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- July 20th, 2009
I have been contemplating the power that one person can wield simply by having faith in another. I’ve touched on this before, but I’ve been thinking about it a bit more in depth. By simply having faith in someone, we can give them the strength they need to go on. Or maybe we can give them the strength to take their performance to the “next level,” as they say. Or maybe we can give them enough hope to continue working on something. The“what” doesn’t matter as much as the act itself…the act of letting someone else know that you believe in them. I think it is one of the most powerful tools we have as human beings. An act of faith is an act of love. And like any act of love, the power runs both ways; it is returned to the giver a hundred times over.
I have proof. Let me tell you a story.
I met a man once who felt as if he had been wronged many times over in his career. He felt as if he were being undervalued by the organization. He felt as if he had been promised many things, with few deliveries. During the past several years, many people had the opportunity “to make things right,” in his opinion, but none of them did. None of them took the time to get to know him or what he did for the corporation. So, I did.
What happened next was fantastic. As I got to know him, he got to know me. As I got to understand what he did, he got to understand what I do. In the process, two people whom circumstances and history had automatically put at odds became partners. We became partners in his development, partners in his career, and partners in his future. It was a simple act, really, when I think about it, but it was an act of faith. I let him know I had faith in him, and that faith blossomed. When I look at him today, I can see the fruit of our efforts. Most importantly, I can see the irreversible damage that I did to his sense of entitlement, to his “victim” mentality. In his past, things happened TO him. For his future, things will happen BECAUSE of him. He understands his part of the process now.
All it took was a small act of faith.
I met a man once who felt as if he had been wronged many times over in his career. He felt as if he were being undervalued by the organization. He felt as if he had been promised many things, with few deliveries. During the past several years, many people had the opportunity “to make things right,” in his opinion, but none of them did. None of them took the time to get to know him or what he did for the corporation. So, I did.
What happened next was fantastic. As I got to know him, he got to know me. As I got to understand what he did, he got to understand what I do. In the process, two people whom circumstances and history had automatically put at odds became partners. We became partners in his development, partners in his career, and partners in his future. It was a simple act, really, when I think about it, but it was an act of faith. I let him know I had faith in him, and that faith blossomed. When I look at him today, I can see the fruit of our efforts. Most importantly, I can see the irreversible damage that I did to his sense of entitlement, to his “victim” mentality. In his past, things happened TO him. For his future, things will happen BECAUSE of him. He understands his part of the process now.
All it took was a small act of faith.
Illuminate Possibilities 