//Listen//

It’s hiring and annual review season. Experience has taught that although words enter my ears, I need not let every one of them establish residency.

22 years ago, a person agreed to approve my hire despite two reservations: 1) She said I didn’t have what it takes to serve as the organization’s voice, and 2) determined I had no writing skills. Years later, another leader decided to appoint me as local/national media spokesperson during a very turbulent PR season. A few years after that, a different leader asked me to co-author a book – the first of several published.

Clearly, authority and wisdom can travel on separate itineraries.

In a world overflowing with opinion, experience has shown that these words point to a better way: "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life."