“What was the biggest secret to your successes?”

“Well, that is a good question.  And I have the answer for you.”

The young college student waited patiently with excitement.  He had an opportunity of a lifetime.  He was interviewing one of the most successful business people of all time.  Eleanor had grown up in poverty, and went on to build one of the largest technology companies in history.  He now had been given a ten minute interview before her speech at his university.

“The answer is to ignore labels.”

“What does that mean?”

“Throughout my life, people tried to place labels on me.  ‘You are just a little girl, you cannot go to college.  You have a small business, etc.’   I have learned to ignore the labels that people attempt to put on me, as well as not putting labels on myself.”

“I see.”

“Human nature is to classify and label things.  We do this with everything in our environment – and we do it with people, including ourselves.  How many times have you heard someone say, ‘I am a’  and then they complete the sentence with lawyer, doctor, etc.?   When we classify ourselves, we are setting limits.

Years ago, I went to a bank to ask for a loan to fund the idea behind our flagship product.  The product that catapulted my company to the size it is today.  Do you know what the banker said to me?”

“No, what?”

“He said, you are making a nice profit for a small business and should continue along those paths.    And then he ended with, we do not give loans that size to small businesses.

I walked out of that bank and decided that we didn’t need a loan because it was only going to give me someone else to answer to, and I didn’t need anymore skepticism.  In my heart I knew this product would be successful, and we funded it ourselves from the small profits that we had accumulated.

Life is full of opportunities, but few people see them – for they are looking through the box that they put themselves in.  When you see the boundaries and limits of those in that same box, you cannot get beyond those limits.

So, my advice to you, is to always resist the temptation to label yourself.  It could be things like, I am a student, or a member of a political party, or citizen of a particular city, state or country.  Whenever we do that, we are implicitly placing limits on ourselves.”

“Thank you, Miss Eleanor, I appreciate your advice.”

“You are most welcome.  I cannot wait to see the impact that you will continue to have on this world!”

Eleanor then took the stage and flashed a smile to the large audience as she gave the commencement speech for the graduates of the university.

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InspiraCard

When we place a simple label on ourselves or another, we are implicitly setting limits and boundaries with that label.  Open up to the unlimited potential of yourself and others by eliminating the need to place yourself and others in a box!

Written, Mon, Apr 11, 2016 7:55 – 8:09 AM MDT