Humble Beginnings

Humility in a person is defining. It defines the spirit of a person’s character, the essential core of who and how they are. I’ve often thought humility is bore from humble beginnings, beginnings that are remembered rather than ignored or tucked inside the safety of political correctness. I come from ‘feet-in-the-mud’ stock. My father was a farmer, you can’t get much more ‘feet-in-the-mud’ than that. To me he epitomises humility.

His is not false either. You can tell it isn’t because of the way he leans into you to hear better what you have to say, the way he waits for you to finish your sentences and you see in his face how the intensity of his concentration gives away the fact he’s also weighing up what you’ve said, carefully. Real humility is patient and kind.

I had the great fortune (as a research assistant) to speak with Mandiba’s (Nelson Mandela’s) personal assistant. She is incredibly gracious. It made me consider that the acorn doesn’t fall too far from the Oak tree. It also occurred to me that it can rub off on a person. Would you agree?

Humble beginnings can be a good base to build from but the quality of the building still goes to the type of materials you use in the building process. The personal quality of humility in a person is not so much learnt as forged by experience and disposition. It’s no mere hit or miss matter, not at all.

Many high flyers in todays business world have begun from humble beginnings but it would be fair to say that just a handful remember where they came from. Why is that? Remembering may have something to do with that and staying true to the essence of who you are. What do you think?

Since history is want to repeat itself (often) it’s no small wonder then that humble and even small beginnings can evolve into great occasions with even greater application. We have so much to look forward to you and me.