Keep Your Ego in Your Handbag

Hey guys, here we are for another Workshop Wednesday. Recently, I was reading a quote. The guy’s name is Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. I can’t pronounce it very well. I might have murdered that. But the quote is awesome. So, let me tell you a little bit about it. It says, “When it comes to doing my job, I leave my ego in my handbag.” 

My son J.T. and I were talking about this the other morning. He gets up at about 6:00 every morning with me. Well, I’m usually up already a couple hours or more. But he gets up and he likes to be up and do a little bit of reading, or watching a little TV, or something you know to kind of get his brain going. We were talking about this. When it comes to doing my job, I leave my ego in my handbag. I was thinking and explaining to him, and we were chatting, and I was thinking you know hey this would make a really great Wednesday Workshop. That the best way for us to do our job is to not be prideful. And to not be focused on our ego.

Usually, many of our arguments, many of our fights, many of our disagreements, that we have with other people including our children, our wives, our significant others, and our family, even sometimes our parents, and those around us at work. Even out on the street, is that when somebody challenges us our ego gets in the way, and it rises up and all of a sudden, we’re no longer discussing a small thing, because somebody just challenged my authority. They just challenged my position in life. They just challenged me, and our ego prevents us from hearing any more, from thinking, any more. End result? Sometimes we punch somebody in the face, or we get punched in the face, or we get fired, or we quit our job hastily without thinking it through. All of those things are about ego. 

So, when it comes to doing my job, when it comes to working, not just work, at work, but work at home. When it comes to working on life, keep your ego in your handbag. Keep your ego in your handbag. Don’t let your temper destroy that. 

Some of you may or may not remember or have heard. We talked about verbal judo and one of the things we discuss in verbal judo is that tempering. We talk about steel. Most, of you know that I am somebody that absolutely adores and loves knives and swords. Been to my office you understand that. Well, my J.T., my little buddy. My son is now like me. I remember just at Christmas time he was looking at me and he’s sitting there with two swords in his hand he goes, “Dad, now I’m like you” and I’m like “Oh my goodness this is how it starts”! He’s got like 14 knives and three swords. My son is a little bit crazy, but so am I. So, there we go. 

But again, when you temper steel right, it’s that volting process that takes place. You heat the metal up, you cool it down. And you heat it up, you cool it down. You heat it up, cool it down. That process of doing that is hardening the steel. It makes it harder, and harder, and harder, and over time. It gets more and more hard and that steel becomes worth more. Whereas something that’s not. So, Jonathan bought two swords for $23 dollars.  You can imagine the temperance and the steel. That’s the process, it’s called tempering the steel. That temper, if it doesn’t if it loses its temper, then it breaks, it’s brittle. 

Well, guess what happens when you have your temper go out? That’s right! Because of your ego, your temper goes up and when your temper, and when you lose your temper, well you get broken.  You make mistakes, you burn bridges. You hurt people, and hurt yourself. And you hurt relationships. 

So, when it comes to doing my job, I want to keep my ego in my handbag. I think that’s good advice for all of us on this beautiful Wednesday.

All right, God bless you guys.  Remember, to be valuable because nothing less will do. I love you guys. I appreciate all the hard work you guys keep putting in keep it up.

 I’ll see you next week.