Relight Your Spark
Posted on Mon, Jun 29, 2009 @ 05:31 PM
A guest post by Elizabeth Zirk (see previous post, "Becoming Fearless"):
You know that Beatles song, "The Long and Winding Road"?
It's been difficult lately to strike that elusive balance between business and personal. On the personal side, does everyone I know really need to have a birthday right now? I love my friends and family. To death. But seriously...were the winters just that cold for our parents!? I also volunteer my time for a non-profit organization that I feel deeply connected to (www.yfu-usa.org). It's a huge part of why I want to fearlessly plunge myself into starting my non-profit idea: support for study abroad program alumni. I love it. It's invigorating.
On the business side of things, I've slowed things down a bit. On purpose. A few weeks ago, I was discussing my non-profit idea every single day of the week with someone different. It became rather exhausting, even though I received a mountain of good information and feedback. But it was too much for me. Do I really want to eat chicken and rice every day of the week? I need variety. I can't forget that I'm a social person, with friends who have birthdays!
For me, it's also very easy to get pulled into the cycle of YES. Regardless of business or pleasure, it's hard to start saying NO to people. I don't like saying no, so I opt to say something else. In German (my second language), there's a word: Jein. It's a mixture of the words yes and no. It's when you truly believe that you can answer both yes and no to a situation. There's no English equivalent, but I allow that word to be my NO.
Why?
Back in March, Starla empowered us to go out there and interview someone who inspired us and also might give us some tips. Shannon, one of my fearless peer group companions, knew a friend of hers who would be a perfect fit for my interview assignment. Chris Balme, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Spark (www.sparkprogram.org), is one of those individuals who was gracious and talented all in one. His program is genius BTW!
Chris and I sat down together for an hour and I truly felt like someone was listening. We've even kept in contact since then, which only allows me to feel more at ease with continuing to ask questions. Since interviewing Chris (which didn't actually feel like an interview), I've met a large handful of people who are genuinely interested in my idea and are willing to help.
The other huge part of it is that they're human. Incredibly human. They are giving, humorous, intelligent, and social. Hey, wait, that's me too! If my theory is correct, I'm pretty sure they have bad days too. They're saying NO to people too. In their own way, of course.
So, I might be learning how to make my own pathways into becoming a fearless entrepreneur, but I'm also human.
Spark creates real-world opportunities for youth, arranging workplace apprenticeships that help middle-school youth become confident, engaged, self-motivated learners. Since 2004, Spark has turned hundreds of workplaces into learning spaces, opening doors for hundreds of youth. Spark is growing rapidly to provide this model to organizations around the US, showing that middle-school, often seen as a time of increasing problems, can be a time when students build the skills and personal vision to succeed in high school, college and career. More info at www.sparkprogram.org.
Elizabeth Zirk grew up in the Bay Area, and works at WestEd, a leader in educational research and development. She does a lot of other things too! Check out her blogs at http://www.aliascrazy.com.