Earlier this week I was on a plane (just for a change!), standing at my seat, waiting for the Qantas crew to help stow my cabin bag in the overfilled luggage compartment above.
As I waited patiently, the entire plane boarded, many looking at me strangely, as I stood awkwardly, bag on the seat, watching them pass me by. It didn’t help that the plane was full of the Australian National Rugby League Team, The Kangaroos (not that I even realised this at the time, much to the disgust of my league-adoring daughter, Mack).
I didn’t even twig with the bulging arms, calves & tattooed skin that is was the National team (I thought it was some local Sydney-siders going up North to play the local Darwin team).
As the plane was nearly full, I did start to recognise the next few players boarding: Woodsy (ex-Tigers star, so a legend in the Rowe family), the very good looking Cooper Cronk (how could I not notice him), my personal favourite player, Billy Slater and then their leader, Cameron Smith followed behind. Now I felt even more ridiculous.
As I was standing, smiling awkwardly, Cameron, kindly asked if I needed him to help me stow my bag. I politely declined and said that one of the crew was going to help me, but thank you for the kind offer (what a gentleman, I thought).
Later in the flight, I was having a yarn to my hostess, Georgia. She mentioned how polite all the boys were but in particular Cameron Smith. She continued to share with me (a random stranger) how Cameron was one of the only people on the plane to actually watch the safety demonstration & she whispered to him “well you will be the first person I help in case of an emergency!”
We had a chuckle and I went back to my seat.
And I pondered on this… See, we are always being tested! Whether we know it or not.
Now granted, maybe we are all not famous rugby league stars being watched by all or in the media storm, yet we are still often being tested (by strangers, by our loved ones, our peers, our employees and of course our customers/clients).
Perhaps,
It is the flight attendant who is watching which passengers are more interested in sending their final text messages or posting status updates (even though flight mode is meant to be on) instead of taking notice of their in-flight safety demonstration (& then wonders why they may not get the level of service of other passengers).
Or at home…
It’s the husband who says he is going to be home at 12 midnight at the latest, but arrives home at 3 am (& finds himself locked out).
It’s the teenager who promises their parents that even though everyone else at the party is drinking, they are NOT (& gets caught on insta skulling vodka shots)!
Or maybe…
It’s the customer who goes to the same coffee shop every day, orders the same thing & wonders why they have not been asked their name or acknowledged their daily order.
Or it’s the barista who is listening out for which customers say 'Please' & ‘Thank you’ for their regular morning coffee as they rush off into their busy day.
At work, it might be:
The employee who sucks up to the boss & superiors but treats their colleagues or own team like crap, or
The leader who says ‘people are our most important asset’ but fails to look up from their device to say ‘good morning’ as they walk past the team in the morning; or
The executive who says ‘family is the most important thing in my life’ but has not been home earlier than 10 pm for years & has missed all the important family events!
You get the point ! We are ALL being tested.
- What have you been tested for recently (& don’t even know it)?
- More importantly, do you think you passed or was it an EPIC FAIL?
- Do your actions speak louder than your words?
Like Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon (& richest person in the world at the moment) says:
“Your brand is what people other say about you about when you’re not in the room!”
What does your brand say about you?
Keep smiling & keep connecting,
Blythe
PS:It’s little wonder that Cameron Smith has been chosen to lead not only the Premiership winning team, Melbourne Storm, and the QLD State of Origin winning team, and now is leading the Australian National Team. His brand is one of integrity and it does not go unnoticed (even by a couple of strangers on the flight to Darwin)!
BLYTHE ROWE & Her Life on Heels.
The founder & director of Human Incite, is widely recognised for her passion, energy and her ability to shake things up. Blythe is brilliant at revving-up productivity & performance in organisations. Her passion made her to be an advocate in creating sustainable behavioural changes & creating meaningful relationships both personally and professionally with her most recent Keynote 'Science of Connection'. Her enthusiasm simply is infectious.
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