I’ve been going over my notes from the Global Leadership Summit that was held on August 8 and 9, 2013. For those who don’t know, the Global Leadership Summit is a conference for business people who want to become better leaders in their organizations. And while I’m a paralegal at a two-man operation, the attorney of which is the leader, I did find a lot of things that inspired me.
The summit had many wonderful speakers, including Colin Powell. One of the things he said was “People inspire people to go 
beyond themselves”.
No matter where you are, what position you work, you can always encourage others. These days too many people would rather bring people down. All you need to do is look at the jail system in this country to see proof of that.
How different it would be if teens encouraged other teens to be their best. If fathers led their children to be better people, and Christians reinforced Christians. Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:11,Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. We are too slow at times to pat one another on the back for a job well done. Could it be because we’d rather receive the accolades ourselves?
However, when you encourage others, you not only benefit them, but yourself as well. It makes you feel good to help others, giving a feeling of fulfillment. Helping someone to advance and 
to move forward also helps others. If you show compassion and help advance someone in your business, they might become a leader others want to follow and emulate.
The world would be a better place if more people encouraged instead of discouraged. Imagine if half the African-American leaders told their follows to get an education, even going so far as to volunteer in schools. Do you think our jails would be full? With the media, it’s just more profitable to discourage. And the further you hold someone down, the higher you feel about yourself.
As an author you can imagine the competition is fierce for the attention of agents and publishers. But it’s also one of the best professions for encouragement. Most authors love to help other writers get ahead. They volunteer for contests, critiquing others’ work. They read manuscripts and give blurbs for the book covers. It’s really an environment of encouraging more than competition.
When was the last time you found yourself encouraging someone else? Or has someone encouraged you to move forward? Please share with us. We’d love to hear your story.
