Those who know me will tell you that I only have one volume. Loud. I’ve tried to fight it but it is just part of who I am. Corporate pod dwellers (unknown to me) have opened meeting room doors that I am in and told me to be quiet. I have even been “shushed” by a fellow (again unknown to me) passenger (sitting two rows ahead I might add!) on a flight to Wellington. So it was a delight to hear Stacey Shortall speak at a Mother’s Day event last week. Even though she was speaking to 300+ people in a school hall, she declined a microphone. I liked her immediately.
Stacey is one of those speakers that make you wonder what you have been doing with your life. I was already aware of her work as the founder of the “Who Did You Help Today” social movement but that only scratches the surface on the impact she has had and is having on the greater good. The thing that most impressed me was her clarity of purpose. She has a belief that we all have crossroads in our life and that it is vital we have people who care about our success at these crossroads. Some are lucky enough to have lots of people at their crossroads but some have very little.
Stacey’s projects have been all about loading up people into the life’s crossroads of those who really need someone in their corner. More people at crossroads for children through the Homework Help Club. More people at the crossroads for mothers in prison through the Mothers Project. And more volunteers being matched with not for profits so they can show up at someone’s crossroads through Help Tank. If you get a chance, check out these projects and sign up for one.
Upon reflection, it was this bold and simple articulation of her purpose that was so inspirational to me. It is rare to meet someone who is so crystal clear about her “why” (as Simon Sinek puts it). and many (including me!) would be envious of this clarity. So it was a pretty cool morning all in all last week. Well, that and the fact that she owned her loud voice. Like a boss!
Emma Mclean Coaching 