Where you are is not who you are.
Ursula’s mom preached these words to her daughter while raising her in a tough, drug-infested ghetto in New York City’s Lower East Side. She lectured Ursula about education and hard work being the way up and out of the ghetto.
Today Ursula Burns is CEO of Xerox Corporation, a career she started in 1980 as an intern after completing a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering. She became the first female African-American CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
What power did Ursula’s mom give her? The conviction that our circumstances do not define us …unless we let them.
We can apply this wisdom to any circumstance:
- What you did is not who you are. A mistake, an error, a bad decision does not define you. You have the power to learn a lesson and act differently going forward.
- What you said is not who you are. A misspoken word, a short temper, a negative moment does not define you. You have the power to apologize and speak differently going forward.
- What you are called is not who you are. Your title does not define you. You have the power to contribute and make a difference regardless of what your business card says.
Ursula’s mom taught Ursula to write a different story for herself instead of following the one dictated by her circumstances.
Are you and your team allowing circumstances to define you? Maybe it’s time to write a different story.