EMPOWERING OTHERS

          An English artist named William Wolcott went to New York in 1924 to record his impressions of the fascinating city. One morning he was visiting in the office of a former colleague when the urge to sketch came over him. Seeing some paper on his friend’s desk, he asked, “May I have that?” His friend answered, “That’s not sketch paper. That’s ordinary wrapping paper.”

          Not wanting to lose that spark of inspiration, Wolcott took the wrapping paper and said, “Nothing is ordinary if you know how to use it.” On that ordinary paper, Wolcott made two sketches. Later that same year, one of those same sketches sold for $500 and the other for $1,000, quite a sum for 1924.

          People under the influence of an empowering person are like paper in the hands of a talented artist. No matter what they’re made of, they can become treasures.[1]

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[1]John Maxwell, Leadership 101, 85.