Are you ready to pass on the baton?
When I read “pass on the baton”, the theme of my devotional this morning, it made me realized I AM passing on the baton!
Being a “Humanitarian Entrepreneur” as my friend, Gilda, would say, doesn’t leave much time for anything! We’re always managing a business or helping someone so I had to be creative to stay connected to my sisters. I invited them (Okay, I challenged them!) to read the bible with me in one year. Some of us are more active writing our own thoughts every day than others, but we’re still connected, which was the ultimate goal!
In today’s devo the suggestion was to find a “Paul” and a “Timothy”. A Paul to learn from and a Timothy to pass on the baton. It’s much more profound than this basic statement but you’ll get the point.
This week we celebrated my daughter’s birthday and we spent it at home. The best memory of it was to watch her take her daughter, Elena, who just turned one, into the swimming pool. The very same swimming pool I took Sasha into (also for the first time) when she was Elena’s age.
I remember being so scared that something would happen to my daughter and that I wouldn’t be able to save her. I didn’t know how to swim and I didn’t want my insecurities to stop my daughter from continuing to enjoy the visits to Nana and Abuelo and get into the swimming pool every opportunity she had. As scared as I was of swimming, I decided to take some lessons in case “I needed to save her in an emergency”. I learned to float -that’s about it…I was still scare! However, it gave me the confidence I needed in case of an emergency.
As I was reading my devotional I realized I’m always learning and I’m always teaching. I did what I saw my mom doing for me so many times. I took courage and did something afraid. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done something afraid in an effort to help, to improve, to find a solution. Even now, I stretch myself thin in an effort to help even though I’m afraid to fail and guess what? I do! I fail but I’ll continue to learn and I’ll continue to teach. We all do…we’re all passing on the baton. Do it afraid!
Are you a curious person?
ARE YOU APPLYING THE LAW OF CURIOSITY IN YOUR LIFE?
I don’t think I’ve ever met a more multifaceted person as my mom was. She was born in a time (and a place) when young girls were expected to learn how to sew, knit, cook, clean and all the “womanly” chores you can think of. I myself remember helping her when I was very young and never questioned it… It was simply expected. I don’t know many 7 year old girls with big responsibilities at the time…unless they come from a “dysfunctional” home where mom (or dad) are single and everyone needs to help out, no matter how old or young they are…
When my mom moved from her little town, where she was raised, to the city of Durango in Mexico, her life changed completely and had to hustle and become mom and dad for us. Not only did she have to continue to do all the things she needed to do as a mother, but she now had to provide for us as well. I remember a time she was hired at a grocery store for a while and this helped her sharpened her sales and customer service skills. There wasn’t anything she couldn’t do. She was my hero and role model. I learned to admire my mother for her tenacity and willingness to try anything to provide for us.
When I first read about the Law of Curiosity from The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth by my mentor John Maxwell, I almost thought to ask him if he was inspired by my mom when he wrote the book! She lived many of these wise principles and universal values that made her a better person and in turned impacted people positively.
So, today I decided (out of curiosity) to find out if I’m talented enough to sew like my mom did. I visited my friend Selva Lopez, owner of a haute couture store in Chicago. She claims she will know in a matter of weeks how good I’ll be. So, I’ll make sure to keep you posted on my progress.
I hope to create a clothing line to fund The Elisa Foundation and provide personal development and leadership resources to young girls unable to attend these type of trainings.
The Law of Curiosity has helped me to uncover my purpose in life. I encourage you to apply it to your life as well and remember, live a life of significance.
