You’re Important

Welcome back to this multi-part series, based on The Magic of Thinking Big by Dr. David Schwartz. 

Here’s what we’ve covered so far: Part 1. Self-Belief, Part 2. Eliminate Excusitis, Part 3. Think Big.

And here’s what we’re covering today… 

Think of yourself as important. It goes hand in hand with believing in yourself, but it takes it one step further. In addition to believing you’re important, you’ve also got to act on your importance. This doesn’t mean being arrogant – arrogance is usually just a cover-up for a person’s lack of self-belief. Deep down, they don’t believe in their own importance, so they use arrogance to cloak their insecurity.

People who know they’re important present themselves with confidence and seek to increase confidence in others. Because when we believe we’re important, we begin to recognize that everyone around us — regardless of their profession, age, background, whatever — is also important.

Have you ever heard the old story about the three bricklayers working side by side?

A man walks up to the first bricklayer and asks, “What are you doing?” The bricklayer says, “I’m just laying bricks.”

He walks up to the second bricklayer and asks the same question, “What are you doing?” The second bricklayer responds, “I’m working a minimum wage job, laying bricks.”

Then he strolls down to the third bricklayer, “What are you doing?” The bricklayer looks up with a massive smile and says, “I’m helping build the greatest cathedral known to man.”

How beautiful.

One guy saw himself as nothing more than a bricklayer, the other saw himself making minimum wage, but the third saw himself building the greatest cathedral ever.

As time passed, the first two bricklayers continued laying bricks and making minimum wage, but the third advanced to the top of his field.

When we recognize our own importance, we become enthusiastic about everything we do, and we gain energy from it. We begin to do more and more, and soon enough we’re recognized for our work and we start movin’ on up.

Here are a few simple ideas to help you recognize and act on your own importance…

Actionable insights

• One way to act on your importance is in how you present yourself. This doesn’t mean owning the most expensive clothes. It means making sure you’re neat, clean, and comfortable in your clothes. For example, if I’m preparing to deliver a keynote to a group of executives, I won’t be wearing my Delta Chi cut-off from college; I’ll be dressed in something professional.
• Another way of acting on your importance is to recognize the importance of your job, even if it’s not the most prestigious. Those bricklayers I mentioned above all had the same job, but each of them saw it differently. Be the one who’s building a cathedral.
• To remind yourself of your own importance, you’ve got to learn how to sell yourself to yourself. This can involve a daily ritual, affirmations, incantations, a personal pep talk in front of the mirror, or writing down a list of your positive qualities and keeping it with you for when you’re feeling low. There are a million ways to do it, but the core idea is this: You want to condition yourself, through constant reminders of your importance, until it becomes a conviction.
• I’ll leave you with one last pearl of wisdom. It comes from a man who I grew up watching on TV, and who probably had more of a positive impact on my life than I realize… The one and only, Mr. Fred Rogers: “If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.”