A Lesson from Booker T. Washington in Proactivity

Booker T. Washington was an extraordinary hero from whom we can learn many valuable lessons.

Born a slave in Virginia, he was freed after the Civil War, then set out to become educated.

He arrived at the Hampton Institute determined to gain admittance.

In his autobiography, Up From Slavery, he wrote the following:

“I presented myself before the head teacher…After some hours had passed, the [she] said to me:

“‘The adjoining recitation-room needs sweeping. Take the broom and sweep it.’ It occurred to me at once that here was my chance…I swept the recitation-room three times. Then I got a dusting-cloth and I dusted it four times.

“All the woodwork around the walls, every bench, table, and desk, I went over four times with my dusting-cloth. Besides, every piece of furniture had been moved and every closet and corner in the room had been thoroughly cleaned.

“I had the feeling that in a large measure my future depended upon the impression I made upon the teacher in the cleaning of that room. When I was through, I reported to the head teacher…She went into the room and inspected…

“When she was unable to find one bit of dirt on the floor, or a particle of dust on any of the furniture, she quietly remarked, ‘I guess you will do to enter this institution.’

“I was one of the happiest souls on earth. The sweeping of that room was my college examination, and never did any youth pass an examination for entrance into Harvard or Yale that gave him more genuine satisfaction.

“I have passed several examinations since then, but I have always felt that this was the best one I ever passed.”

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Stephen Palmer is a book writer for mission-driven leaders, a small business lead generation website design architect and persuasive website copywriter, a co-founder of The Center for Social Leadership, and the author of Uncommon Sense: A Common Citizen’s Guide to Rebuilding America.

He co-authored the New York Times bestseller Killing Sacred Cows: Overcoming the Financial Myths that are Destroying Your Prosperity, as well as Hub Mentality: Shifting from Business Transactions to Community Interaction.

He is a liberal-arts graduate of George Wythe University and a graduate and faculty member of the “non-traditional business school” Wizard Academy.

Stephen resides in Round Rock, Texas with his gorgeous wife Karina, awesome son Alex, and princess daughters Libby, Avery, and Laela.

Subscribe to Stephen’s blog and contact him at stephen [at] leadershipwriter [dot] com.