Quotes of the Week from Me:

“Comprehension is key. If you say more but others hear and understand less, the communication is likely irrelevant and unhelpful.”

“The internet is so real and so fake, it is very easy to get lost in the illusions.”

“Who do you trust most?”

Quotes of the Week from Others:

“Life is like playing a violin solo in public and learning the instrument as one goes on.”

– Samuel Butler

“You have to believe in yourself when no one else does.” – Serena Williams

“If you do what interests you, at least one person is pleased.” – Katharine Hepburn

Quick Optimism:

If I see you working out, I am rooting for you 100%. It doesn’t matter what you are wearing or what shape you are currently in.

Big, small, slow, fast, new clothes, old clothes, or some combination of these, I am rooting for you and others should be too!

Question of the Week:

Is your doorstep clean?

What a wild week. Call it poor time management or too much going on or both. I couldn’t seem to find the time to get this week’s question out early this Monday! Thank you for your patience, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

The ancient Greeks said, “If your doorstep is clean, then your city will be clean.” Mother Teresa said, “If each of us would only sweep our doorstep, the whole world would be clean.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said, “Let everyone sweep in front of his own door, and the whole world will be clean.”

These quotes touch on some important themes that I have definitely talked about before. Accountability and ownership; we should take pride in maintaining high levels of both. There is also no comparison. If you can commit to maintaining your doorstep, your work is done and others will follow. That’s the idea anyway.

This past week I had another great experience while presenting to some student-athletes. We discussed career preparation, how to make the most of their undergraduate education, and the transitions to and from campus as they utilize the resources available for their journey.

Two things stood out to me. Each student-athlete would stand when they had a question, and stay standing until it was answered. They were owning their thoughts and buying into the conversation to learn about my version of the answers.

It is the only group I meet with at work that consistently does this. It initiates a conversation between the presenter, me, and the audience member. We were able to identify important questions for the group as a whole and for the student asking the question specifically. It also promotes public speaking skills and owning the question being asked. No hiding.

I am not sure why I correlate these experiences to things like British war ships from the 18^th century. It’s probably because of the book I am reading right now.

It is called The Wager, by David Grann. It follows man-of-war ships from the mid-to-late 1700’s ultimately focusing on the shipwreck of the Wager on the western coast of Patagonia. Like with most ships, there is a captain, as well as a hierarchy that descends deep into the hull of the ship, where the lowest ranking crew members sleep amongst the cargo and waste.

However, no matter how low the rank, the captain will rarely accomplish his mission without full commitment and execution from the entire crew. Whether fighting for your life on the open seas or discussing the unknowns of undergraduate life, a lot of the journey is unknown but manageable through cleaning your own doorstep while committing to the larger team you are a part of.

Clean your doorstep this Monday.