How’s it going,
Ladies and Gentlemen?
Welcome back to
Graceland Ontario, your one stop location for learning
lessons from the greats. Today, I’m going to be talking about “doing the little
things” − you’d be surprised at how big they really are.
So, as you may
be aware, today is St. David’s Day, named after the patron saint of Wales. But even if you aren’t Welsh, there’s
always a thing or two you can pick up from a saint (I don’t know about you − I
think anyone who earns that title’s been very successful!)
We know a
couple things about St. David: one, he existed; two, he lived about 1500 years
ago; and three, he spread Christianity amongst the pagan tribes in old Wales. He gave St. David’s, the place of his
shrine, such a reputation that four visits there were considered equal to two
trips to Rome or one to Jerusalem. That’s what I call creating a brand!
St. David
advocated a hard life for his monks; he believed in drinking just water and
would only allow his monks the benefit of milk on top of this. He was against
eating meat and believed that monks should pull their own plough in place of
animals.
But he will
always be remembered most for a quote from his last sermon "do the little
things, the small things you've seen me doing".
Powerful, huh?
And as timely
in modern business and our current world as it was in the ancient one. When you
embark on your journey in life, whether it be in an artistic stream, leading a company
or rising through the corporate steel mill, not everything you do will be
noted. Sometimes, your greatest achievements will be looked over. And it can be
easy to be disheartened and say “screw this! I don’t have to work this hard if
it’s never going to amount to anything!”
You stop doing
“the little things” and just expect that you’ll rise to the occasion when it
comes along. But, as Tony Robbins says, “people are rewarded in public for
what they practice for years
in private”. You need to work hard at home, in your office, wherever, even if no
one’s watching. Your little rituals − brushing your teeth, answering emails in
a timely fashion, being nice and friendly to coworkers and friends − all come
back to aid you when you do well. And destroy you when you don’t.
Would
you give your money to someone you didn’t trust? Didn’t think so. To succeed in
business and life, people need to believe in you as a reliable and responsible
person. You don’t get that kind of reputation (or ability to live up to one)
over night. You need to consistently
practice being at your best to achieve that, even if your boss isn’t over your
shoulder or you’re up for review the day after next. Those who keep doing “the
little things” are the ones who achieve the big things in the end. Why? Because
they earned it, one small action at a time.
Have
a great St. David’s Day, remember the old fella’s advice and talk to you soon!
Alex
H.
Thanks to the BBC for the information on St. David. You
can check out more on the Welsh legend here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/saints/david_1.shtml
If you’re
interested in this post, you might also like these other Graceland Ontario
updates:
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