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Excerpted from the recently released book “Odditude … finding a passion for who you are and what you do,’’ from HCI Publishing – check www.Johnpowers.com for information.
Do more than merely accept how ODD you are – embrace it. When you do, you realize that all the Evens you know, beneath the outer shell they present to the world, are just as ODD as you.
There’s a lot of talk about discrimination today. It’s based on one thought process: “I’ve met someone like you before so I know who you are.” But the reality is there has never been anyone like you before and there never will be again. Each of us is a once-in-a-universe happening.
But how often do we judge someone by their age, their sex, the color of their skin, the kind of car they drive, where they live, what they do for a living?
Why do we do that? Easier, that’s why. Stick a label on someone and you don’t have to think anymore. But the reality is this: When you meet someone for the first time or the millionth, you always have a choice. You can either learn from them or judge them, but you can’t do both. As soon as you choose one, you eliminate the possibility of the other.
We are teachers whether we want to be or not – constantly teaching everyone around us who we are and what we believe life is all about. But we are students only when we choose to be.
This labeling starts quite young in school because teachers are like everyone else; it’s easier for them, too. When I was in third grade, my teacher had these various reading groups. You’re in one of them because the whole world is in one of them.
The really smart kids were the Cardinals. Then there were the Bluebirds…the Robins…and my group…the Sparrows. Halfway through the school year, the teacher made up a special reading group just for me…the Droppings.
Every day you behaved a certain way because you were treated that way and you were treated that way because you behaved that way and you behaved that way…
I remember the very best day I ever had in elementary school. It was in the fourth grade. The teacher had put an arithmetic problem on the board and no one could get the right answer. She was calling on all the heavy hitters…the Cardinals…the Bluebirds…they didn’t know the answer. She was getting desperate now. She began calling on some Robins. They didn’t know the answer either. The Sparrows didn’t even know it was an arithmetic problem.
All the time, I was waving my hand like a madman. Every now and then, she’d look over, give me a pathetic sneer and call on somebody else. After she had called on everybody else, she looked over at me and said, “Well, Mr. Powers, what do you think is the correct answer?”
“Mr.” Whenever a teacher didn’t like you, it was always “Mr.,” even if you were a girl. I stood up and said… “Well, Ms. Collins, the correct answer is seventeen.”
She was astounded. “That’s right. The correct answer is seventeen.”
But she was hardly about to compliment me. She pointed to me and said to the rest of the class, “Well, if even Mr. Powers can get the right answer . . . if even that guy knows what’s going on . . . what’s wrong with the rest of you?” and she went on that way for at least ten minutes.
But somewhere during that monologue, she and I became friends. Finally, she looked over at me and said, “John . . .” “. . . Yes, Margaret…” That was the end of that conversation.
BECOMING YOUR WIZARD OF ODD: Were you a Cardinal, Bluebird, Robin or Sparrow? Doesn’t matter. When you live an ODD life, you become an Eagle and soar to heights where you’ve never flown before.
BEING A WIZARD TO OTHERS: Every time you meet someone, you always have a choice. You can either learn from them or judge them. But you can’t do both. When you choose one, you eliminate the possibility of the other. Choose to learn from them.
| About the Author |
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In 1988, John Powers founded the Powers of Motivation Institute. Since then he has worked with more than a thousand major corporations and national associations on how to succeed in a changing world. He is the author of four best-selling books, including the most recent one entitled "Odditude." For more information please visit www.johnpowers.com. |
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