A couple of days ago a friend said something to me that made me sit up mentally. It relates to an insight I already knew. But it’s easy enough to lose track of this aha. I want to share it with you about how to point our the Brilliance in the people.
Through networking, I had met an inspirational and influential person. He is a serial entrepreneur pursuing big goals. No challenge is too big for him. His visions are all about positive impact. I love it!
As we got to know each other I shared with him my “Declaration of Brilliance”. We talked about how to scale what he’s doing. We discussed how we can build training systems based on the brilliance he and other people in his organization have.
Since that meeting, he has invited me to take part in several big projects. We have formed a great relationship, and we are up to great things. We’re going to build training portals for socially and economically disadvantaged business owners. Added to the online training are personal coaching and mentoring, and result tracking.
His Remark Struck Me
After debriefing a meeting we had with a potential sponsor, he made a remark to me that struck me.
“You’re on my team because you tell people how brilliant they are.”
“Brilliance” is the term I use to describe the unique combination of expertise, experience, and wisdom all people have. Each person’s brilliance is unique since our lives are unique. All people are brilliant with their own unique flavor. All people have brilliance to share. All have the power to create an impact with their brilliance.
Dr. Stephie Althouse
He said nothing else. He didn’t say “because you are so smart” (although he often calls me “Doc”). He didn’t say “You are on my team because your system is so much better than somebody else’s” – although, hopefully, that is also the case.
I’m reminded of a quote by Maya Angelou:
“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.”
Maya Angelou, American poet, author, and civil rights activist (1928–2014)
How much we know, how smart we are, what amazing capabilities we have; all of that does matter. Yet, it is not even second to how we make the people we encounter feel about themselves.
That is an amazing insight to remember. I share that with you because in our efforts to grow our businesses we often tend to point to the things we’re great at.
As it turns out it is even more important to look for and point out the brilliance in the people we speak with. Often, people are surprised. They do not see themselves as being brilliant. To me, it feels good to help someone see their own brilliance and greatness.
I invite you to look for brilliance in other people. They have brilliance I promise. It feels good to do this. And as it turns out, it is also one of the most attractive and magnetic things a person can do.
P.S.: Please like me on Facebook. Find me on LinkedIn as well. And I appreciate you sharing this with others. Thank you!
