Jeff Heggie Daily Success Strategies Podcast
065: Act Well Thy Part
What roles do you have in your life?
Father, husband, mother, wife, son, daughter, boss, employee, coach…
The list goes on and one for every one of us.
How well are you doing in those roles?
Today I talked about a story from Hyrum W. Smith’s book, “What Matters Most – The Power of Living Your Values.”
Hyrum shared the following story:
Let me return to my theatrical metaphor to recount the experience of David O. McKay, a great spiritual leader and teacher who was a source of inspiration to me in my formative years. In the early years of the twentieth century David McKay found himself in Stirling, Scotland, one of the ancient seats of the Scottish kings. He was far from home, working among people who did not care about the things he was trying to teach them. He was cold, hungry, and discouraged, ready to give up. Walking down an old street of the town, he looked up to see an inscription carved in stone above a doorway: “What e’er thou art, act well thy part.”
More than six decades later, after he had become a major spiritual and moral leader and near the end of a long life of service, I heard this man speak of his experience in Scotland. He talked about the abrupt change in perspective that the inscription over the doorway had given him at a critical time in his life. He had never thought that he was filling a role in his life. Something deep inside him responded to the admonition of the inscription, and reading it proved to be a turning point. It inspired him to do his utmost to accomplish his work in Scotland, and it continued to inspire him through a lifetime of service to others.
Make a list of all the roles that you have and ask yourself how well you are performing in that role. Could you do better? Will you?
Leave a comment and let me know what you think!
Jeff
