Tag Archives: challenges

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The single best way to develop leaders: Throw them in!

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I read the book The Dream Giver  years ago.  And like most of my books it is underlined, highlighted, corners bent back, and notes filling the margins.

The quote below comes from that book and is one of the quotes that I frequently refer to:

  • Partially because I want people to feel nurtured and supported and I struggled with the idea of just throwing people in over their head.
  • And partially because the quote inspires me to think of what is possible each time someone is in over their head!

…And then one day this quote fit every part of my life, personally and professionally.  In that setting, this quote gave me hope and encouragement in the midst of a very confusing, lonely, painful, scary, and growth-filled time!

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Earlier this week I shared this quote with three women that I knew this would resonate with.

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Outside the Comfort Zone: In Hot Pursuit of the Vision!

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Change is growth.

Change is growth.

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This week I realized that it has been 8 months since we agreed to turn an unwanted opportunity into an adventure.  Today as I type this the last box has just been unpacked, the pictures are hung, and we’ve taken one quick spin around the compound on the Harley – celebrating that we are finally settled!

This weekend we shopped at one of the stores that we were in, on my first day here, causing me to reflect on that day:

  • Shortly after 3 AM the anticipated call to prayer blared from a speaker.
  • Once we were up we drove on roads that have lanes painted on them, however those lanes really don’t mean anything, as drivers simply drive wherever they want, whenever they want with no driving protocol or enforcement.  
  • As a woman – driving is not a wise option for me.  (It’s not a law, but you can get arrested if you do it!)
  • I was wearing my new black “cloak of invisibility.”  (In case you wondered, it is effective – as my husband quickly discovered how difficult it was to identify his wife when everyone is wearing a cloaking device!  Since that day we have wondered how small children learn to identify their mothers in a crowd and joked that perhaps I should add a huge Harley Davidson decal to the back of my “cloak” so he can spot me in a crowd!)
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Moving forward when you don’t know, what you don’t know…

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As my husband and I prepared for our international move we went to the bank and ordered the currency he would need when he arrived there.  The banker was a young man who had grown up as an expat child in this foreign land.  The currency arrived without incident and my husband had nothing to worry about.

Two and a half months later, as I prepared to leave the U.S. to join my husband. I went to a bank in a different city to order the same currency.  When the teller asked if I wanted small or large bills, I quickly said small.  (Using my U.S. filters and thinking about how hard it can be to use big bills in the U.S. or in Europe.)

The day I went in to pick up the currency.  Every teller knew immediately who I was.  (I thought that was odd.)  A few minutes later a teller emerged with four large wrapped packages.

iStock_000008219942XSmallAs she opened them she revealed 4 “bricks” of bills.  I was in shock! 

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Thankfulness, Beauty and Struggle ~ In a Foreign Land

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fearIn my first two days in the midst of the foreign land that I struggled to move to, and as I began to wear my “cloak of invisibility” each time I left the compound ~ I met a family that had lived outside of Paris for a few years.  (That is a destination I would have preferred!)  The mother of this family shared how much more thinking and planning she had to do to get her two children around while they were there with no car.  Planning transportation routes, figuring out how much time it would take, preparing snacks before they would get on the trains, having to go to multiple stores to grocery shop.

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Wow, what a perspective change! 

Immediately I felt a wave of thankfulness for all the things that are easy about my new world.

  • I can either ride a bus that is provided by the compound to shop, or hire a driver that will take me wherever I need to go.
  • Most places have signs in the native language of the area AND in English, making it easier to get around and much easier to shop.
  • And in spite of my fear about living in a brown dusty desert – the compound I live in has grass, trees, and flowers.

What a powerful reminder that so many times the change we fear is not as hard or as bad as we imagined and that if we focus on “what is” instead of “what is not” – how much easier it is to find things to be thankful for! 

My treasured moments so far have included:

  • Opportunities to meet the women that I connected to virtually before my move that offered advice and encouragement.
  • Opportunities to attend brunches and exercise classes with women from all over the world – I am enjoying both the beautiful bouquet that we make together and soaking in the conversation that is filled with different accents, and different experiences, and a genuine desire to help each other navigate this place together!

The toughest part of my experience so far:  

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Perseverance: A lesson from my childhood hero!

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When I was in elementary school I was EXTREMELY fascinated with this man’s life, and his contributions to our world.  So much so that when my classmates were ordering posters of movie stars, I ordered posters of him.  When my family drove to Disney World in Florida from North Dakota, the greatest event on the trip was a surprise visit to his birthplace!

As an adult, my co-workers gave me a beautiful gift from Successories with this man’s image and the quote below. Today I honor his birthday by sharing some of the lessons about perseverance, character, courage and leadership that I’ve learned from a man I’ve never met…

He FAILED in business in ’31.

He was DEFEATED for State Legislator in ’32.

He tried another business in ’33.  It FAILED.

His fiancée died in ’35.

He had a nervous BREAKDOWN in ’36.