“Everybody needs a passion. That’s what keeps life interesting. If you live without passion you can go through life without leaving any footprints.” From Betty’s Book “If you Ask Me (and of course you won’t).

As leaders, it is important that we take the time to assure that each of our team members are working in and on something that gives them passion. Sometimes there is passion in the work itself. Sometimes passion can be found in the cause and mission of the company. Other times passion can be found by being part of a company’s culture. If we want our teams to make a lasting mark, to change our companies, to perform at the highest levels they possibly can, it is important that you find and cultivate their passion. How often do we, as leaders, sit down with our teams to do check ins to assure that their passion is still aligned with the work that they are doing? When was the last time that we did a gut check to see if the culture within our organizations was creating passion for our teams? Have we provided the tools to our teams to help them to be passionate about their job? Have we had difficult conversations with team members who are no longer bringing their passion with them into the office?

“It is your outlook on life that counts. If you don’t take yourself too seriously, pretty soon you can find humor in our everyday lives and sometimes it can be a lifesaver”. From the Chicago Tribune, 2011

In 2021, as an organization we spent months focusing on our core values to refresh and revitalize them while assuring they aligned with our vision for our company. Embrace Positivity ended up at the very top of our list. Why? Because mindset determines everything. We all have a finite time on this earth. Whether we make it to just shy of 100 like Betty did, or our journey ends earlier, is really immaterial. Each of us has the ability to live life to the absolute fullest, to focus forward with a mindset of positivity and to find joy in laughter in every aspect – even the challenging ones – of our lives. Each of us has the ability to leave a legacy, and a mark and we are the ones who can control what that mark is. Three days a week we gather our Western Team Members on zoom for a 15 minute huddle. Today on one of the huddle call I shared Betty’s quote and a friend and colleague asked the group to think about the one sentence that would define how they want to be remembered. For me, I want to be remembered as kind and generous; positive and grateful; passionate and inspiring and for making a difference and an impact, even a small one, every single day.

I know Betty lived a full life with no regrets. How do I know? Because she made it very clear, very often publicly. I’ll leave you with this, how do you want to be remembered? Once you know, make certain that your actions today align with your legacy.