When I was 6, I won my elementary school science fair by attempting to grow bean sprouts out of an empty milk carton. Hardly groundbreaking stuff, but it sure was fun. Interestingly, my experiment was not a success. Sadly, nothing sprouted. I suspect now that I was awarded first prize because the judges could see my crushing disappointment, and noticed from my copious notes that I had tried really hard to do it all by myself (unlike some of the other fancier projects that had parents' fingerprints all over them).

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If you work with people who are in career transition, as I often do, you end up hearing a lot of interesting stuff about what goes on inside companies. There are many reasons why a person might decide to leave one job to pursue another. Often there are grievances involved. But far and away the commonest reason I hear for people quitting their jobs – is a lack of recognition and acknowledgment for work they have done.

Time and again I hear things like: “It would have been nice to have gotten a pat on the back once in a while. You know, it was the kind of place where you rarely heard the word thanks. I never knew if my contribution mattered. The only time I ever heard from my boss was if I did something wrong.”

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Recently I sat with a friend as we watched his nine-year-old daughter compete in a gymnastics competition. Standing only four-feet-eight inches tall, she walked straight out onto the floor after her name was called and nailed her routine. Then she returned calmly to her place on the bench with all the other gymnasts, back ramrod straight, head held high. I turned to look at my friend, amazed by his daughter's poise and confidence. "Don't look at me," he said with a shrug. "I don't know where she gets it!"

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Last month, I lined up for the Boston Marathon, running on behalf of the Run For Research Team (thank you to all those who kindly donated). What amazes me is that even though I’ve run this race before and have completed dozens of other marathons in the past, still, there is always that tiny seed of doubt right before the gun goes off. Some little part of me that does not fully believe I can finish the distance ahead of me. Sure, it says, maybe you crossed the finish line before, but what have you got today?

I believe all worthwhile endeavors are like this. 

And the more important that challenge is to you, the greater the doubt and risk of failure will be. The Wright Brothers did not know for certain that manned flight was possible before they actually did it. A series of near fatal disasters and financial setbacks preceded their eventual success. But on the morning of December 17th 1903, with a few jerky movements, Orville Wright finally coaxed the ungainly Wright Flying Machine into the air. It was a courageous leap of faith that lasted all of twelve seconds, covering a distance of only 120 feet. But it changed forever the course of history.

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One of the most common refrains I hear as a corporate coach is: I’m just too busy.  What used to be called overworked is now crazybusy, slammed, swamped, jammed, maxed-out – or God help us – no more "bandwidth".

Anyone who owns a car understands that it takes regular maintenance to keep it on the road. You don’t ignore warning lights or drive it with the needle in the red all the time – or if you do, you won’t stay on the road very long. Chances are you change the oil every 3000 miles, rotate the tires, maybe even take it for a tune-up now that Spring is here. Yet, we think nothing of driving ourselves this way without any fuel whatsoever – and then somehow act surprised when we end up in the ditch with our wheels spinning.

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