"It is the Puritan work ethic that has made us great as a
people."
- Jessi Butterfield
The Power of Combining with Others
I was driving home from my last appointment on Saturday night
when I received a call from my daughter in Brooklyn. Thank goodness for wireless headsets! The call lasted long past my drive time and
well into the evening. She had great
news to talk with me about. Her business
is continuing to grow.
"It is the Puritan work ethic that has made us great as a
people." She said. "The formula is
simple. You just work hard and pray a
lot and things go well. Just look how
far we've come since the Puritans and others came to live together in America."
Her comments caused my mind to think about the process she
was describing. People have indeed come
here from all across the world to succeed.
That same night this was demonstrated to me again as I
watched the VISA Championships with other members of my family. The gymnastics floor of the US Championships
was covered with coaches from all over the globe as they added their expertise
to the best American Gymnasts who were competing for a spot on Team USA so they
could contend in the World Championships. One of my other daughters commented, "It's like we've taken people from
all over the globe and put them in a big blender to produce a super-charged elixir
of success!"
Mother Teresa once said something like this, "You can do
things I can't do. I can do things you
can't do. If we work together, we can
accomplish a lot." It's the combination
that makes all the difference.
One of the most important things you can do for yourself,
and all of us, is to surround yourself with others who can compliment your
talents; people that can help be helped by the addition of your capacity. Doing so will make you, and the people you
work with, greater than simply adding by ones. You may say that I don't understand the math. But, I say in this one case one plus one
doesn't add up to two. The combination
of knowledge, experience, love, desire and faith create infinite possibility.
Look for the opportunity to give of yourself today. If you will, you will begin to see how a "new
math" will change your life along with the world.