Julius Caesar was warned by the soothsayer outside the palace to beware of the Ides of March (March 15). He paid no heed and we know what happened next. “Et tu, Brute?”
I have a quick piece of advice as well. Though I am no soothsayer and my magic crystal ball has been broken for years, this comes from both personal experience and seeing others ignore the message.
We need to be humble in the work we do. Too often, I watch people become excited about their success. Sure, celebrate but don’t linger. I hear people tell the same success story from 15 years ago or they speak about “when I was at…” In the music industry, they used to call them “one hit wonders.” We often get too caught up in our own short-term success to be effective and successful long term. Instead, tell stories about your partners, and speak in the third person rather than the first. Share your glory with others—you didn’t do it all alone, anyway!
I often think about this quote from a daily meditation I review each morning in my inbox. “The temporary or seeming good can often be the deadly enemy of the permanent best.” Don’t get caught up in short-term glory and sacrifice your long-term success.
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I saw this on a social media post last week:
“Fundraising in COVID has been hell, but my donors made my year. Today was one of those $1.5 million dollar signature days, a day when you see the lights go “on” in a donors eyes, when you help them realize a legacy. ”
Note the words, “my donors”, “my year” instead of “our donors”, “our year” and the implication of individual rather than team effort.
I find it interesting that someone would actually post this in the public domain.
Dave… OMG… I could not agree with you more. I would be embarrassed to have posted that. So much for a team and donor to the organization versus the personal perspective you identify. Some pretty big egos out there…