How Much Is Enough

There is another section in the book Life 101 that really struck me.  The authors said, "If your goal is not reached in the time frame you set, set a new time frame.  Do what else needs to be done to get it.  When you've done all that, and that's still not enough, do some more.  When do you stop doing?  When you've gotten what you want...Do whatever it takes to achieve the results you want...When you have what you want, that was enough." 

Wisdom of Thomas Edison

A couple of days ago we watched the 1940 movie "Edison, the Man."  There were some quotes in the movie that I really liked as well as some other quotes by Edison that I feel have meaning for us as Esperanza. 

Thomas A. Edison: [after the latest attempt to find a filament that will work in the electric light] Well, we failed again. That's the net result of nine thousand experiments.
Michael Simon: Too bad, Tom. We know the work you have done. We are as sorry as you are that you didn't get results.
Thomas A. Edison: Results? Man, I got a lot of results. I know nine thousand things now that won't work.

Edison:  What man’s mind can conceive, man’s character can control. 

Thomas A. Edison: Uncle Ben, I've got to do something, and I'm open for suggestions.
Ben Els: You foolin', Tom?
Thomas A. Edison: I wish I was?
Ben Els: Nobody ever asked me for advice before.
Thomas A. Edison: Why, then, you ought to have a lot of it stored up.

Restlessness is discontent — and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man — and I will show you a failure.

• The Diary and Sundry Observations of Thomas Alva Edison (1948), p. 110

Make Yourself Irreplaceable and Indispensable

One of our Esperanza Board members--Flavia McKnight-- asked me to review a resumé that she needed to write for a class assignment. It made me start thinking about what will be important to us as we hire Esperanza staff.

As we look for Esperanza staff there are certain things that will catch our attention in a resumé, in an interview, and in conversations with references. Jack Griffin, author of How to Say It: Be Indispensable at Work captures some of the qualities that will be extremely important not only to get hired but also to keep one's job and to get promoted.

Griffin says that every business speaks and thinks in the language of money. The language we want to speak and think at Esperanza is results. The bottom line for all we do is the impact it has on Esperanza scholars and their growth. Therefore, someone's position and duties in that position don't mean as much as what effect those duties had on student growth. In other words, it would be much more impressive to see that 100% of students participating in a tutoring program advanced than just stating that a tutoring program was implemented.

Paradise Is Where I Am

Paradise is where I am. These words of Voltaire that Kevin Eikenberry shared yesterday spoke to me--not only for my personal life but also for Esperanza. I want everyone at Esperanza to feel that way while we are working together in the planning stages as well as once the school opens.

I like what Kevin Eikenberry said: "As leaders we have the responsibility for the environment in which those we lead operate. We can choose to make the working environment one that promotes people, their confidence and their success. We can find glimpses of what paradise looks like for others and help them find it in their work. When we do these things we are creating lower turnover, higher productivity, and greater results..."

These thoughts from Kevin complement perfectly the Dr. William Purkey "Inviting School" theory and principles that we are using as a foundation for Esperanza. Therefore, I am going to plan what I am going to do, starting today, to create an inviting environment so that all of us associated with Esperanza can say, "Paradise is where I am."