I recently wrote about an incident that occurred at a Marriott and my arranging for a ride to the airport. The driver in that story is a nice young man named Joseph. He was in a tough spot, his manager and the meeting planner made a change in plans that directly conflicted with the specific deal that he and I made to get me to the airport after my talk at the Marriott. He felt bad about the situation and was effusive in his apologies. I told him it was no big deal but suggested that he might have handled the situation a bit differently. He wanted to know what my suggestion was. The next 20 minutes we had an open discussion that effectively served as a high level workshop on Grounded. He was genuinely interested and asked a lot of good questions. He was respectful, but didn’t shy away from answering some more personal questions related to how I knew what I would ultimately become from a career standpoint.
He shared with me some key mentors growing up, particularly his dad and an uncle. Both were instrumental in instilling a hard working ethic and positive attitude. We talked about ongoing mentors and how to look for positions and opportunities that may not immediately seem to be the track we should take. I reviewed the Grounded In and Grounded By anchors. He soaked it all in and I felt that I had a one on one workshop with Joseph.
We got to the airport and I thought I had a $10 to give him as a tip, but I only had a $5. So I autographed a book, put the $5 in it and told him, “I only have a $5 but I am sure that you will get at least another $5 worth of wisdom from the book!” He thanked me and I made my flight on time. My exchange with Joseph tells me that there are many millennials out there who had a good solid upbringing and are starting off on a solid Grounded footing. But so many aren’t; perhaps they come from a broken home, had bad influences or even had relatives that told them over and over they will never amount to anything. People in that environment are justifiably more likely to not be Grounded. But each person has the capability to choose for themselves to BE Grounded, regardless of the state of their upbringing. It may be harder for that individual than it will be f
or Joseph, but both will have the same opportunities to make their lives rich and fulfilling, becoming as successful as their inherent talent will take them. Make a conscious decision to be Grounded …