Bring Out the Best in Others (2)

In the musical My Fair Lady, Eliza Doolittle, a common flower girl, becomes an elegant lady who mixes with England’s high society. How did it happen? Because Henry Higgins, a celebrated linguistics (speech) professor, taught her to act like a lady—and she began living up to his expectations. Alan Loy McGinnis writes, ‘I was once waiting to speak at a sales conference where the year’s awards were being given. One woman, who’d performed spectacularly and made an extraordinary amount of money, gave all the credit to her sales manager. As she stood before a crowd of 3000 people, holding the award for ‘best producer of the year’, she talked about the slump she’d been in for two years previously. The future looked so hopeless she was ready to resign, and had even called her supervisor several times to quit. But the manager kept persuading her that she hadn’t tried long enough, that she would not have been hired if they had not seen the potential in her. Her voice cracked as she told her story. Then she made this insightful remark: “For all those months when I wanted to quit and didn’t think I had any future, Joan believed in me more than I believed in myself. She wanted me to succeed even more than I did.”’ One of the attributes of true Christian character is a willingness to encourage and lift people: ‘I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.’ (Isaiah 41:13 NIV) So, in your dealings with others, are you problem-focused or possibility-focused?