The Possibilities Are Endless

I was with a new friend yesterday. One of the many I've been meeting and networking with over the last weeks, as I've contemplated whether or not to launch my consultant practice.

It wasn't a power-lunch or anything -- just a meet-up at a coffee house in Berkeley. I got to know him; he got to know me. During the conversation, I saw that we were connecting.

He works with destitute unfortunates who are homeless and hungry. He has to raise money to cover costs not met by shrinking government grants. And I was able to answer a couple of questions for him about working with people of means, attracting their attention to his cause. Glad to do it. He was getting excited about his possibilities. I was getting excited about his possibilities, too. Wrapping up, I said: "The possibilities are endless. Let me know if there's anything I can do to make them become real."

As I walked back to my car to return home, I reflected on how good it felt to share with another person working in philanthropy. And I felt as though I'd somehow touched his view of his job and his organization, by awakening possibility.

And then I realized. That's it! That's what I want to be about: awakening possibility in other people. That's what this coaching and consulting business is all about. I don't mean it as a tagline or motto. It's really the reason for being. I've been searching for a way to articulate it. Now I know; now I have the words.