As the girl who started out as the Princess of Genovia, I can’t tell you how encouraging it was to know that the Flying Nun grew up to be Norma Rae.
(Anne Hathaway’s comment/tribute to Sally Field during her Golden Globes Acceptance)
(watch the video of her acceptance here).

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Here are three really important questions:

What were you?
What are you?
What will you be?

These are revealing questions to ask for an individual, and for an organization.  Because in this fast-changing hyper-competitive world, change is the survival skill for us all.  And if we stay what we were, we likely will not thrive very much in today’s arena, much less tomorrow’s.

I think of many examples.  There is the regular description of Troy Aikman’s work ethic as a member of the Buck-Aikman #1 Fox Sports announcing team.  Joe Buck has said, in basically every interview he gives about working with Troy, that “to watch him work, you understand how he won three Super Bowls.”  Aikman is always so very thoroughly prepared!  So, he learned football, and now he has tackled career number two.  He kept growing – he keeps growing.

But this latest reminder, from Anne Hathaway, is especially telling.  It really is remarkable to think of The Flying Nun becoming Norma Rae becoming Mary Todd Lincoln, just as it is quite a stretch to go from The Princess of Genovia to Fantine singing I Dreamed a Dream in Les Miserables.

Now, I know less about acting than I do about playing quarterback.  But I recognize growth in skills and professionalism.  And when you compare these constantly-learning, constantly-improving, professionals to so many, sometimes self-destructive, “one-hit-wonders,” you realize that such commitment to continual improvement and growth is tough to live up to.  Thus, such growth is remarkably rare.

To grow, to change for the better, to actually get better – this is no easy task.  And for most of us, the temptation to coast on yesterday’s accomplishments, yesterday’s skill development, yesterday’s work, is so enticing.

And coasting is especially deadly in this era, don’t you think?

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Here’s a Reminder in Pictures…