I'm Trying To Be A History Maker
By Ian Harding
Ian is trying his hardest to put himself into somebody's history books! Whether he does it or not will depend if he's found the secrets of significance! Welcome to the tales of a man called Ian.
Let me take you through a typical week in the life of me. Monday, wake up around 6ish, crawl out of bed, ruffle my hair and give my cheeks a couple of slaps and march to the kitchen with the groaning chorus echoing from my belly. I eat breakfast, shuffle around the house hoping my eyes will soon open. This is followed by the rush upstairs when I remember I need to iron my clothes, as well as brush my teeth, wash my face, and have a bowl of cereal - thanks to the sheer fear installed by my mother and grandmother who always made sure I went to school with a ‘proper breakfast’.
Working Up A Sweat
Work begins at 8am after the bus ride in where I see at least 10 people all of whom seem to be torn between asleep and awake. Outlook is opened and the barrage of emails is apparent - of course the now routine deletion of all the spam the spam filter appears to miss is my first port of call) and reply to. Real work begins half an hour later with the main role of the day – managing an adult and community learning centre. It’s great fun but there’s always something to be doing: filling in necessary paper work without which we don’t get funding, talking to students, looking into new ways to promote what we do, or just planning new courses to serve the community. It’s hard work but amazingly rewarding. You meet some incredible people who’ve faced such adversity and yet manage to remain optimistic about life.
At night I pack in as much reading, socializing, exercise and chores as I can to stay on top of my schedule. Thank goodness for online banking and automated services to sort out your bills!
There’s a song by the Manic Street Preachers which contains this line, ‘If you tolerate this then your children will be next’. This sums up what I’m talking about. I see life as an opportunity to leave a mark, to create history, not just be a part of it. If you, like me, want to leave your mark on history, read on!
Overlook Offences
It seems to me that those who have created history have been really good at this one. There are those whose life statement is ‘life isn’t fair’! Whenever challenged about any attitude or asked why things didn’t work out they blame life: life isn’t fair. ‘If only this person or that person had (you fill in the blank) then I would have been able to…’. History makers display the complete opposite attitude to this. They don’t deny the offences or the missed opportunities but they do choose to overlook them. They have learned persistence.
Did you know that many of the most famous people in the world initially faced rejection? J K Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series was turned down by a number of publishers before having her work accepted by Bloomsbury. She could have chosen to carry the offence and decide therefore to quit but she didn’t. She chose to believe in her work above what others said.
A friend of mine says on this issue: ‘what determines your success is not the offence you face but how you respond to that offence’. We all face being misunderstood and sometimes misrepresented by other people. At that point we face a choice: carry that offence with us or overlook it. Carrying means it becomes a burden, overlooking frees us to move onto the next thing. To me, there is no choice really.
Eyes Bigger Than Your Belly?
The second trait I notice when looking at people who are historymakers is that they keep hungry. What do I mean by this? They are never content with their current success and are always looking to innovate.
This can be seen particularly in someone like Sir Alex Ferguson. Manchester United are the most successful team since the Premiership began in 1992/93. They have won it 9 times as well as winning the FA Cup in ’94, ’96, ’99 and 2004. During Sir Alex Ferguson’s 23 years at the club he has led the club to 23 major trophies including the first treble: League title, FA Cup and Champions League victory. What drives men like Ferguson to chase another title? It’s that Ferguson has discovered the importance of keeping hungry.
The same is true if we are to become historymakers, we must keep hungry. This comes by never assuming we’ve made it, never settling after one victory but always believing there is something else to aim for, another victory waiting. This ensures we remain motivated and as we remain motivated it allows us to motivate others around us.
How to keep hungry? Feed your imagination. Dream bigger than you did last time. Don’t rest on present successes, dream for a larger tomorrow.
Note To Self…
History makers are incredibly teachable. This comes from the fact that they know they don’t have all the answers. This does not mean they don’t have confidence in their ideas or their ability to carry them out but it just means that they are open to others’ suggestions.
Feeling you need to have all the answers can cripple your decision-making abilities, strip you of your confidence and ultimately leave you feeling insecure. None of these attributes help to make you a history maker.
Full Of It!
History makers are bold, passionate, and have perspective. The reason for this is that they have the confidence to say, ‘I don’t know’. This is incredibly important because part of growing as a person is found in accepting your current limits and seeking guidance from someone wiser and more gifted than you are. And that takes humility. No-one likes to admit they don’t have all the answers but doing so allows you to approach others and it frees you from others’ expectations. If I feel I have to have all the answers I carry an incredible burden. I will try too to live up to that expectation where one of two things will happen: either everyone realises I don’t have all the answers, loses respect for me and feels let down because they trusted me or I become someone I am not as I seek to be the image of myself I have created. Sound scary? It is. We all need to be ourselves.
This attitude can be found in many of the world’s most significant influences of the 20th century. Mother Theresa had a huge impact on the world around her. Was it because she had all the answers? No. It was because she loved others; she lived who she was.
Make History Not War
Although we don’t always recognise it we appreciate honesty and authenticity far more than a lie, no matter how well meant it may be. History makers know this and have the courage to face their own limitations.
There is a life full to bursting for all of us. It doesn’t have to follow the hectic schedule mine currently does but our lives are meant to use another song title ‘for something more than this’. Life is making history. For me it’s making history and seeing God made famous in my nation because I believe he is the answer (which is why I don’t need to have all of them!). You can be a history maker. It begins with a few decisions: overlook offences, keep hungry and accept you don’t have all the answers. You have far more influence than you know.
Ian Harding is the Manager of MegaLearn at the Megacentre in Sheffield. Over seeing educational programes for asylum seekers and refugees from around the world. Before stating a conversation with him - make sure you've got plenty of time. Full of energy and passionate about what he does.