Change Your View, Change Your Life

I’m a big believer that when your view changes, your life does too!

Consider this experience from Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown of Slidell, Louisiana he shared with me via e-mail. He enthusiastically gave me permission to share it:

“True story, happened last month. Was waiting for a visitor to come through the airport terminal. While waiting, a man in a janitor’s uniform stopped near where I was sitting along with his janitor type cart.

He was there to pick up the trash from the trash can. He carefully removed the trash bag, tied it tightly and placed it on his cart. He then sprayed the trash can, wiped it dry making certain to leave no streak marks on the stainless steel can. He then placed a new trash bag in the can making sure the seal round the top was tight so the bag would not slip into the canister. That was not enough, he then loosened one side of the bag to force the air from between the bag and the canister out so as to avoid creating an air balloon inside the canister. He then replaced the top to the canister, took a couple of steps back to observe his work. I said to him, “Good job! Does anyone beside me ever comment on your work?” He said “No but thanks for noticing.” He went about his business and I mine. Was he a professional? In my eyes he was.”

I was touched by Jim’s story. Jim, who received an Advanced Readers Copy of The Power of Professionalism, had recognized the great care and pride the man took in his work. He recognized he was in the presence of a professional — despite the fact that the man’s collar wasn’t white and he didn’t have a number of envious letters after his name. Even through this very brief encounter, the man earned Jim’s respect. The man’s work, while arguably less sophisticated than most, had met the standards professionals held themselves to. Respect is nearly always one of the top one or two values that groups identify that they expect within their organization. Yet respect can be pretty hard to come by when people, by default, exclude others people from being ‘in the professional club’ because of the nature of their work. As we advocate in The Power of Professionalism it isn’t what you do, but how you do it that determines whether you’re a professional or not. Change your view, change your life.

Next week’s post will highlight someone’s changed view — not of a stranger — but of their very own father.