The Sunny Side #6: Booker T. Washington

If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.

How many times a day do you say "me"? What about "I"?

Personally, I say them a LOT!

It's not really out of conscious thought that we do, mostly because we're thinking about the most important thing to us in the whole universe- ourselves!

Now don't take this as a bad thing. After all, if we don't look out for ourselves who will?

But at the same time, to think only about yourself and not the others around you, well, that gets into a muddy blur.

No man is an island and no man has every reached dizzying heights of fame or success without the help of those around them. To be a leader is to serve those around and beneath you, to lift them up with praise and helping hands.

It's like a set of stairs and you're a mouse. You can't jump to the next step. So you enlist the help of those around you who know how to prop you on their shoulders and give you the heft to climb up.

But if you want to get to that next step, you're going to have to have some help. You could either get some new mice but why go through the extra work when the ones who helped you before are already great at that job and know what to do? Plus, you can help them reach new and better positions with just a little effort on your own!

Who knows, maybe they'll sing your praises even more, just as you sing theirs!

So go out of your way to help out. Give that pointer to the new kid at work. Help your friend with a little housework. Teach your children a little extra about schoolwork and life.

Build new leaders from those around you.

Leave a legacy that will follow you far after you're gone.

Because that's really the best way to live forever. To never be forgotten. To be the best you that you can be.

Lift up others. Because we're all selfish in the end.

Let's all be selfish together!

Quick trivia- Did you know that Booker Washington's middle name was "Taliaferro"? In Italian, it means "iron cutter"! Very cool!