First Person: Are You Legendary or Ordinary?

I have been thinking about my legacy recently and how I want to remembered. My goal for as long as I can recall has been to enhance the lives of those I come in contact with. I just believe that people should be able to take away something positive after an interaction with me instead of recalling how horrible I've been to them. One of my girlfriends said something to me some years ago that I can't seem to shake. She said, "Ericka, you can't change the world and you can't help everybody". Well, she was partially right. Regardless of what you see me wearing on the outside, there is a red cape that I wear internally. My internal Superwoman knows that she can't change the world alone, so she tries to help when she can. She especially helps those who want to be helped and takes great pleasure in doing so. As a leader, I want to leave a positive impression and be known as someone who helped others achieve greatness. I know that I can accomplish this with passion, purpose, and persistence. I never want to settle for ordinary when the alternative is legendary.

Passion will take you places that you've never imagined. The enthusiasm combined with the compelling feelings that I have about career and success create something in me that I'm not familiar with. There is something internal about passion that motivates, inspires, and sometimes keeps me awake at night. I am realizing that as I pursue my passion, that I despise anything and everything that resembles average. My passion is taking me to unimaginable heights and if you're not sure of what your passion is in terms of career, it's worth it to find out. Identifying my passion has been life changing for me and I am truly committed to my passion.

My purpose could very well be to help others and if so, I'm on the right track. I realized some years ago that as people interview for jobs, they don't achieve career success because they can't do the job. Some of them simply don't know how to interview, which is disturbing for me. I went to dinner last night with a friend and we both agreed that our waitress was probably in college. There was only way to find out, so I asked her. My friend and I introduced ourselves, and then complimented her on doing such a wonderful job. I felt compelled to help this young lady so I gave her a business card and asked her to email her resume to me. I also told her that I would help her prepare for an interview free of charge! She was not only surprised, she was also very appreciative. Passion and purpose not only make me successful, it also allows me to help others succeed.

Persistence allows me to keep going, despite unexpected obstacles and adversity. I have the gift of exhortation and encouraging comes natural to me. I enjoy sharing a positive perspective and bringing out the best in those around me. As a leader, one of my strongest skills was coaching. If you don't have anyone around you who cares enough to coach you to success, I would suggest finding someone sooner than later. You could very well be settling for ordinary when legendary is closer than you think. If I truly want to be legendary, I have to turn defeat into victory and cultivate additional winners along the way. You too can be legendary, but you must first decide that ordinary isn't an option and there is enough room for all of us to be legendary.

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