry Awards Gala. I heard from MANY people that they found this to be inspiring, so I decided to share it here.

As an aside, if you weren’t at the MSP Titans Of The Industry Awards Gala, you missed a truly magical, industry-changing event. More to come on that later. But now, here’s what I delivered to the 450 MSPs and channel champions in the audience that night…

Back early in 2021, I received a curious e-mail from one of my mentors and someone I deeply respect, Dr. Nido Qubein, president of High Point University in North Carolina. If you’re not familiar with Dr. Qubein, let me just say that he is one of the most driven, intelligent, high-integrity entrepreneurs I’ve ever met in my life. He took a sleepy little Methodist college and turned it into what High Point is today – one of the most successful, fastest growing, most profitable and unique universities in America. If you are an entrepreneur, it’s a MUST on your list to go and visit.

In his e-mail, Dr. Qubein told me to block off the first week of September for “something special” he had planned for me.

What I later found out is that he wanted to give me an honorary bachelor’s degree from High Point University.

Some of you know my story…you’ve seen my documentary…and if you have, you know that when I grew up, going to school and securing a higher education wasn’t something that was ever discussed in our house. My parents went through a really ugly divorce when I was 12 years old, and at 14, I was homeless. My mother was raised in and belonged to a cult-like church, and those were the people who took us in.

And while they were very good people and I am grateful for their help, they took a very literal interpretation of the Bible and had a lot of rules about how to live.

For example, they didn’t believe in saving money, owning a home or building wealth. They practiced faith-based healing, which meant they never went to a doctor and wouldn’t take even a simple aspirin to relieve a headache…and they absolutely were against going to a university or getting a higher education to try to further yourself in life.

So for me, getting a degree never even crossed my mind because my life back then was all about survival. How do I feed and clothe myself and, quite literally, how do I make enough money to pay the rent so I won’t be homeless again?

Fast-forward to 2021, and obviously God has blessed and kept me, and I’m at the point now where I’m no longer ashamed of my lack of an education, including the fact that I don’t even hold a high school diploma.

So, when Dr. Qubein offered to give me a bachelor’s degree, I actually turned him down and told him that while I appreciated the gesture, I had already moved beyond having to prove my skills and abilities and had made peace with the fact that I don’t have a degree in anything but the school of hard knocks.

I suppose another reason is that, very early in my career, a mentor of mine told me, “Robin, make sure you never NEED praise or recognition, or you’ll end up constantly frustrated and disappointed.” And he was right.

But then I thought about it some and realized that not accepting this honor was wrong – and it was wrong because when someone wants to give you recognition for something you’ve achieved in your life or some good you’ve done, you should let them do it, NOT because you need the recognition, but because, if you refuse, it shows a lack of gratitude for the people who are bestowing it on you, and because if you believe in giving praise and recognition to others for their accomplishments, you need to be gracious in receiving it when it comes to you.

Let me also add this.

When Dr. Qubein offered me the scholarship, there was nothing in it for him. I didn’t ask him to do it. I didn’t pay him to do it. He simply wanted to use his position to say to me, “I see you. I see what you’ve overcome. I see the hard work you’ve put in. I see how you bring value to people. I see how you operate with integrity and faithful courage.”

And it is in that same spirit that I decided to host this event and create the MSP Titans award. I want you to know that I SEE YOU, the MSPs in our community.

I see the hard work you put in. I see the dedication you have to serving and protecting your customers. I see how you work around the clock to make sure your clients aren’t down. I see how you are repeatedly disrespected by many other professionals who won’t listen to your advice. I see how people routinely undervalue what you do.

So, the Titans award, and the Gala we’re hosting tonight, is our way of elevating our industry. It is my love letter to MSPs to give you the recognition you truly deserve. Because, like the great philosopher Lizzo famously said, it’s about damned time.

To see the full winner list and details from the evening event, visit https://mspsuccess.com/2024/12/inaugural-msp-titans-of-the-industry-awards-gala-put-msps-on-the-red-carpet-where-they-belong/