Wednesday; September 25

I recently read about a friend of mine who had passed away.  I call him a friend even though the miles and years had separated us to the point that I read about his death through an online obituary.  Yet, through the years, his underlying influence has inspired me and has been a teaching point in many of my presentations on dealing with crisis.  My background has a connection to emergency services while he came from the mental health world, but together we worked with First Responders who were dealing with difficult situations.  We would travel miles to meet with people who had been a part of something horrific and it was on one of those trips where I learned that when we would finish with one of these interventions, he would have to live with the images presented in the discussions for hours or days later.  I was wired to be able to leave the stories in the room, he carried them with him.  Yet, the thing that impressed me was his willingness to keep going back and helping people.  He wasn’t going allow his personal inconvenience to distract from his desire and ability to help people who needed it.  He didn’t just invest in people, he sacrificed for them. 

Have we ever thought about how shallow our world would be if people weren’t willing to branch out beyond their comfort zones?  So many of the blessings we have are the direct results of people who set aside their own conveniences to support those in need.  These people realize that humanity can only get better when we are willing to expose ourselves to hardships.  Those difficulties might be physical or emotional; but no matter what they are, influential people are willing to endure them so that they can encourage us. 

Do you know someone who has stepped out of their comfort zones to help you?  Have you thanked them?  Do you have the ability to help others but aren’t doing it because of a personal inconvenience?  Are you ready to take that next step as a leader to set aside your limitations and help others reach their potential or recover their peace of mind?  

Think About It!

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