My single statement

Seed magazine asks:

If you only had a single statement to pass onto others summarizing the most vital lesson to be drawn from your work, what would it be?

The question originated from Richard Feynman's Lectures on Physics, where he asked:

"If, in some cataclysm, all of scientific knowledge were to be destroyed, and only one sentence passed on to the next generations of creatures, what statement would contain the most information in the fewest words?"

Feynman's answer:

"… all things are made of atoms—little particles that move around in perpetual motion, attracting each other when they are a little distance apart, but repelling upon being squeezed into one another."

Excellent answer.  Huh? Perhaps the best answer for a physicist.  

Seed asked eleven other scientists to answer this question.

Jill Tarter chose to quote Carl Sagan for her answer:

'We are made of star stuff.'

I like that one quite a bit, too.

I'm not a scientist, but as a novelist, I have been thinking about the most vital lesson that could be drawn from my work. 

After much consideration, I have chosen this:

Children are continually encouraged to be themselves.  Be different.  Avoid peer pressure.  Be unique.  But when they become adults, they are often punished for being different.  Being unique.  Avoiding societal norms.  Being themselves. 

But you do not need to be a novelist nor a scientist to play this game.  As a teacher, the most vital lesson drawn from my work would be this:

The most important thing that a teacher can do is establish an honest, loving, and supportive relationship with EVERY student in the class.  Not just the outgoing student and the hard working student and the student who resembles the teacher in skin color, family background or demeanor.  Teachers must establish an honest, loving, and supportive relationship with the classroom bully, the exceptionally shy student, the lazy student and the struggling learner.  

And as a McDonald's manager, the most vital lesson drawn from my work is similar:

Managing a crew of underpaid, highly unskilled workers depends solely on your ability to establish meaningful relationships with your employees.  When your employees believe that you are invested in them, they will perform at a high level for you.

And as a wedding DJ, my most vital lesson drawn from my work is this:

Music is the least important part of a wedding DJ's job.  Managing the wedding by ensuring that problems are handles quickly and appropriately and ensuring that all guests (including the bride and groom) are having fun is the DJ's primary role.  

And so now I ask you.  What is the most vital lesson that can be drawn from your work?