This is a tale of two men. One is the CEO of a major global corporation. One is a company courier who has delivered the newspaper to the CEO for many years. One man travels the world and has shoulders broad enough to carry the weight of heavy responsibility. One man travels the corridors of the corporate headquarters. On the surface their lives have little in common; one is highly visible, larger than life, while the other lives a life of simplicity and virtual invisibility. But, there is more than one kind of invisibility.
The first type of invisibility is the type that would lead individuals to think that they aren't important in the total scheme of things. It leads all of us to question our individual worth at one time or another. It makes us wonder if anyone notices or cares about us. It is a perceived lack of relationship or connection. It is the possible invisibility of the individual.
The second type of is invisibility of separation. It is the invisibility between what a person says they are and the way they act. It is also the lack of barrier between people; the integrity of conviction.
In this tale it would be easy see potential barriers between the two men, to believe in the invisibility of one individual. But, in this case it would be wrong!
The Courier had delivered the newspaper to the CEO for these many years in a quiet and unassuming way and when he reached an age of greater than seventy years he decided to retire. So, the company planned a retirement party for him and invited everyone to come; including the busy CEO. Who, I suspect, most didn't expect to come. But, come he did!
And, when my friend Jeff Barton had the chance to talk with the CEO at the celebration, he said, "It's kind of you to come." To which the CEO replied, "It's not kind, it's who I am!"
So, I wonder who you and I are. Are we the kind of people who live a life of invisibility or are we the kind of people who live a life of invisibility?
Do we think that we don't matter? Do we think that what we say and do doesn't matter? If your answer is yes, then reflect on this tale again and again until you make the determination to be sure that you have this same integrity of conviction; the desire to remove all barriers between you and others as well as between what you say and what you do. When you do, you'll discover your own greatness as well as your ability to make a great difference in the world. So, will you please join me in becoming more invisible today?