The Benefit of Obama - Be Your Best Self
The inauguration of Barack Obama is inspirational - not simply because we have elected the first African-American as President, but because he challenges us to be our best self.
Despite his increasing celebrity status, Barack Obama is just a man. But what makes him appear to be different from most is that he is smart, ethical, committed to greatness, clear in his vision, and selfless. It may seem extraordinary to see all these qualities in one person, but these are qualities we are all capable of…if we choose to develop them. These are the qualities that can help raise each of us to greatness. Mr. Obama appears unique because he has chosen to be his best self, when in fact, we are all capable of rising to our best. His inauguration now challenges us to step up and do the same.
The election of Mr. Obama also indicates that Americans are beginning to understand that we must value a person for who the person is, and not base decisions or value on gender, race, ethnicity or any other bias. Our external does not define our internal - and the internal is where we see and develop our greatest value. All of us have the ability to be extraordinary - to get smart, focus on being our best and to make a difference in our world. We sometimes need a role model to remind us that we must own our lives and our responses - and these responses need to be more substantial. We each have the ability and the responsibility to develop into our very best.
Despite his greatness, there is a concern is that we may make more of Mr. Obama than he is; though an extraordinary person, committed to personal excellence and to inspiring others to be great, he is a man…human - not superhuman. He will both succeed and fail; that comes with our humanity. So to help him succeed, he will need all of us to step up and become more involved and greater independent thinkers. He will require all of us to work with each other to address challenges, eliminate biases and work to improve the quality of life for Americans. He will need us to roll up our sleeves, be committed, stay in school, study and think. He will need us to be innovative, responsive and creative. He will need us to listen to each other, offer ideas and stay focused on improving ourselves and our world. And in return, he will be true leader - one who will help us become our best selves.
As we see this new moment in history unfold, remember it because we were able to unseat old and unproductive biases allowing us to elect a bold and inspiring leader, who also happens to be African-American. In today’s challenging world, I am pleased that our next leader will be a role model of purpose, clarity, innovation and optimism. I am pleased that he challenges us and demands us to be our best. Great if he is also African-American.
Jay Forte is a powerful performance speaker, consultant, author and founder of Humanetrics, LLC. He works with managers who want to be more successful in activating and inspiring exceptional employee performance, to significantly drive customer loyalty and improve company profitability. Jay, a CPA/financial executive turned educator, turned consultant, is renowned for producing significant results. He is a highly engaging speaker and his new book “Fire Up Your Employees and Smoke Your Competition; How to Invite, Incite and Ignite Employee Performance” is due out in January 2009. For information on keynotes, seminars and consulting, or to see the daily “BLOGucation,” visit: http://www.humanetricsllc.com, his new site http://www.fireupyouremployees.com or call: 401-338-3505.