One-Person | Listening Tour

Let’s just get this out-of-the-way:  regardless of your political affiliation, the 2016 U.S. presidential election was ugly.  I’m all for being scrappy, but not in the traditional Webster’s dictionary sense.  I am all about being scrappy in the sense of being the underdog and working to achieve success.  That’s what I expect out of myself and everyone who I work with.  And that’s not what our last election was about.

I was taught to be scrappy first and foremost by my parents.  They immigrated to America the hard way.  By first fighting in the Hungarian uprising against what was then the Soviet Union.  Then living in refugee camps across Europe.  Immigrating to the U.K.  Somehow learning English while simultaneously earning their engineering degrees and working to feed themselves.  And finally immigrating to America and starting all over again with nothing more than their wits.

That’s just the beginning of their story, but I think you can tell where I’m going with this.

Equally important; the people who I grew up with and who I know today are the exact same way.  They work for it and give back to their communities all across the world.

I’ve done the same and continue to do the same, because it’s in my blood.  Everything from volunteering to dig out basements in freezing weather for Habitat for Humanity to learning and understanding the similarities and how to embrace the differences of people who live on the other side of our small planet.  And I’m encouraged by people across the world who do the same under much more difficult conditions than what I’ve experienced.

One of the things I learned with our most recent election is that there’s a lot of people who aren’t happy.  I’m interested in listening and understanding why.  This is something I feel I need to do.

Outcome:  a better understanding of how to help people to succeed and then helping them to succeed, one person at a time.