People come to me looking for help with their careers and businesses and I tell them if we are going to partner, they have to adhere to my three “golden rules”. Thou shalt not prejudge, compromise or assume.
Now that sounds simple enough, right? But how many times each day do we do that?
Many people prejudged Grace Groner and assumed a few things about her, including the folks at Lake Forest College in Illinois.
Since it’s been big news this week, you may have heard how sweet Grace gave the school a donation that will enable their students to pursue internships and study abroad. Grace was a lovely, unassuming basic senior citizen so perhaps you can imagine the surprise when the College received her donation. It was seven million dollars.
No one would have ever guessed in their wildest dreams.
In a Chicago Tribune report “Secret millionaire donates fortune to Lake Forest College”, I learned that at age of 12, “Amazing Grace,” as they papers are calling her, and her twin sister were left orphans. They were taken in by a local leading family who paid for them to attend Lake Forest College. She graduated in 1931, never married and worked as a secretary at Abbot Laboratories for 43 years.
As a child of the Depression, her friends described her as “exceptionally restrained with her money.” She shopped for clothing at rummage sales, walked instead of buying a car and lived in a one-bedroom house near the college. She only moved into the tiny, scantly furnished house because a friend willed it to her. It has a smaller living room than most people’s closets.
You might think she was a miserly old hag, but that’s not the case. She had plenty of friends. After retiring she traveled widely and would occasionally give anonymous donations to needy locals. She remained connected to the college all her life, attended football games and donated $180,000 to create the scholarship fund.
When she passed away this January at age 100, God bless her, she gave them her fortune. She made it off a $180 purchase of Abbott stock. Since 1935 she’d been reinvested the dividends and after all the years, it added up.
If you’re in a job search, I’m sure you’ve heard to the point of nausea that networking is key. You probably know that most people get the best leads and introductions once they get beyond their small circle of immediate friends and family.
The problem is we all have a tendency to prejudge, assume and compromise.
There is a little voice in our heads that says:
That person can’t help me…..
They wouldn’t know anyone……
They’re too old, too busy, too important, too removed, out of my industry, out of my life, blah, blah, blah.
This is when I get sick. See, this is the stuff that trips you up and makes any challenge harder than it needs to be.
Grace built her life on a foundation of values. She could have moved up given the very affluent area where she resided, but it wasn’t something that mattered to her. Because she needed so little, she probably had so much. You think she had too many worries. I’m sure her most valued wealth was her relationships and the love she shared with those around her. Even the house where she lived was given to the college for use by the students receiving her scholarships.
As you work your search, I challenge you to build your network based on real values not perceptions and assumptions. Consider what’s important to you in terms of respect, trust, integrity, honesty and perhaps even legacy. How do you want to be thought of and remembered by others?
Then let’s knock the challenge up a notch…… I challenge you to go out and meet 10 new people this week. (Ten a day if you’re highly motivated)… And Don’t Compromise. Lock in your number and make it happen. (If you get stuck, send me a post and I’ll “unstuck you” or as my clients tell me, I’ll get your ass in gear again with a not so gentle nudge).
Make a phone call. Go have coffee. Attend a meeting. Talk to folks. Learn more about them. Find out how you may be able to help them. (Their need could be something completely unrelated to you – which is why a diverse network is quite handy). Share you marketing plan and ask for their feedback.
Am I making you cringe? Is the challenge too much? Well think about it anyway. There are very few times in our lives where you reach a crossroads like a job hunt. Besides the worry and anxiety, it opens up options for you. You are given choices and the decision you make can take you a lot closer to where we really want to be. Life is full of surprises….. Surprise yourself with a whole new level of productivity, contacts, information, direction and maybe even a new friend or two. You’ll end the week feeling like a million… or maybe even seven million.
Share your thoughts with me.
