How Do I Get 1% Better Today?

The Answer: Be the Candle

One of my favorite leadership principles is this: A candle can light a thousand others without ever losing its own flame. Think about that for a minute. The candle doesn’t become weaker because it shared its light. It doesn’t burn out because someone else is shining. Instead, the entire room becomes brighter. Leadership works the same way. Somewhere along the way, many of us started believing that if someone else succeeds, it somehow takes something away from us. We become hesitant to celebrate, reluctant to mentor, or slow to encourage because we fear there won’t be enough recognition left for us. But that’s a scarcity mindset, and great leaders refuse to live there.

The greatest leaders I’ve ever been around didn’t spend their time protecting their spotlight. They spent their lives creating opportunities for others to shine. They celebrated wins that weren’t their own. They invested in people who might one day surpass them. They understood that significance isn’t measured by how brightly you shine, but by how many other lights are burning because you crossed their path. That’s the kind of legacy that lasts.

This also reminds me of one of the foundational principles we teach: E + R = O. We don’t control the Event (E), but we always control our Response (R), and our response ultimately shapes our Outcome (O). But there’s another perspective that’s just as important. You are an Event for someone else. Every conversation you have, every meeting you lead, every practice you coach, every classroom you walk into, every interaction you have with your family—you become part of someone else’s day. Your attitude is an event. Your words are an event. Your smile is an event. Your encouragement is an event. Your belief in another person is an event. The question isn’t whether you’ll influence people today. The question is how you’ll influence them.

Before today is over, someone will leave an interaction with you feeling either a little taller or a little smaller. They’ll walk away with more hope or less hope. More confidence or more doubt. More energy or less energy. Never underestimate your influence. You may never know how much one conversation, one encouraging word, one handwritten note, one text message, or one act of kindness changes the trajectory of another person’s life.

Today’s 1% Challenge: Intentionally light someone else’s candle. Send the encouraging text. Celebrate someone’s success. Give away the compliment. Invest five extra minutes in mentoring someone. Speak belief into a person who needs it. Your light won’t grow dimmer—it will make the world around you brighter.

Never Stop Getting Better

John Perry