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Inspiring People

I’ve had the privilege of attending two inspirational events in the last week. Last week, it was the Women For Women Summit where Anita Zucker received the Woman of Courage award. Every engagement I’ve had with Anita has been inspirational. Her story is compelling, and she has incredible insights, but the authenticity of her as a person makes it resonate all the more.

And, to make it even better, Joanna Lau invited me to sit at her table with Anita, Mary Thornley, Katarina Fjording and Helen Hill. These women have had such a profound impact on the Charleston region. Yet, each is authentic and actively works to make the people around them better. What an inspirational lunch.

Then, yesterday, I was fortunate to get a seat at the VP Kamala Harris event. I’m not big on politics, but you have to take it when you get a chance like that. Years ago, when I was with the NCMEC, I had the chance to attend an event at Mar-a-Lago with Donald Trump and Marla Maples. It, too, was memorable. Neither experience disappointed.

VP Harris engaged with the audience, encouraged students to vote, and shared an overall encouraging tone that we need to work together. It was an inspirational message but in a different way. I didn’t get to interact with her in person. So, it was a different kind of inspiration than the Women for Women event. But I did get to interact with the students in the audience, to watch them wait several hours for the event to start. To see their reactions. They give me such hope for our future. I found them inspirational.

As I returned to the office, I pondered the differences in these inspirational experiences. It became evident that the person-to-person, authentic experience is the most inspirational. It impacts us more profoundly. You know I love quotes, and I love reading. They inspire me. But not in the same way a real person inspires. As Maya Angelou said:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

I’ve read that quote hundreds of times, but it was more apparent yesterday than ever. At the Charleston School of Business, we have the opportunity to do this every day. Sure, there are lectures to deliver, papers to grade, calls to make, emails to send, you know, the work we do every day. It is, after all, a job. But if we can slow down, take a moment to be authentic, show some empathy, and connect as human beings, that’s where we can be real inspirations.

I know you do this regularly, and you don’t always hear how you inspire. But, trust me, you do.

YOU make a difference.

Ponder this…