When I was on a start up board, I was working with folks who had pretty much found their way. They weren’t trying to prove themselves –they had peaked in their careers. They were fairly well off. My boss at the time said they were either single, double or triple jet rich. Not something I could even imagine.
And here I was, in a new non-profit world, trying to prove myself and navigate a new industry. But even in my thirties, I was always obsessed with finding a better way. The founders said not to bother looking at non-profit models. I respectfully ignored their request so I could figure out what wasn’t “broken”, as I knew we could leverage elements of both for-profit and non-profit models.
Years later, I can say with certainty that I am that person who is comfortable in my skin, with nothing more to prove to anyone but myself, and with a hope of making a difference with humility. I’m not jet-rich, and I don’t need to be.
But I also believe age is irrelevant. If we exercise curiosity, we realize that the more we know, the more we have to learn. And in my philosophy, the more we humble ourselves, the clearer our path to finding a smarter way.
I choose to work with people who want to find ways to make the world even better, than with those who only want to better themselves.
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