Terrific Tuesday – it is terrific to know how to use the talents of others.
Each Terrific Tuesday throughout the month of November has been dedicated to discussions of elections past and present. Our first Terrific Tuesday of November urged everyone, no matter who their candidate of choice, to vote. Then we looked at discussing election results respectfully. Last week we looked at the Bush/Gore race of 2000. Today, the final Terrific Tuesday of November is about one of John Kerry’s political rallies in Philadelphia with President Bill Clinton in attendance.
When the teenie bopper was eight years old and my son, the golden one, was just over eighteen months old, John Kerry was running for president against the incumbant, George W. Bush. At one point in the election cycle John Kerry came to Philadelphia and had a rally on the Parkway near the famous Philadelphia Museum of Art. My husband Darren thought it would be a good educational experience to take her out of second grade for the day to see a former president and a presidential hopeful on stage together. The crowd was tremendous. We stood five blocks from stage and the crowd before us, behind us and around us continued to grow and to swell.
The incredible thing about the rally for me, was President Bill Clinton’s arrival on stage. When President Clinton walked onto the stage, the entire crowd pushed forward. People standing back with me, five blocks from the action pushed forward as if they could reach out and touch him. It was a surreal experience. I had heard the stories about his charisma and appeal and did not pay that much attention to them. However, there in the crowd, five blocks from the stage, the crowd around me surged forward, people wanted to get close to him, to touch him to see him in an up close and personal way. It was an electifying and exciting in a way I had never experienced before nor since.
What I learned that day, in a real way, is that you need to know how to use people around you who want to help you. If you have a friend or co-worker with a strength you need, in Kerry’s case personality, allow that friend to help you. I have another friend who owns his own business and every friend he has engaged to help him operate the business has left and many have stopped being his friend because he does not know how to use the talent of his friends for his benefit. He has friends with skills he does not possess, but needs, however instead of using the help his friends offer, he acts to diminish their skills and downplay their contributions as insignificant. As a result, four years into running a can’t lose business, he is always on the verge of extinction.
A person should always know her place in the universe. By that I mean, you should know what talents and gifts you possess. When a situation calls for a talent or gift you do not possess, do not be upset that a friend possesses what you need. Instead engage that friend and find out how her talents and gifts can be used to your benefit. Once a friend has given you the benefit of her gifts and talents, thank her, be appreciative and keep moving towards the next step in reaching your goals.
John Kerry used President Bill Clinton’s charm and charisma in an attempt to become President of the United States. So, the question for you this Terrific Tuesday is what gifts and talents do you have that can benefit your circle of friends?
That is high praise coming from you PowerMommy! A great team keeps you from being a jack of all trades and a master of none!!!
I remember that song from 5th grade! Thanks for bringing back a good memory. I am so blessed to be surrounded by wonderfully talented people who help and encourage me. It makes me want to thelp and encourage others.
This is one of the best posts I have read this week. I always say to staff your weaknesses. Behind every successful woman is a dynamic team.
Great post & a timely reminder to draw & rely on the gifts & talents of others. No man is an island unto himself, we all need each other. Thanks for sharing!
It is like the saying, you can tell who a peson is by looking at who her friends are. If you are secure in your own power and ability to achieve, you surround yourself with winners. That is why Io like to hang with you.
My success is widely attributed to the amazing folks who support me and make me look better! I make sure my team is always more brilliant than me. It boosts me up!
You would get along well with my husband. He follows politics the way fans follow sports. The children have picked that up from him.
I LOVE POLITICS! I so agree that we have to be able to cheer for others!
The ability to cheer for others and to help them reach their goals is an amazing gift. I hope you always realize what a wonderful treasure it is, nurture it and that your gift continues to grow.
Only within the last few years have I discovered my talent. It is the ability to encouage and support others. People even strangers feel comfortable talking to me and tellling me about their goals. I am always the cheer leader telling others you can do it.
I have not heard of that book before, but I am going to look for it to read. Thanks for sharing a resource you found helpful.
I completely agree!!! And I truly believe that if more managers/jobs in corporate America adopted this way of thinking, there would be a LOT more happy workers! It reminds me of a book called Strength Finders in which an old Director of mine had gotten for each of us. She was one of few managers who understood this very important detail in running a business.
Yes! I know a lot, but there is a lot I don’t know and I so love meeting people who are strong where I am week and can make me better!
Aja, you are absolutely right, this is an area where knowledge comes with time and experience.
I am definitely learning to appreciate the gifts and talents of others and surrounding myself with people who posses gifts/talents that I don’t in order to inspire and push me to be a better me 🙂
I am a writer, and have used that skill to help friends. It is a hard lesson to learn sometimes, especially first starting a business, that although it might save money in the short term, you may not have the knowledge or talent to do everything yourself. It takes truly knowing when to do it yourself and when to get the help of someone else to be successful.
Thanks for stopping by! You are right about PammyPam’s comment. The two of you are reminding me of that saying, “Team work makes the dream work.”
I love PammyPam’s comment! I can attest to that theory being true from my previous time in corporate America! Great post on this topic!
Pam you are so right. It is great to have a team around to help you. It also is less tiring if you do not have to know everything!
i have a similar theory: a good manager doesnt have to know everything. she just has to know how to have the people around her who know the things she doesn’t.