Life is more like a jar of jalapenos!

Remember this great quote? 

In John C. Maxwell’s book, How Successful People Grow, the author disagrees stating: “... life is not like a box of chocolates. It’s more like a jar of jalapenos. What we do today might burn our butts tomorrow!”

Recently I received a bad report from a customer, which was addressed directly to my boss. Much to my dismay it was a scathing e-mail addressing my incompetence and stating how she never wants to work with me again. ME… Can you believe it? … MR. “WONDERFUL”!

And therein lays the problem! “Humility is the one virtue that disappears immediately as soon as you realize you have it”. Somewhere I allowed myself to lose my way and forgot how important it was to exercise humility when dealing with this customer.

Although extremely difficult to read, I realized that this e-mail was exactly what I needed. What was intended to be a curse was actually a personal blessing in disguise. It caused me to once again evaluate my attitude and motives when working with customers.

There’s a great section in Maxwell’s book that I wish I had reviewed BEFORE I ticked off this customer. He reminds us that we are all just one step away from stupid!

Here’s how to keep from taking that last step:

1.     Remember the big picture - John F. Kennedy kept a plaque on his wall in the White house with the inscription: “Oh God, thy sea is so great and my boat is so small.” Keep a proper perspective of yourself and any situation you are in. 

2.     Recognize that everyone has weaknesses and remain humble.
How do you remain humble?

·        Admit your weaknesses – get help from someone on your team.

·        Have patience with other people’s weaknesses - make it a practice to exercise grace to others (My #1 issue with the customer I mentioned earlier).

·        Be open to correction - it’s a good idea to never assume you won’t mess up, too.

3.     Be teachable - your default mode should be to think of yourself as an apprentice and not an expert. This will result in a humble teachable posture. This posture results in a thirst for knowledge: ask questions and listen in order to master.

4.      Be willing to serve others – putting others first sizes our egos and perspective.

5.     Be grateful - If we’re really honest with ourselves, we may come to realize that every accomplishment, every milestone, we’ve ever achieved happened, in part, because of the efforts of others.