Articles
Mother Teresa and Hitler
By Megan McDonough
This summer World WIT (Women, Insight, Technology) had their first national convention. I was lucky enough to teach yoga at this wonderful event. During one of the general session, Edie Weiner, a futurist, spoke about trends and where they were heading. She wove together a spectrum of fascinating facts from water supply issues to politics to nanotechnology. This woman knew her stuff. At one point she posed this question to the group:
“What do Hitler and Mother Teresa have in common?”
There was a collective intake of breath from the audience. That got our attention. We were sitting on the edge of our seats. The mere act of putting those two names together in the same sentence, much less the same breath, seemed like sacrilege.
Are you wondering, as we were, what the answer is?
Weiner compared the two from the perspective of leadership. And no one would argue that Hitler and Mother Teresa were outstanding leaders. From two different ends of the value spectrum, to be sure, but nonetheless phenomenal leaders.
Here’s what they had in common.
First, both were passionate about what they believed in. Second, both had amazing communication skills to get that passion across to others. But it was the third point that blew me away . . .
According to Weiner, both Mother Teresa and Hitler had a complete lack of embarrassment when it came to promoting their passion.
Have there been times in your life where you have hedged your words because you were embarrassed to speak your truth? Have you ever been embarrassed by your weight or your lack of knowledge on a subject? Have you ever avoided taking a risk because of fear of embarrassment? Have you ever not made a sale in your business because you were embarrassed about seeming too pushy?
If you’re like me, there have been plenty of times that embarrassment has gotten in the way, keeping you from stepping deeper into the world. Being embarrassed by who you are, what car you drive, what you do or say, or how you look and act causes most of us to retreat, pulling back from life.
What would happen today if each time embarrassment arose you greeted it with a strong antidote in the opposite direction — instead of retreating you rode straight though it?
What would happen in your life if you acknowledged embarrassment, but did not indulge it, and took strong action anyway, despite your discomfort?
Would embarrassment disappear, leaving only conviction in its place?
Megan McDonough is a Business Yogini, teaching Yoga to business people and business to Yogis so that all can work with more clarity and less confusion. She is the award-winning author of Infinity in a Box; Using Yoga to Live With Ease.
