I was talking with my husband this morning and he was telling me that he got a call yesterday in regards to a woman he worked with several years ago. The caller wanted his opinion concerning hiring a woman for employment. My husband was very enthusiastic with this person and told the caller, “ Yes, hire her immediately and offer her a great package, she is fantastic at her job!” Just listening to my husband talk so positively about someone he worked with and then opening doors for her was awe inspiring! How many people would do this for you? How many people would give a glowing recommendation or introduce you to people who could help you reach your goal?
My dad was a public school superintendent. His greatest joys were watching other people succeed. He was first in class because he made others first in class. He spent evenings writing personalized letters for students to admission departments to encourage acceptance. He did it for nieces and nephews, friends and acquaintances. My dad always found the magic ingredient in students. They did not have to be number one in a graduating class to receive his nod of approval. He discovered what made them tick and he was able to turn them into winners. In fact they all became winners, in some way, in life. He never worried about how helping others affected his own stance in his career, but rather in how his impact lifted others to their own success.
So how many people would do this for you? Our society is drifting away from the power of the human connection. We connect online but we are dehumanizing society. Depression, despair, and hopelessness are the face of today’s America. We can change that. If every person vowed to speak on some one else’s behalf everyday, a new vibe would ensue. Lifting others to success does not take another’s success away. In fact it builds a foundation for success. When a person takes a part in building another, their power is illuminated.
The haunting question is what stops people from endorsing another? Is it fear the other person will become too successful? Is it fear it may hurt their own careers? Is it jealousy? Whatever the reason, there is not a good one. It is always possible to find someone’s magic. To refuse to help another only speaks to the refuser. There is no better day than today, to open a door for another, to make an introduction, to write a letter, or to endorse another person in their school journey or in their career. You never know, it maybe you who introduces a game changer. The world certainly needs more visionaries.
Maybe today, you can take a minute and look at your human connections. Find their magic. Give them your nod of approval…enthusiastically. Watch another human being capture their dream. It is not less for you, but more. The more you give, the more others give. If you have the power to help another, it comes back to you many times. Always be the person clapping for another’s success…you may have played a part in it.
Originally published at medium.com