Help Just One Person
Patrick Leddin, PhD
Practice Leader | Professional Disruptive Speaker | Led the Vanderbilt Disruption Project | WSJ Bestselling Author | Podcast Host
"When did we decide that helping just one person isn't big enough?" - Shiza Shahid
Two nights ago, I intended to go to a vigil for victims of the Covenant School mass shooting in Nashville. We live a few miles away from the school; darkness surrounds us.?
Then, my wife,?Jamie Leddin,?reminded me that she was moderating an event at?Vanderbilt University?that conflicted with the vigil. I opted to go with her. I'm glad that I did.?
The guest speaker was?Shiza Shahid. She is a co-founder of the?Malala Fund. Malala is an education activist in Pakistan who was shot by the Taliban merely for attending school. Malala miraculously survived. She became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate and fights for the 130 million girls worldwide who don't have access to education.
As the conversation unfolded, Jamie and Shiza discussed the shooting in Nashville and its impact on our community. Audience members followed up with questions about the angst in our community and the divisions in our nation and world.?
Shiza's comments about feeling overwhelmed by big, complicated (awful) issues spoke to me.?
She asked, "When did we decide that helping just one person isn't big enough?" She followed the question with, "the key is believing you can make a difference and just show up."
Thanks to Shiza for sharing these profound words.?Following them is the essence of leadership in action. It requires presence, empathy, resource allocation, problem-solving, and much more.
May all of us, starting with me, choose to help just one person today.?
Make it a great day!
Patrick
Turning data into strategic information. With a very broad knowledge base I quickly find gaps and nuances in source data to extract the maximum ROI.
1 年It reminds me of a story about turtles on the beach trying to get into the water before they get eaten by a seagull. One person picks up a little turtle and takes it to the water. Another person says look how many there are - what difference will taking one turtle to the water make? They were answered - "It make a HUGE difference to that turtle" - this is the same concept!
Sr. Advisor, Financial Planning & Analysis
1 年Help that one starfish....
Chief Operating Officer at Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney
1 年You have to eat the elephant one bite at a time. Everything we encounter in life that seems daunting, overwhelming, and quite possibly impossible can be accomplished by taking it on gradually one step at a time. We need to find a way to start the process on these seemingly impossible issues, and only then we will find ourselves at the successful end result.
Luxury Resort Sales, and Marketing Leader. Specializing in destination resorts, golf resorts, villas and private clubs. Director of Sales and Marketing Saddlebrook Tennis and Golf Resorts
1 年powerful
Retired
1 年A great reminder. Thanks for sharing!