To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it.
Let’s talk about humility. Humility is one of the most misunderstood and misapplied words in our language. Humility is not being passive and submissive, nor is it distinguished by slumped shoulders and subservient, downward glances. It is about being teachable and coachable. It implies a continual commitment to learning, growing, and expanding. It is living life in crescendo with shoulders back and heads up as we reach and stretch to become our very best, then extend ourselves to help others do the same. Then we start again!
Humility is the hub of the wheel, the solid core between self-mastery and leadership. It empowers us to help, inspire, and potentially lead others. We cannot influence until we’ve been influenced. We can’t change the world until we are changed. Through humility, this transition can happen.
The origin of “humility” is the Latin word “humus” meaning soil. When a seed is planted in fertile soil, it transforms into something far greater. An acorn becomes the oak tree, the smallest of seeds carefully planted in the spring becomes the bounteous harvest in the fall; it all starts with the nurturing quality of the soil. When we have sufficient “humus” in our lives (nurturing ourselves through growth), we grow, develop, and foster those around us to flourish. Humility produces growth.
We have all been given gifts to learn and share. When we develop our gifts, we, in effect, unwrap and unfold them for the benefit of all, including ourselves. Our gifts and talents increase as we nurture our nature. In contrast, when we pretend to know it all, we close off promising opportunities to develop and expand our gifts. A garden reciprocates the love and care it receives from the gardener. To develop yourself is to love yourself.
Success and humility are terms not commonly used interchangeably, yet the two words are intimately linked. Humility is known as the root of success and can be traced back to the soil. Success comes from the Latin word meaning “to come up through.” When a seed pushes through the dirt into the daylight, it follows the path of success. To come up through is to succeed. And the only way to come up through is to take advantage of the things that are put in our path to learn.
We plant seeds of success by getting grounded and rooted in humility.
There is no real humility without success and no real success without humility.
