Posted by Meghann Dawson on Thursday, 23 September, 2010
My H.S. Yearbook
Just last week I sent an e-mail to former CUNAverse blogger Christopher Morris wishing him the very best in his new position at NCUF (check out his last official CUNAverse blog post ). After that e-mail we joked that it felt like I was signing his yearbook. That conversation got me wondering what words of wisdom were left in my yearbook 13 years ago. Just thinking back to high school brought back so many different types of personal memories – from football games and dances to first heartbreaks, both great and terrible teachers, standardized tests, stressing way too much about homework, some poor decisions and a lot of really fun times with great friends.
Inspired by those memories, I dug out my senior yearbook to see what my friends at Oakcrest High School imparted on me as I was set to graduate. Reading what my classmates had written made me realize some bigger things about who we were. We were the Class of 1997 – we were excited about the endless possibilities for our future and we were friends who sincerely wished the very best for one another. In some ways we were wise beyond our years and in other ways we were really naïve. Here are a few of the comments and some of the advice given by my classmates:
Don’t party too much and try to do some work.
Don’t let anyone change you.
Don’t settle for anything less than you deserve.
Don’t let anything hold you back in life.
Keep smiling.
You’ve got the potential to rule the world.
I have no doubt that there will be anything but success in your future.
Thank you for your friendship, I would be a different person if we had never met.
As you move on to very exciting times take a moment every now and again to remember the great memories.
Be true to yourself in all that you do.
May all of your dreams come true!
My yearbook picture in 1997
I’m guessing when I read many of these words years ago I didn’t take the words to heart in but instead focused on the feelings of sadness of leaving my peers behind and excitement/nervousness of starting the next chapter in my life. Looking back and reading those words today I can’t help but feel inspired by my classmates and hope that I’ve lived up to many of their parting words.
Looking through my yearbook also made me realize how many classmates are no longer with us, just 13 years after graduation. Life is short and even though as adults we don’t actually have yearbooks, we should tell the people in our lives that they matter, we should encourage them to live up to their potential, we should remind them of the things about them that make them so special to us and we should thank them for being in our lives.
Dust off your own yearbooks and check out the words of wisdom your classmates had for you - I’d love to hear some of the great advice you were given; I’m sure there are lessons we could all learn today.
Isn’t it great . . . to be in CUNAverse! It truly is great, exciting, fun, and much more for all of us – the staff here at CUNA, to be part of the launch of our blog CUNAverse.
Over the last few years we’ve visited the idea of starting a blog and until now it always felt like the only reason we were considering starting one was because it was what everybody else seemed to be doing. There are tons of valuable, insightful, provocative, and just plain hilarious blogs in existence both in and out of our industry. While we loved staying up on all of the happenings in the blogosphere we just didn’t have a real purpose to throw our hat in the ring. Until now.
As 2010 began, it finally started feeling like the time was right for CUNA to begin its blog journey. The curveballs the economy has thrown at our industry and country have put a great spotlight on the real meaning behind the credit union philosophy. As staff at your premiere trade association we are so proud of the hurdles you’ve jumped, the millions of members you’ve helped and the powerful way you’ve led your credit unions through these challenging times. We feel inspired to bring you CUNAverse – a CUNA staff blog that will provide direct communication with our members and all of you who share our love of credit unions.
We hope with this blog to be able to share all of the things that we find so wonderful about working in this movement, provide a place to discuss important industry topics, and have a platform for you to connect with us. If you’d like to learn more about our goals of the blog please read the “About” section, you can also check out our individual bios to get to know us each a little more in the “Team” section.
We’re so excited to see where this journey takes us!
Now I was never really a comic book kid to begin with because I thought they were too pricey to spend my precious paper route money on. The few comics I did come home with featured Spiderman, Superman, and an occasional HULK. That was over 30 years ago, so why am I talking comics now? I was asked by a group to theme my whole Leadership & Influence Keynote around any comic book hero of my choosing. With all the weird, wild, and wonderful characters to choose from, I found myself drawn towards a character whose comics I had never read….the Green Lantern.
Knowing virtually nothing about this hero – I think the initial draw was my thought that the lantern would serve as a good symbol of what an inspiring “level 5” leader must bring to take their organization or team from Good to Great. But the more I learned of the Green Lantern.. the more I realized he was the Hero who could best represent the solutions to some of the most relevant leadership challenges we face today. Skipping the nearly 7 page wiki summary & history of the Green Lantern…let me boil it down to the 2 major reasons for choosing Green Lantern as a symbol of the leadership we need today.
First… Hal Jordon – wasn’t bitten by a radio active spider, born on Krypton or freakishly changed by a DNA altering blast of gamma radiation. He’s just your almost average earthling who was chosen to be entrusted with a unimaginable power, the Green Lantern. Why was he chosen? (Notice earlier I said he was almost average?) He was chosen because he could be trusted, because those who chose him discerned that both his heart and head were in the right place. Hal Jordon wasn’t just willing to be good, but desired to do good! This desire compelled him to take action for benefit of others. Integrity matter, character counts, Trust is a MUST… but in addition to what we know is right, we must be willing to DO right. There is much more to discuss here, but lets save it for the conference.
Secondly – The Lantern, and the Ring it charges are indeed phenomenal symbols of what followers want leaders to bring to the table. Since the dawn of time light seems to have served as a symbol of hope, knowledge, truth, virtue and nearly every good and noble thing. In a world filled with darkness, depression, disconnection, desperation and despair… the need for Bright Leaders who can help us all to “Lighten Up” has never been greater. The Green Lanterns ring operates by 2 core principles that will be central to our discussion of what makes Green Lantern leadership powerfully contagious.
In this fun and fast paced keynote I’ll build on these 2 concepts essentially tying them together to show leaders how to immediately and sustainably increase levels of employee engagement throughout their organizations by being & becoming the Positively Contagious Leaders they want to be and that their people and the world need them to be.
Your leave this session with your Lanterns Lit and Glowing Green or I’ll eat kryptonite. See you soon in Vegas where there will be many lights on…but we’ll only be looking for your Green One.
