….are the ones you take all by yourself.
The Weepies said it and I concur.
I hired a felon today. A sad young man caught up in the spider web of government gone awry. We checked him out, thoroughly I might add. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time….too sad and unfortunate a saga to go into here. 10 years in prison for being in the wrong car at the wrong time.
And on Oprah I heard that a woman adopted 4 children and starved them to death. She got 4 years. This kid got 10….cause he had a shitty attorney and a government that is uneven and reckless.
I’m not in love with our government at this present moment and I have some work to do.
A momentary and related digression. I met a terrific fellow yesterday, a Tom Schulte who is out to change the world through the work he is doing and the work he is promoting in leadership. Tom has a network of over 14,000 in his Linked In group. An affable, smart, sharp man, easy to laughter, the two of us cutting up in the Frassrand Room at Carl House.
I shared that I had made many errors as leader in my organization but that I was on a stalwart path to become not just a good leader, but that I want to evolve into a GREAT one, to make a positive and demonstrable difference, turning lights on all over the planet, universe really. I admitted though that I was more a vision sort and not particularly good at managing people.
And then came the ‘aha’ statement from my new friend Tom:
‘You can’t manage people BB, you can manage systems and processes, but you LEAD people.’
How had that not hit me before. Wow. Double wow. I got it. I really GOT it. Lessons, coaching, past experiences all became clear, why I’ve had conflict with people and on and on.
But back to this young man. He was released from prison in November and no one as yet has hired him, the ‘felony’ they say. He deserves a chance. We all do. I spent a good bit of time with him, talking about what is important to him, where he wants to go, what he wants to do, what he learned. He’s humble, quiet and yes, deserves an opportunity. With his upcoming scullery job, I’ll guess that the dishes in my venue will experience a cleaning like they’ve never had. A hunch.
So, he will make his own steps, I’ve only created a fertile playground and apparently his loving parents converted their basement into a private apartment for him. That’s love. And I hope he does well. His dream, to be a Park Ranger. He won’t be allowed to as he’s stamped much like in the Scarlet Letter, a big ‘F’ on his forehead.
I’d prefer to see a ‘P’…..for possibilities. I shared how I felt he had an advantage over others having had that mind bending experience. His sense of gratitude is sky high. His appreciation of freedom, off the charts. His path is that much clearer having been where he never wants to return. No kidding!
I hope he’ll move into wearing a smile in time. 10 years in prison because you sat in the wrong car while your pals did bad things. Rough. Truly. The fall-on-my-knees kind of rough.
The only steps that matter are the ones we make all by ourselves.
You can do it buddy, and I’ll be the eager onlooker cheering you on.
And oh, should you hire a person charged with a ‘Fell-On-KnEe’ in YOUR business, you get a tax credit of $2400. Well, there’s the government making a tad of sense.
I’m still out to change the world, me and Tom Schute……one heartbeat at a time….I think I’ll start with mine.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JhpdhrGLXs&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
Courage my friend.
BB Webb