The Spark

If you participated in yesterday's exercise, I'll touch on that below. If you didn't, just ask yourself this:

Do you remember when you started in nonprofit work?

Do you remember intentionally choosing a career path that might not be the most lucrative option?

Do you remember the feeling that came with that decision?
The sense that it might all be worth doing, because you could make a difference in a cause that matters?

And now?

Have you been lucky enough to have that hopeful wholesome dream rewarded and validated and acknowledged, consistently, throughout your non-profit career?

Or have you, like many people, experienced at least once the disappointment and frustration of having the very people you expected to partner with you show themselves to be less than enthusiastic about your commitment?

If you've had that happen even once, you know it can be hard to recover.
It's a hard splash of cold water that can drive the spark of inspiration deep into hiding.

But think for a moment about the bright-eyed hopeful you that started this journey.

Was that person a giver, committed to helping the cause?

I'm sure the answer is yes. Yes, they were a giver.

But did they also hope to receive something, to experience something, to feel something?

Of course they did. They were absolutely a giver, and they absolutely wanted something as well.

Validation, acknowledgment, belonging, accomplishment, cooperation -- all the great things that come from partnering with others in a worthy cause.

And that first moment where you might have felt that splash of cold water?
That's a turning point.
Not everyone recovers from it.
Any organization you're helping right now should be glad you did.

So what does this have to do with that list of categories you may have written from yesterday's prompt?

Only this:

Every one of them participates in your work with that same spark of hopeful ambition that you once felt.

Donors? Yes.
Service recipients? Yes.
Board members? Yes.
Members? Yes.
All of them? Yes.

They all still hope to receive something, to feel something, to experience something.

If they didn't, they would not participate.
And what's more: if that spark goes away, so will they.

What this means for you and me:

If you're reading this now, I expect it's because you believe in your work and in your ability to make a difference that matters.

I feel the same about my own work.

And that puts us in a special position:
In our relationships with every person our work touches, we have the opportunity to foster and grow that spark, or to dampen it.

If you have a list of relationship categories from yesterday's prompt, you might start to think about the spark that moves each one of them.

Nurturing that spark is the secret to helping the whole lot of them move forward together.

And I'm willing to bet that's the reason you started this work in the first place.

All the best,
A.

P.S. Hang on to that list, we'll look at it again tomorrow.