Have you Inspired Others? Connor Boss can Teach you How

Running a business, competing for closing deals and pouncing one another with competitors, it’s easy to forget that owning a business is not only about generating revenue and gaining market share. Owning a business also means that you inspire your community, audience and market with your products, services and business practices.

You should also take that to a personal level: As a business practitioner, you should inspire others and add value to people’s life. If your focus is only on your profitability, you don’t add much value; remember, your business thrives because people have their trust in you and your product.

To kick-start, here’s a question for you: Have you inspired others? This is also the question I ask a lot to myself.

The truth is, I don’t know how to answer the question.

But one thing for sure, I know that I try to inspire others. That’s why I answer questions on Quora. That’s why I respond to questions via social media comments, emails and other communication tools.

I don’t know whether what I do will inspire others or not, but if I do inspire one or two people, I feel that I’ve won.

Here’s the thing: To inspire, you don’t have to do grand things; you can start by doing what you do best and help others to learn from you. If you are a doer, there’s gotta be something to learn from you! You can start inspiring others NOW. Got it?

Here’s a disclaimer for you: That principle is not coming from myself. Instead, I just learned that recently.

So, who’s responsible for this new understanding in what I do for a living?

Meet Connor Boss

Did you know who Connor Boss is? Her story inspires me: She is one of the contestants who compete for Miss Florida USA back in 2012. She was a top five finalist but eventually failed to grab the title.

This story is already awesome, but what you will learn about her makes everything else seems meaningless: Connor Boss is the first legally blind Miss Florida USA contestant.

Connor Boss, 18 years old at that time, was diagnosed with a rare hereditary eye disease when she was 8 years old. The disease, called Stargardt disease, has caused her vision to worsen through time. It affects her retina and central vision, but her peripheral vision is intact; this has made focusing on someone when having a conversation a challenge.

Yet, not many people, except the closest ones, know that she has this disease. No wonder: She lives her life with confidence – and full of humor.

I read her blog, and she OOZES confidence and poise in her blog posts – something that inspires me a lot. Just read this post, titled Baddest Blind Girl on the Block and you will understand what I mean.

Connor is now a college student at Florida State University. She’s doing great.

Lessons learned

Here’s to quote her from a CNN coverage:

“I hope that I could inspire others that anything is possible. You can accomplish whatever you set your mind to, and I hope that they can really learn from my story and take that and apply it to their own lives.”

A beautiful mindset from a beautiful girl. Thanks, Connor, for the inspiration.

So, here’s your takeaway for today:

If you think you are not worthy to inspire others, think again; f you think you need to be at a certain level to inspire others, think again. Everyone can inspire others – the only limit is your willingness to do so.

Have a great day!