What Makes The Difference

Posted: June 12, 2017

Hey:

I want to share a story with you from my experience at BYU. It was a memorable lesson for me, and I hope you’ll get something out of it as well.

At BYU, it’s common for alumni to return as guest lecturers. In this case, one of the men in the story had returned to share his experience with us.

The story starts on a late spring afternoon, twenty-five years ago, the day two young men graduated from BYU. These men shared similar qualities. Both were better than average students, both were personable, both were returned missionaries, and both were filled with dreams and ambition for the future.

Recently, these two men returned to college for their 25th reunion.

They are still very much alike. Both happily married. Both have four children. And both, it turns out, work for the same bank.

But there is one big difference between them.

One of the men is a mid-level manager of a small department of that company. The other is president of his division.

What Made The Difference?

Why was it that one of the men was a division president, and not just a mid-level department manager like the other? What makes this kind of difference in people’s lives? Do you wonder sometimes?

It usually isn’t just native intelligence, talent, or dedication. It definitely isn’t that one person wants success, and the other doesn’t.

The difference lies in what each person knows, and how he or she makes use of that knowledge.

The man that became the division president simply made better decisions. Over time, that led to him getting more responsibility, and the status and pay that comes with it.

Our world is filled with information, and almost everyone has access to it. Your ability to make sense of that data, and to use it to make good decisions, is the best way for your set yourself apart.