The Power of One

There’s an old Chinese story of a master potter who was so skilled in fixing rare pottery that people traveled from all over the country to repair their broken and precious bowls and carafes. Carefully and meticulously he restored the pieces, delivering them back to their former glory. Only he used gold to bond the pieces, and this golden glue made them far more valuable and durable.

I love this fable. It shows how one’s broken heart, shattered body and damaged soul can be transformed into a more powerful version of the previously suffering self.

Examples of this kind of human restoration abound. There’s Kortney Clemons, who lost his right leg to a roadside bomb in Baghdad and became the first Iraq veteran to win Paralympic gold. Malala Yousafzai who, after being shot in the head by Taliban gunmen, didn’t hide, but instead ignited a global movement. And Tracy Seckler, whose son faced a rare disease and instead of withering in despair started Akashi Therapeutics to develop a cure.

Tender Greens’ own employees have similar stories of resilience. Take Josh Saurbier, who spent his teen years homeless, sleeping beneath highway overpasses in Los Angeles while taking care of his wheelchair-bound mother. When his mother died, Saurbier, then 20, had nothing — no job, no education, no home. He found strength through this understanding: He could sink no lower. He’s now a manager at Tender Greens.

Trauma like this is something most of us cannot fathom, let alone shoulder with such courage and fearlessness. It’s easy to imagine how, under such dire circumstances, one could sink beneath the surface, drowning in despair, drugs and alcohol.

Yet even those who drift into dark seas can be pulled to shore. It takes just one person, a mentor, to extend an outstretched hand, deliver them to solid ground and show them how to breathe again.

Then, piece by piece, just like the potter, that mentor not only can fix the broken bits — she can fuse them back together using that golden glue, making the whole even stronger than before. Soon, strength supplants sorrow. Wisdom rejects toxic habits. Community and meaningful work provides the foundation for human achievement, decency and participation. Eventually, the person saved by the mentor becomes, in turn, a mentor himself.

It does take a village, but it also takes just one person to have an impact. The power of one can change the course of another’s life. The power of one turns adversity into advantage. At its essence, the power of one is a call to action — a call to truly make a difference in the life of another human being.

This long has been an ethos at Tender Greens. It really hit home, however, a few weeks ago after I attended The Human Gathering, a two-day private event in Malibu that attracted thought leaders committed to making a difference in people’s lives. The event drew me because of the work we do at Tender Greens with the Sustainable Life Project, an in-house operation that aims to hit the brakes on cycles of poverty and dysfunction in foster youth by providing paid internships at our restaurants.

The Human Gathering was an opportunity to share, collaborate and reveal vulnerabilities. Unlike most other attendees, I didn’t come with a story marked by severe tragedy or hardship. My job was to listen and dive deeper into heartfelt leadership. By the end of the weekend, I leaned further into the “Tender” in Tender Greens, inspired by stories of pain and perseverance and so many people offering a hand forward.

As a society, we can get so caught up in our own world, our own day-to-day business that we don’t realize that each of us possesses a superpower. Simply sharing our light, wisdom, mentorship and expertise could lead to the discovery of these life-affirming superpowers in someone else. Each of us has the power to show up — even when all seems hopeless— and open our hearts, extend our hand and say, ‘Come with me, you are going to be ok.’  And, if the timing is right and chemistry takes place, you might turn someone’s pain into power.