NO ONE wakes up wanting to be mediocre!

Tis the graduation season. Graduate schools, colleges, high schools, and even kindergarten classes…ceremonies are occurring across the country. With those ceremonies, come the speeches. Full of lofty thoughts, praise for achievements and aspirations of greatness, with words to inspire and motivate.

Unfortunately, the glow of graduation passes. That’s where most of us find ourselves…years afterward with the obligations of life, work and continuing responsibilities. For those who have heard those stirring speeches, why don’t we continue that tradition on a daily basis? Doesn’t anyone of us need a “pep” talk once in a while? So, be that person…the one who supports, promotes and inspires others – that graduation keynote speaker!

For those who are reading this and thinking that it might not be possible for you, please consider this idea. There was a sign at a recent graduation that really stood out for me – “No One Wakes Up in the Morning Wishing to Be Mediocre!” How true! However, while we aspire to make a difference in this world, we often get caught up in the mundane, the tedium, the daily routine. No doubt, that stuff stills needs to get done. Let me encourage you though, to start looking for the possibilities – for baby steps toward greatness. Not for yourself…but how you might help others.

I recently watched the 2017 movie “Breathe,” featuring the true-life story of Robin Cavendish, whose charmed life, at the age of 28, was suddenly interrupted when he contracted polio. This was back in a time when polio patients were trapped in iron lungs to breathe for them, while committed to hospital care for the rest of their lives. His first thought after being struck down by polio was to "turn off the machine", reasoning that his wife Diana, who was only 25, could “start again." But, his son recalled that his mother "wasn't having any of it." Against the advice of his doctors, he left the hospital after a year. In 1962, Cavendish and his friend Teddy Hall, an Oxford University professor, developed a wheelchair with a built-in respirator that freed Cavendish from confinement to his bed, which became the model for future devices. One of my favorite scenes is when his long-time friend visits him. In the movie, his friend states "I always leave here feeling better. Not because of your condition, or that I'm in a healthier state, but for the way that you make me feel. It's You, Robin who makes a difference in my life." For the remainder of his life, Cavendish and his wife worked not only to improve the quality of his own life, but the lives of other paralyzed people by travelling the world to inspire others as campaigners for disabled people. A wonderful story about a couple who were faced with dire life circumstances and yet, inspired and helped so many others.

You are in a unique position. You have the daily opportunity and ability to influence, introduce new ideas and conversations, and have a meaningful impact within your organization on behalf of the communities or customers whom you serve. And those impacts start with small steps. Be the most enthusiastic, encouraging person on your team. Be the one who gives a kind word or compliment when needed. Take a broader view outside your territory to offer ways in which your team might be more helpful. Determine how you might suspend imposed “boundaries” to cross organizational silos, bringing people across the organization together on projects.

Be that individual who is remembered well after people meet you, because of how you positively impacted their life. Why? Because NO ONE wakes up in the morning wishing to be mediocre. Go forth and dazzle in your own way!