Last week I got a call from the boss – or ‘Andy Cope’ as you may know him. He said that Radio Leicester had phoned and asked if he could do a guest slot to discuss the topic of ‘motivational quotes’ and whether they actually work. Copey wasn’t available so I stepped up. Gulp! Live radio!
The professional that I am, I spent a few hours doing some prep. I hammered Wiki and Google and collected a shed load of quotes from the greats; Mandela, Einstein, Jobs, Obama, Gates, Branson and, err, Cowell? I turned up fully armed to the show so I could at least sound like I knew what I was talking about. I mean, who can argue with Einstein’s
“The problems we face cannot be solved with the same level of thinking that created them.”
Boom! I was going to blow the audience away.
The moment came and the host was great. He was like a conductor who effortlessly managed to get his nervous and fidgety orchestra (me!) to talk naturally about the subject. I actually relaxed, and that’s when the penny dropped.
All my prepared quotes from famous people became irrelevant to the discussion. Listeners were getting in contact and sharing their own quotes but they weren’t sharing the sayings of Ali or Churchill, they were sharing stuff their mum told them or what grandpa said on his deathbed. And, to be fair, these quotes were a whole lot better than the ones I’d Googled – because they had an air of authenticity. That’s not to say Mandela’s quotes are rubbish, but words of wisdom from your grandma are likely to be at least as good.
Then, as the show was drawing to a conclusion, the host asked me, “Is there any motivational quote you want to leave us with?”
Without thinking about it, and having certainly not prepared it in advance, I said that my most motivational quote comes from my now nine year old son Rohan. From the age of six he has periodically said this to myself, my wife Sandra and his older brother, Ethan:
“Mum – you are the best mum in the world;
Dad – you are the best dad in the world;
Ethan – you are the best brother in the world;
and I’m the best me in the world!”
What makes it even more motivational, however, is when I think back to the times when Rohan has said it. It was never after a birthday or Christmas or when we’d bought him something – it always happens when, as a family, we are spending time together, feeling close and appreciating what we have in life.
That, for me, is the most motivational quote in the world. It’s real, it makes me feel good and (most importantly) it inspires me to want to live up to it.
Eat your heart out Branson!
Darrell x