Actions can Speak Louder than Words if You Tell the Story

Recently, we mourned the passing of James Earl (Jimmy) Carter. He passed at the age of 100. His presidency is not considered to be that remarkable in achievements. He did do some amazing work. For example, he brokered peace between Egypt and Israel, a deal called the Camp David Accords. Some think peace is not the way to justice; some think peace is the only way to a better world. Jimmy acted on his faith and his belief.

Many are commenting that his greatest contributions came later when he, alongside his wife, volunteered for Habitat for Humanity. For those of you who don’t know of their work, they work with people in need of housing to make housing affordable at the same time building skills to maintain that roof overhead. He did that work largely out of the public eye. Jimmy and Rosalyn did their part for what we have come to believe is a cornerstone of health, a safe place to live.

In the end, all of us will be judged more by what we did than what we said. It is also true that we need to know what someone did. People who do good in the world are not often motivated by being seen. They are motivated to make the world a better place.

The reality is though, that in telling those stories of action, we inspire all of us to do our part. So speaking up, also means we must tell stories about the people who care enough to act.

We have adopted gratitude as a ritual at KenCrest for this very important reason. Gratitude increases positive energy. Speaking up about the contributions of our teammates raises our hope for more positive outcomes, more accomplishments. Gratitude connects us to the best we have to offer each other. We need the stories. We need to speak up.

I hope this will inspire you to speak up and nominate someone you know for a staff award.

Consider some inspiring quotes.

One person can make a difference and everyone should try.

I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples

One child, one teacher, one book can change the world

As one person, I cannot change the world, but I can change the world of one person

Whomever saves one life has changed the world