Here is a guest post by the life changing Amy Lorton. Amy is a writer and editor at Dave Ramsey‘s office. If you’re passionate about writing, or sharing wisdom, you can guest post as well! Read how to here.

Throughout my high school career, there were two words that would have NEVER been associated with me—honor student. No, I wasn’t the kid in the bathroom sneaking a smoke or cutting class. And the only time I ever stepped a foot into the principal’s office was to pick up my brother. (He, on the other hand, never saw a rule he didn’t want to break.) I just knew I wasn’t blessed in the academic department.

Even thinking about taking a test simply freaked me out.  I would study all week, the quiz would be placed on my desk and my eyes would glaze over. The thought process would go something like this:  Question 1. Explain the Pythagorean Theorem? Hmmm. Pythagorean. That sounds Greek. What do I know about Greece?  I know I like feta cheese and those weird little olives. How come bitter can taste so good? What do they call a Greek salad in Greece anyway? Just salad?  And on and on it would go, with thoughts of the test far, far away.

Luckily for me, I met Mrs. Hiles, and high school life, as I knew it, changed. I took her writing class because I secretly thought her kids had the coolest names ever: Amy, Beth and Meg.  Mrs. Hiles stopped having babies before Jo came along. But still, she had three out of the four characters from Little Women. How awesome was that?

For the first time, I fell in love with a subject—writing. Also new for me, a teacher who recognized it and encouraged me to do more. Before long, I earned my first high school A. And then something even funnier happened. I also started acing tests in other subjects.

The reason for this long and involved story is simple. Whether you’re dealing with a high school kid with zero confidence or a 30-year-old team member, you can change a life with just a few encouraging words. Take time to recognize your team and their talents. When they do something good, let them know about it. As Dave and Chris both say, it’s almost impossible to have a passionate, creative motivated team if there is no recognition. Make a habit of catching them doing something right and watch the magic happen. Thanks Mrs. Hiles.

Question: How do you encourage your team?