HEARTH & HOME
Humility
Creates Growth
By Donald Broughton
“O
h Lord, it’s hard to be humble, when you’re
perfect in every way …” croons Mac Davis
on the country radio station. Although the
song is humorous, it is completely wrong in
every way about the way life actually works.
In order to grow and create wealth, you have to be humble. Bitter
experience, heartache and financial loss are the rewards for thinking
you are “perfect in every way.”
It is simple and straightforward. If you are humble and accept
responsibility, you can grow, you can learn. If you don’t, then whatever
blame you do deserve, but are afraid to accept, will continue to hamper
your progress. You will be condemned to repeat that mistake again.
If you are looking for a flaw in someone else’s character or actions, you
will fail to see your own role in the failure. If you continue to seek fault,
you will build them into an enemy in your mind. When you vocalize
that outlook, you risk building them into someone who sees you as the
enemy. If you approach shortfalls and shortcomings with humility, then
others will not be threatened by your tendency to find fault in others,
but will instead look for ways to lift you up. People who tell us about
the problems they are having almost always evoke supportive words of
wisdom from others who have had similar problems.
Humility is essential to creating anything of lasting value. Great
endeavors require us to be involved, and be involved with passion - with
all of our heart. That never happens if we think the current state of
matters is acceptable. You must be willing to find the flaws in yourself,
and work tirelessly to fix them.
Great endeavors require us to be involved and require us to involve
others. I love the concept that no one has great ideas alone. Great ideas
come from smart people, passionate about making a worthy change,
who get together and weave individual good ideas into one great idea.
This can’t happen if members of the team aren’t humble or think they
and their ideas are superior to everyone else’s ideas.
Humility allows us to inspire others to help us in pursuing our goals.
No one willingly follows a leader who is pretentious or condescending.
They may pretend to follow you if they are well paid, but never will
they become truly moved to help you become your best self or help you
realize your dreams.
Think about the great leaders who have inspired you. They painted
a picture of things as anything but perfect, e.g., “something needs to
change.” They explained how it seemed to be insurmountable, but
obtainable if “we all work together.” They explained how they couldn’t
do it alone, but together we can do what others believe is impossible.
Humility doesn’t require you to think small. In fact, it’s quite the
opposite. It requires you to see your own flaws first, and be willing to
ask for help from others. It requires you to work passionately to fix your
shortcomings, and to be willing to listen to others ideas. It requires you
to be willing to accept their help, and openly recognize – say thank you
– those who do help. Real humility inspires us to create great change in
our lives and the lives of those around us. As President Harry Truman
pointed out, “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care
who gets the credit.”
As founder and managing partner of Broughton Capital, Broughton is a frequent guest on
CNBC, “Nightly Business Report”and Fox. He is regularly quoted in The Wall Street Journal,
where he is also recognized as a top stock picker, as he is by Fortune, Zacks and StarMine.
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GAZELLE