“The graveyards
are full of
indispensable men.”
~ Charles de Gaulle

It’s so easy for us to believe that we are indispensable. It’s so easy to convince ourselves that if we were to leave an organization, the void would be devastating to those left behind. In reality, life doesn’t often work this way. Such an attitude is usually evidence of two major character flaws — ignorance and arrogance.

It is well and good to see oneself as a vital, contributing member of an organization. It is healthy to believe that our words, actions, and efforts actually make a difference, a positive difference, in the lives of others. In reality, though, is anyone truly indispensable? Coach John Wooden didn’t think so.

Coach Wooden led the UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team to ten national championships over a twelve year period. How could anyone possibly fill his shoes after a stellar coaching career like that? Surely he, of all people, must be indispensable, yes? Coach Wooden himself said, “No!” In fact, one of Coach Wooden’s favorite poems was Ode to the Indispensable Man, by Ogden Nash.

Sometime when you’re feeling important,
Sometime when your ego’s in bloom,
Sometime when you take it for granted,
You’re the best qualified in the room.

Sometime when you feel that your going
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow this simple instruction
And see how it humbles your soul.

Take a bucket and fill it with water;
Put your hand in it up to the wrist.
Pull it out, and the hole that’s remaining
Is the measure of how you’ll be missed.

You may splash all you please when you enter;
You can stir up the water galore;
But stop, and you’ll find in a minute,
That it looks quite the same as before.

The moral in this quaint example
Is to do just the best that you can.
Be proud of yourself, but remember,
There’s no indispensable man!

One of the commonly-overlooked keys to success in life is humility — that is, being aware of one’s giftedness, but not flaunting it. Genuinely humble people are more concerned with sharing their gifts with others than with being recognized for their accomplishments. Truly humble people are filled with a sense of gratitude for the giftedness with which they have been blessed.

No one is indispensable! The sooner we learn this lesson, the better off we will be.