“The Gift You Have to Give the World”

Be careful what you say to others – it just might change their life.

And so it is with these eight words: The gift you have to give the world.  

Over three years ago I was teaching a coaching program to a group of sales leaders.  In one of the exercises, the group was practicing their coaching skills with me as the coachee.  The topic I chose for that day was a book I thought I wanted to write in the future.  As part of the playback of what they heard from me, a leader named George Greco said, “It sounds like you have a gift to give the world.”  I don’t know what it was about those words, in particular, but they immediately grabbed me.  They rooted deep inside me and have been vibrating in my soul for over three years.  I think about them often and regularly ask myself “What is the gift you have to give the world?” 

Merriam Webster defines a gift as a “notable capacity, talent or endowment” and “something that is thoughtfully given without expectation of return”.  I choose to adopt both definitions.

I know I have a gift for learning.  I love to learn.  Just like there are extreme sports, I often describe myself as an extreme learner.  Whether it is reading a book, listening to a podcast, using an app to learn a new language, or watching a YouTube video or documentary; I love to learn.  But that isn’t enough; I don’t like to keep what I’m learning to myself.  

I also have a gift for teaching.  I have a formal background in education, so I naturally love to share what I’m learning with others.  Sometimes it’s because I just found something interesting or fascinating.  Sometimes I want to share because it completely changed how I think.  Sometimes I’m not sure what to think because I’m still processing and want to talk about it with others.

So that’s what this blog is about – sharing these gifts: a gift for learning and a gift for teaching. It is also about the gift of sharing knowledge and expecting nothing in return.  I am passionate about the topics of leadership, development, coaching and the importance of conversation, so you’ll probably read a lot about those topics.  I hope you find these articles thoughtfully crafted and insightful. I hope they encourage you to pause and think. I also hope to become a better writer in the process.

I invite you to come on this journey with me.  I don’t know what will emerge on these pages, but I can promise we will learn a lot and have fun along the way.  Thank you for letting me share this gift with you.

And before you leave…let me ask you, “What is your gift you have to give the world?”

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