Principle 5: Lifeprint vs. Fingerprint
Just as we are all born with a unique fingerprint, we are also born with a unique life print. You are an exceptional one of a kind. You make an impression on people, on a room, on a project, and on your environment different than anyone else in the world. That is your life print.
Some life prints cause people to moan, complain, and avoid
work. When opportunities come up, they whine, “It’s not my job.” Where losers see a chance to evade working, the Champion sees a golden opportunity to leave his or her lifeprint on their company by saying, “Let me help you. This may not be part of my job description, but I want to help you find what you need.” That’s how you display your lifeprint.
Champions go the extra mile. Just like eagles, Champions operate at higher altitudes. Part of the higher altitudes is a “servant attitude” that they can spread around in companies, at meetings, on airplanes, at little league ballgames, wherever. Champions are grateful for their life. That forms their lifeprint. Out of that gratitude, they spread gratitude around as they walk through the earth.
Some of this lifeprint stuff may seem small such as the life print of Champions causes them to pick up trash, to smile, to hold doors open for older people, etc. But, the importance of a life print is life-changing. You are actually leaving an impression of yourself on the earth. It is an imprint of your values and attitudes.
Your lifeprint will determine your future. Those who try to avoid work will indeed end up avoiding work…they won’t have a job in their future! Those who engage in petty theft (like stealing soft drinks from machines) will end up feeling like life is stealing from them. Those that are genuinely helpful to others, bless their environment, family, friends, and dreams will find their own future blessed.
Make sure your lifeprint rocks and rolls. When you walk through life, leave blessings in your path. When you attend an event, leave positive words in the atmosphere. Remember “The Lone Ranger” TV show? He rode into town, chased off the bad guys, kept the widow from losing her farm, and helped the town find a new sheriff. When he rode away, everyone stared at his cloud of dust, saying, “Who was that masked man?” They were in awe of one good, noble Champion. He rode through town and left a lifeprint of help, action, integrity, and joy. Is that the kind of lifeprint that people will remember when you ride through town?
Losers tend to have a reactionary life print. They wait to see how others treat them and then they react to that. Champions are pro-actionary (yes, that’s a Di Lemme word). They don’t wait for others to act. They just make a decision about what the moment calls for. They know that the company does not own them so they act according to their own integrity. They don’t need the company or a boss to tell them the right thing to do. Their heart tells them. They decide what they’re going to do, and it doesn’t matter what others do. They smile, they are thankful, they are helpful . . . regardless of what others say or do. That is a lifeprint of a Champion!