LOOKING BACK OVER MY CAREER, I sometimes I think of a roller-coaster as an analogy for the relative arbitrariness of a career: there are ups and downs, not necessarily related to personal effort or work. Today’s success does not guarantee tomorrow’s victory. Luck, moreover, plays an important role. Because things rarely turn out as we plan or imagine them, a measure of humility and modesty is essential for keeping a level head over the years.
And yet humility is not a virtue that is typically thought to characterize powerful people, whether politicians, business leaders or intellectuals. The traditional definition of humility associates it with prudence, conformism and submission, which is why leaders often reject it and people tend to associate it with the also-rans of this world.
Aristotle placed humility between two extremes: insecurity and inferiority at one end of the spectrum and arrogance, vanity and pride at the other. Simply put, humility is the recognition of one’s limitations, which leads to self-improvement. And in my experience, rather than limiting our scope, it helps us achieve our goals.
Following are some principles to embrace that will enable you to display humility in your personal and professional life:
Some of the winner . At that time, we were creating IE School of Architecture and Design, and were seeking expert advice for the mission, programs and faculty of the future school. Lord Foster listened to me for almost 40 minutes, without interrupting me or asking questions, attentive and fixing me with his gaze.
