I recently read about a woman simply known as The Pancake Lady, in a book titled Power to Create. The author used her story in the first chapter of the book basically to inspire his readers. I will tell her story briefly, and I am sure you will agree that it is inspirational. After this, I will look at the leadership lessons that I have gleaned from studying her story.
She was a Christian woman who lived in a small Costa Rica village. She was famous for starting an economic revolution in her village which swept across her entire nation and caught the attention of the president!
The pancake lady was a member of Pastor Soto’s church and one Sunday morning he was preaching about re-creating solutions in spite of the devastating economic times they were experiencing as a nation. The nation of Costa Rica at that time was experiencing a recession, and a lot of young people had left due to job shortages. Things were bad for them individually and collectively.
Pastor Soto believed that things could be better, so he challenged his members to find their unique God-given gifts and then make creative use of the same. He didn’t stop there, he walked into the congregation and began to hand out a few dollars to people asking them to take the money and double it through their gift.
Then he approached this woman who the author of the book refers to as The Pancake Lady, and she shrunk back. She didn’t want his money. Why? Well, for starters, she was certain she had no gift. She was a woman who had been abandoned with three children. She was at a point where her self-confidence had been eroded. She had become negative. She was hopeless. She made a lot of excuses. She knew all the reasons why she would fail even before she started.
Fortunately, she had a pastor who would not give up and continued to urge her to take the money and multiply it with her gift. Finally, she admitted she knew how to make pancakes but then added, so does everyone.
Her pastor asked her to take the money make some pancakes and sell them to shopkeepers who had no time to eat breakfast before setting out to resume at their shops for the day’s business. She obeyed and was amazed at the profit she made on the first day. With encouragement from Pastor Soto, she re-invested that money and the profit and continued to trade. It was initially a struggle because some days she would burn the pancakes, but she stayed at it. Her persistence eventually paid off, and she soon transitioned from being one of the neediest people in her church to one of the most generous. She sparked an economic revival in her village which impacted her nation. How? Others were inspired by her determination to succeed, and they too began to pick themselves up and pursue their own goals. As a result, things turned for the better for the entire nation.
Leadership Lessons from the Life of The Pancake Lady
- Great women understand that to succeed you must persist. Even when she burned the pancakes, The Pancake Lady continued to show up and sell to her customers. As we pursue our dreams, things will not always go as we planned but it is our commitment to showing up and doing the things that count that determine if we succeed or fail.
- Great women understand that to grow, you must diversify. As her business grew The Pancake Lady added more items to her menu and gained new customers. She started with pancakes but didn’t end with pancakes.
- Great women are givers. The Pancake Lady had initially been needy, but as her business grew her generosity also grew. She began to help others. Giving is the way up.
- Great women are listeners. They listen when those in authority over them speak to them. The Pancake Lady listened to her pastor and followed his guidance thus changing her life dramatically.
- Great women may initially be paralysed with fear but, are willing to try. Being afraid is okay. What is not okay is to let fear stop you from taking actions that would move you forward. As motivational speakers say, feel the fear but do it anyway.
- Great women do not require supervision. The Pancake Lady went out and did what she was told to do without her pastor having to check on her constantly. If you require supervision, you are not a leader.
- Great women are those who can rebuild their lives after a major setback. In life, we sometimes have setbacks or demotions but rather than allow our setbacks to become our permanent abode we ought to use them as a launching pad for our comeback. Everyone has comeback power, but great women are those who harness it to their advantage. They rebuild their lives after a major setback.
- Great women know that personal responsibility is the gateway to greatness. No one becomes a leader, and no one becomes great by leaving their advancement, desires, and dreams up to others. They know that if it is to be it is up to them and they take responsibility for their future.
- Great women sometimes require a push. The Pancake Lady needed her pastor to push her, and many of us require a similar push to get going in the right direction. Let this story be the push that you need.
- Great women never know what they are capable of until they try. The Pancake Lady initially shrunk back in fear, she said she had no gift to trade. But then the same woman sparked an economic revival that affected her entire nation. How awesome is that?
Finally, what is your unique gift? What sets you apart from others? What is it that you alone can do?
