Through The Eyes of Simplicity

We had just finished eating dinner, and my 8-year-old daughter turned to me and asked, “Dad, what is your job?” Caught a little off guard, I simply said, “I’m kind of like a coach, kiddo, why do you ask? She responded, “Just curious.”

A few minutes later she asked. ‘Dad, who do you coach?” I said “Mostly adults and businesses like the stores we go to.” She said, “Ohhh, so your kind of like a business coach?” I said “You could say that,” surprised that she quickly pulled together that title.

She said, ‘Just one more question ... Why do you do what you do?” I said, “That is a really great question kiddo ... I help people sometimes see things they don’t see so they can be better at what they do. We have all been called to do a job, and I think my job is to inspire others to do theirs the best they can.”

She smiled, and said “Thank you Daddy” and then walked into her coloring room. Little did she realize, she had just coached me.

We get so caught up in who we are and what we do, constantly creating titles to articulate our sense of value to others. We live in a world where reality is just perception, and we often sacrifice authenticity out of fear of rejection. What would happen if we stripped away all of the fancy words and facades, and saw ourselves and what we do through the simple eyes of an 8-year-old. What would we discover?

Perhaps we would discover what it is we actually do, not just perception, but actual reality.

Perhaps we would discover the actual value we add to the lives of others in the work we do.

Perhaps we would re-discover why we do it, and in the process reconnect with our purpose.

I wasn’t prepared for this impromptu interview by a second grader. The words that came out of my mouth in response to her simple questions were unfiltered and stripped away of any language that would try to impress her. I found myself simply sharing with her what it is I do, and why I do it, she put together the rest.

She has never seen me coach or speak in public, and yet with no point of reference or experience to reflect on, she some how pulled together this picture. I am captivated by how she sees what her dad does through the simplicity of her eyes, and even more so at how well she captured why I do it.

Wherever you are right now, whatever you are doing this minute, I invite you to pause.

Close your eyes and for just a moment imagine yourself as an 8-year-old and asked your older self these questions.

• What do you do?
• Who do you do it for?
• Why do you do it?

As we grow older and more knowledgeable, we become more prone to want to share our minds, and while they may not say it, what people really want is for us to share our hearts. It’s long been said that people don’t really care how much you know, until they know how much you care. Similarly, I would say, people don’t care what you do unless they know why you do it. Perhaps the best way to share that is through the eyes of an 8-year-old.