When we focus beyond ourselves everyone involved benefits.
Potential needs to be nurtured
When I started Kindergarten in the Netherlands, my teacher believed in my potential. With a November birthday I had a late start. However, that did not stop her. She thought that with a little help from my mom I could catch up and skip ahead a grade. I benefited greatly because mom spent the time to teach me to read and do basic math. Consequently, I skipped first grade making me the youngest in my grade from then on out. Being the youngest was fun but being appropriately challenged and not bored was priceless. Thanks mom!
In college, while attending Santa Clara University, a math professor invested in me. He saw that I could do well enough with a little extra attention. So, Professor Dave Logothetti challenged me to dig deeper and I passed Calculus I and Trigonometry - prerequisites for my business degree. Thanks Dave!
When I was a public relations coordinator, my boss John Tsantes recognized my potential and urged me to grow in my profession. As a vice president in our high-tech agency, he spent hours explaining PC boards, semiconductors, and CAD so that I could write white papers and press releases for my clients. He coached me so that I could represent my clients well in conversations with editors of EDN and such magazines. Thanks John!
When I started pursuing writing, David Kopp challenged me to work to develop the craft. The list goes on. There are many others who decided to invest in me. Thanks everyone!
My turn to pass it on
A key component of Semper Vita's mission involves investing in people. Our training entails bringing out the best in people. We focus on investing in strengths, releasing potential and maximizing personality types.
Today, I get to put that training to work. I'm investing in a group of people who want to grow their potential and maximize how they function as a team. It will be great fun.
How can you invest in someone else? How can you encourage, inspire or challenge someone to be all that they can be? It's just one more way that we can volunteer our gifts and skills to extend Christmas. Who will you invest in today?
