LESSONS FROM A GOOD MAN

I was thinking this morning.... Last Thursday, I met with my boss and friend who was retiring November 1, after a very successful and meritorious career. As we gisted that evening, we reflected on his journey and the paths that led him to this point. With every story, he dropped a lesson for me.

The first point that struck home for me was when he said, 'The office you occupy does not make you, you make the office.' Hmm! Most people fight and wait to get into an office, believing it will make them better persons. No. Irrespective of the office you occupy, you are who you are. A cleaner who is a good person will be good whether he becomes a manager or CEO. The wicked and bad leaders we have today did not become bad because of the office. They were wicked and bad before they got there.

I was still digesting the office and the person nugget when he dropped another that really hit me personally. He said, 'While at work, don’t take things too serious because things change. Don't overthink or get too hurt by what a colleague said or did, because time changes everything.' Ouch! That was for me. In the recent past, I felt really hurt by the actions of some colleagues that I almost changed from being who I am.

People do things on the basis of what they know per time. Their actions may not be personal and may have been driven by the circumstances at the time. Wait it out. Everything changes with time. Don't stop being good because of the missteps of someone. Just like you expect others to understand when you misstep, you also should understand when they do something that you feel was wrong.

Thanks, Andy for the departure nuggets but many more thanks for being more of a friend than a boss over the last 20 years. Like they say, life is in phases, and men are in sizes. As you move from one phase of your life to another, may your retirement be merry and blessed with good health. May you continue to be a blessing to everyone who comes around you.

Psalm 37:23 says, 'The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.' Because you are a good man, the Lord will order your steps as you retire. Take a bow.

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey