We don't know about ourselves what we need to know about ourselves.

FOCUS ON THE MIRROR

The face you see least is your own.

"A man’s environment is a merciless mirror of him as a human being." ~ Earl Nightingale

This was one of my weakest areas in my early years on the front lines. I don’t mean a little weak. I mean extremely weak.

I should have been fired many times, but I wasn’t. They probably kept me on the team because I was one of the most productive team members in the entire plant. I loved making process improvements and keeping the machines running. But, I’m not happy to tell you I had too much pride and ego in my twenties and thought I was better than everyone else.

I complained all the time about those who weren’t "pulling their weight." I should have been helping them instead of blaming them. But, I needed help myself. It took me two or three years on the front end to figure this one out.

I don’t get a do over. I wish I did. But, I hope I can help others struggling to realize they have blind spots too.

We all have blind spots. And believe it or not, the biggest blind spot we all have can be found in the same place. Where is it? It's always between us and the mirror. The face we see least is truly our own.

We don't know about ourselves what we need to know about ourselves. Think about that for a moment and consider the impact it has on your life and your results. Think about the story I shared in the last chapter about the unhappy woman. She had a blind spot, and it was making her miserable. For many years, she was the problem and didn’t even know it. We all have the same problem: ourselves. I am my problem. YOU are your problem.

She tried changing the easy thing, her place of employment. But, she was still miserable. So, what did she do? The same exact thing. She changed her place of employment again. She was doing what we all tend to do, changing what was easy to change. Although I’m sure if you could ask her, she would say it didn’t seem too easy at the time. However, things didn’t change for the better until she changed herself.

You must change what needs to be changed, not what is easy to change.

I’m also sure if you could ask her today she would say changing herself was, and continues to be, much harder than changing her work address.

Unfortunately, we don't see ourselves as others see us. We don't see ourselves as we are. If we did, most of us would immediately start making changes to address those things on the inside that are holding us back on the outside.

What people see you do, along with what they feel because of what you've done or are doing, ultimately determines the level of influence you have with them. When it comes to work, your influence determines what type of work you do, who you work with, where you work, when you work, and how much you get paid to work. Who you are matters.

Your level of influence with others will determine who you attract (personally and professionally), what they trust you to do with them or for them, when and if they want to associate with you for mutual benefit, and most importantly when and if they want to help you. Who you are matters.

Let's say, I'm a material handler in a manufacturing operation. I'm driving the forklift bringing and taking away materials to your work area. I have a boss (my #1 customer), and you have a boss (your #1 customer). Your #1 customer is also my customer, my #1 customer is also your customer. We are also each other's customer. And when we do business together, those watching are potential customers and definitely word of mouth advertisers. They will either say positive or negative things about us based on what they see and feel as we interact with each other.

Here's the scenario: I've just pulled into your work area to take away something I think is ready to go. When I arrive, I see you're not ready for me just yet and could use some assistance. Do I get off my forklift and help you because I understand you're my customer and everyone is watching? Or, do I think to myself, "It's not my job."

One choice will build trust with my customers. One choice will create distrust with my customers. More trust equals more influence. Less trust equals less influence.

In this scenario, the material handler choosing to get off the forklift to assist the customer will be praised and talked about positively. The material handler choosing to sit impatiently on the forklift and wait for their customer to complete the tasks alone will not be praised and will receive negative word of mouth advertisement from those watching.

Do you think these choices will impact production, morale, relationships, people’s opinions of you, etc.? Do you think one choice is more likely to lead to promotions, recognition, and appreciation? Do you think one choice is more likely to lead to ridicule, blaming, and finger pointing?

I could write thousands of examples for anyone in any industry. You are not exempt. Every day, you are either getting it right or getting it wrong. You are either building trust or creating distrust with each of your customers. You are either moving forward or backward as a result. In either case, it's not their fault. It's your fault. We can choose our actions but not the consequences that come from our actions. All of our choices matter.

If you're not advancing as quickly as you think you should be, what are you not doing that you should be doing?

Our problem is not out the window (others). It's in the mirror (self), we just have trouble seeing it.

"The moment you take responsibility for everything in your life is the moment you can change anything in your life." ~ Hal Elrod

FREE downloads available:

Click here to access the first 5 chapters of “Blue-Collar Leadership: Leading from the Front Lines.”

·      Ch. 1: I’m one of you.

·      Ch.2: I believe in you.

·      Ch.3: You’re in the perfect place.

·      Ch. 4: Common sense is never enough.

·      Ch.5: There is an “I” in Team.

Click here now for a FREE download of the entire leadership principle-packed Chapter 11, "Get Out of the Way and Lead" from the first book in my Demystifying Leadership Series: Defining Influence. In this nearly 20 page chapter, I share about:

·      Managing vs Leading

·      Scarcity vs Abundance

·      Formal Authority vs Moral Authority

·      The 5 Types of Leaders

·      Compare/Contrast 17 Manager vs Leader Perspectives

Note: I encourage you to be a river, not a reservoir. Please share my blogs with others if you find value in them. I believe in abundance and write them to help others become more effective, successful, and significant.

Make an impact!

Mack Story

My passion is to help you live with abundance, achieve success, choose significance, and leave a legacy. In other words, I want to help you make a      High Impact !