By Rick Melmer – Leadership Coach
All of us could use some inspiration from time to time. I recently read the book On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life. The author is John O’ Leary and he tells the story of a fire that burned him from head to toe. At the age of 9, John’s diagnosis was grim with very few health professionals believing that he would survive. After a long recovery, he did survive with the support of a loving family, friends and hospital staff.
John shared the story of his first night back in his home after being hospitalized for five months. His mother fixed his favorite meal and he was looking forward to enjoying it. The problem was that all of his fingers were amputated above the bottom knuckle. His hands were still covered in heavy gauze and he was unable to eat. One of his sisters was about to start feeding him when John’s mother stopped her and told John that he would need to feed himself. As you can imagine, John was upset. Hadn’t he gone through enough and now his mother was expecting him to feed himself? After realizing that his mother was serious and no help would be found, John decided to “pick up his fork” and eat his meal. It was difficult and he had to use both of this hands to manage the fork and consume the meal.
In life, all of us have encountered a “pick up your fork” moment. Are you having one of those moments today? Maybe you are discouraged and know you need to make one more sales call. Do you need to tell a staff member that things just aren’t working out and a change is necessary? Or could it be that you’ve forgotten why you chose your current career path and need a reminder? No matter what the circumstances, the right answer is to “pick up your fork” and take care of the situation. Make the call, schedule the appointment, share the news or seek the counsel of others who can help you. Once you’ve determined the action, the next step is to “pick up your fork” and make it happen. Good luck!