Mirror Mirror On The Wall

Is success about how you make others feel, or is it about how you feel at the end of the day? I think it’s both. There have been times when I have done my job - to the best of my ability - but in the end, I could tell my message hadn't hit home like I had thought it would. I felt like I did what was asked, what was expected. I was happy with what I had done... still; I didn't get the reaction I had hoped for.

I try to justify what I perceive as a failure in achieving my goal. There could have been many reasons - maybe the message was wrong for this specific group - maybe the audience was tired and I was the last speaker, and they just wanted to get home. Or maybe, and I know this is a long shot; maybe I just didn't deliver to the best of my ability!

Yogi Berra used to say: "It ain't the heat, it's the humility." We aren't going to hit a home run every time. We are going to have an off-day, no matter what. But when we are humbled a little more often than we like, it makes us think.

There have been other times when I wasn't quite sure I had done my job. However, I must have, as the audience repaid my efforts with a standing ovation and people came up to me afterwards, thanking me for inspiring them. But, for some reason, I wasn't happy. I just didn't feel like I had done my best.

Which is the better feeling to have? Personally, I feel better when I know I have done my best. If you have given your all and know in your heart that it was your best, what more can you do? Sometimes you don't get the grand slam! We have no control on how others will react to what we say or do. But at the end of the day, you look at yourself in the mirror and that is what you have.

May your mirror reflect in you tonight, that for today at least, you have done your best.