Monday Morning

Motivation    9/6/2010



THE POSITIVE PLACE. SALES MOTIVATION AND PERSONAL GROWTH


You are who you think you are.

Who are you?

I was watching the TV show "Who do you think you are" tonight. The Tivo had thoughtfully recorded it for me, and I was lured into a story of a person seeking his ancestry.

I too have been looking through old family records, looking at the pictures and stories of people who I never knew, but whose genetic contribution help make up who I physically am.

But when you get right down to it, no matter what we've been blessed with from genetics, upbringing, or the social register, what really matters is what we do with it all.

Some of us have the blood of kings and queens in our makeup. Others have the genetic contribution from stagecoach thieves and rustlers; still others have the genetic contributions from presidents, premiers, prime ministers, religious leaders, and famous people of stage, screen, or corporate life.

This genetic makeup may give us attributes that can help us through life -- or they may give us attributes that may restrict our abilities. Some people get a thick head of hair others (myself included) get a genetic predisposition toward a somewhat shinier look on top. Some wind up tall, others short. Some are stocky, others slight. These genetic attributes may give us a leg up on life, or they may make challenges for us to overcome.

But whatever they do, they do not determine our future -- only we can do that.

Despite where we came from, who we're descended from, or what high school or college we may have went to in an earlier life, our lives are determined by what we do with that life. We determine the paths we choose, the options we pick, and the chances we take. Some people may have everything in the world going for them, and still goof it all up. Others may start from a position of poverty, and rise to earn a vast fortune. 

Ultimately, who we are has more to do with the choices we make than it does with the ancestors that we have.

Each of us is an amalgam of different ancestors. Our hair color or eye color may be the result of genetic programming -- but our choices and decisions are always within our grasp, and no matter what path our life may have started on, we are always able to choose a different path for our lives. None of us is pre-programmed for success or failure -- we all choose our programming, we all choose our path, and we all choose who we truly are.

It's important to honor those who gave us life, and the ancestors who made us genetically who we are today. But if we allow ourselves to be limited by the genetic makeup we have, then we are neglecting to leave our posterity with the great heritage that they deserve. No matter whether we are descended from beggars or kings, we can make the decisions that will make our descendants proud that they came from a genetic makeup that included us -- if we choose to live our life as we choose, and rise to make the most of the challenges that life may present us.

 

 

Copyright, 2010, by Daryl R. Gibson. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted for the non-commercial redistribution of this document as long as it remains intact with this copyright and all other lines. This license does not extend to the use of this material in a compilation, whether for profit or non-profit use. Join us at http://www.Weekdaywisdom.com.