Work That Matters

Mouthwash is Everything to Him

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What do you love?  Is your passion just a dream or are you actively pursuing it?  Do others know the one thing that captivates you?

At the 2013 Chick-fil-A Leadercast, Dr. Henry Cloud interviewed Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of General Electric.  Welch was full of energy and very inspiring to the audience.  I took several notes.

Welch told us one thing that stood out more than the rest to me.  He described how he had just met a guy at the conference who was selling mouthwash machines in Chick-fil-A bathrooms.  It appeared that this conversation was brief and that Mr. Welch had not intended to tell this story to the audience.

However, in just a few minutes with this man, Jack Welch walked away thinking, “that guy loves mouthwash.”  It so left an imprint on Welch that it snuck into his next conversation.  He told the story and said, “Mouthwash is everything to him!”

This story hit me.  I wrote down this question, “How do I want people who meet me for five minutes to fill in the following blank? ________________ is everything to him!”  

I then made a list of several things I am passionate about.  I then asked myself, “How do people fill in the blank currently?”  Guess what?  The lists did not match.  More importantly, there was a list…rather than one thing.

Honestly I have vision A.D.D. and find it difficult to focus.  Earlier in the program Dr. Cloud had said, “If everything is important, nothing is important.”  I find it difficult to say no because I want to meet every need, and help every person.  The problem is that when you try to help everyone, you help no one.

Let me now turn the conversation to you.  Here are four questions to help you determine your one thing:

  1. How do you want people who meet your for five minutes to fill in the following blank?  ______________ is everything to that guy/lady!
  2. How do people fill in that blank for you currently?
  3. Do your answers to these first two questions match?  If not, why?
  4. If you created a list of passions, what needs to come off the list?

What is the one thing you are going to give yourself to in order to change the world? Please share in the comments section.

Hey, I’m Adam Suter. This is my personal blog. I am married to the love of my life, Michelle, and have three wonderful children. We live in Marietta, GA. I run a small nonprofit. Some of the things that fascinate me are faith, new ideas, people, stories, productivity, nonprofits, and my own children.

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