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“I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life… It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it.” ~ Steve Jobs – From his speech at Stanford University, 2005
Who are the very few people who have made the biggest differences in your life?
Did you dislike the hand-up they gave you at the time, but accepted it anyway, only to realize its amazing value years later?
Did they give you a hand-up, a hand-out or give you some “awful tasting medicine” so you could wake up and begin rebuilding an even better holistic, purpose-driven life?
What are the key differences between hand-ups and hand-outs?
- Hand-ups come with work clothes; not hand-outs.
- Hand-ups come with loving expectations from the givers; not hand-outs.
- Hand-ups come with unexplainable levels of confidence in you; not hand-outs.
- Hand-ups come with tough-love; not hand-outs.
- Hand-ups come with genuine appreciation for who you are; not hand-outs.
I worked on the homeless initiatives for the city of Denver with the mayor’s staff. When the mayor became governor, I received the privilege to work on the state of Colorado’s homeless initiatives. Differentiating between hand-ups and hand-outs is critical in creating sustainable solutions for the homeless. The differences are also critical for developing sustainable success that enables you to reach the pinnacle of your potential professionally, personally and in the community.
Although homelessness is a relatively straight-forward example for differentiating hand-ups from hand-outs, the same core-principles apply to nearly all other challenges in your life.
- Find people that love you enough to let you fail, but give you enough help to enable you to succeed.
- Find people who help you holistically; that is, professionally, personally and in your communities.
- Find people who appreciate you so much, they’ll actually put your interests ahead of their own.
We travel uniquely special journeys through life. Sometimes we are giving hand-ups while other time we’re getting hand-ups.
I believe the most special hand-ups I’ve given, have come at the darkest, toughest times in my life where I didn’t have much to give, but gave anyway, while smiling and expecting absolutely nothing in return.
Giving out of your “excess supply of resources” is a hand-out, not a hand-up. Giving from your heart, finite time or limited resources while getting engaged in the unconditional success of the other person, that’s where leadership growth takes place.
If you want to be a holistic impact player in the game of life, giving is the only currency accepted!
Who changes the world? I believe it’s almost exclusively the Top-7%. They are the only ones with the Talent Portfolios and social consciences needed to actually implement significant positive social impact.
If you believe you’re one of these executives, we’d love to explore possible opportunities.
Get MAD! – Get Making A Difference! ~ JR
