I attended the annual Boy Scouts Breakfast this morning in Bremerton to raise money for the local Chief Seattle Council Boy Scout program. I go to this great event as a guest of one of my clients. It draws about 500 leading business men and women from a two-county area. Our speaker today was marvelous. Ivar’s CEO Bob Donegan spoke eloquently and passionately about how customer service has propelled Ivar’s to a bastion of leadership in this area and in his industry.
However, one of the more riveting thoughts came from a Scout leader. It’s one that really stuck in my head. He was saying that there is one thing they tell the Cub Scouts (the farthest in ranks I progressed in the system. I failed whittling miserably). The message to the Cubs is this – “Do your best.” That’s it. That’s all. But, how powerful that statement is to all of us.
I know I’ve been guilty of trying too hard, trying to do too much, thinking I can give 110% when math tells us that this is impossible and 100% is all you can do. Keeping the mantra of “Do your best” will keep us all in line with reality. It will let us be satisfied that we made the best decision we could with the knowledge that we had at the time. No hindsight needed.
“Do your best” means having the confidence to know that your best is all you can give. It should be all we strive to do and if we do then success will surely follow. The Boy Scouts are proof of that.
© 2011 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
