Lillian Lincoln Lambert

We all look for ways to improve ourselves. Many of these improvements are easy things over which you have control. These are five things I suggest you examine.

1. Make plans for your life. Don’t just wait for things to happen or wait for someone to guide your life. You alone are responsible for your happiness. You must first be content with yourself before you can be happy with someone else. If you are happy with yourself you can share that happiness and become even happier.

2. Have big dreams for yourself. As I frequently say to my audiences: “Dream big, act, bold and pave your own path to where you want to go.

3. You are a unique person so don’t compare yourself to others. No two people were created exactly the same. Instead each person has different qualities and a different purpose in life.  Use your uniqueness to your advantage. See yourself as different but not better or worse than others.

4. Trust yourself. You know yourself better than anyone. While it is good to seek advice from others and listen to what they have to say,  it is important to be able to filter advice. Use what seems applicable and discard the rest.

5. Be willing to change. Nobody likes change particularly when we get used to the status quo. Change is sometimes good and necessary. As you mature in life examine where you are and where you want to go. Then, don’t be afraid to make those changes that will get or keep you on the right path.

While these are applicable in your personal life they are useful in your career as well.

Yesterday was a great day spent in the company of about 15 high school girls. I was invited to be the guest speaker for the Girls Empowerment Program of a summer camp.

I must admit, I was a bit intimidated when I first received the request. My thought was “How will I relate to a small group of teenage girls?” I need not have worried. These young ladies were attentive, respectful, interactive and anxious to learn. I shared with them my life story: how and where I grew up, mistakes I made, things I did well and not so well, how I dealt with challenges and overcame obstacles. They had questions and were not reluctant to ask them and to get involved in the discussion. Our discussion dealt with goal setting, decision making, self esteem and career planning. The overall theme of my message was based on this quote by Mark Caine, an author: “The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you find yourself”. I left them with a list of my “Guiding Principles”, which were developed based on the experiences of my life.

At the end of the session the sponsor gave each young lady a copy of my memoir, “The Road to Someplace Better: From the Segregated South to Harvard Business School and Beyond”.  I signed the books and personalized each girl’s copy.

It was a very rewarding day.