How do we define success? It is a question I often ask myself when I am sitting and thinking. When I look back on my life would I consider it a successful life? Time will tell. I think it will be different for each of us as we navigate through life. This question came to me because I was recently speaking with someone and in the conversation the person said to me. “What do I know. I just clean rooms.” That hit me like nails on a chalkboard. I then reminded this person that their “just cleaning rooms job” provided a life for their family and gave their children the opportunity to go to college. I have known this gentleman for a long time. If there is anyone I would want to emulate, when it came to being a father it was him. His work ethic, his character, and the high moral standard he set for himself, and his family are what made him successful.
I told him that the smartest and most successful person I have known was my mother. Her success came in working hard to provide a better path for her three sons. She had a high school degree, but she earned a PhD in life. I am who I am because of what she did for me. I reminded my friend that he is a lot like my mother. You worked two, sometimes three jobs so that you could provide for your family. You saved money and you were able to buy a home, and your children have a college fund. You have created opportunities for your children to have more than you ever had. You are a father and a husband and a mentor to some many. You take pride in the work you do, which is why you have moved up in your organization and hold a position that is usually held by someone with a degree. I told him that just because someone has a degree, and a title does not mean they have an infusion of brains. Your work ethic, your desire to learn and your ability to overcome has gotten you to where you are today.
He always tells me how proud he is of me, but I remind him that I am blessed to know him because like my mother He makes me want to do what I can to build a better life for my family and the people I lead. My position as a senior leader in my organization gives me the opportunity to uplift others. It is what I work to do. It is never about how many pats on the back I get or who knows me. It is about seeing those people you helped build a better life for themselves. It is in seeing who your children have become. It is knowing that you have had a positive effect on someone’s life.
My friend has taught me that it is not always important what you do but what you do with the opportunities you are given. We both remember when we had nothing. We both had times when we didn’t know if we could put food on the table or pay our bills. We hold on to those memories now because it keeps us grounded and reminds us to give back and help others as we were helped.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, said,” If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”
It is what they would say about my mother and my friend. I hope one day they will say that about me because then I would know I have made a difference, and that for me would be the measure of success.
Charles Redd RN
Dignity Freedom Fighter
Dignity Freedom Fighter 