Day One - Completion

1.15.16

On April 20^th, 2011 I walked into the Philadelphia office of Landmark Worldwide with a bagel, a thrill, and an adventurous spirit, ready to take on the world, all that was possible, and play an integral part in the fulfillment of what is really possible for us as human beings. 

I remember being an electrified bundle of nerves and excitement and not having any idea what actually lay ahead of me or how I was going to accomplish any of it.  I remember the beginning, of manuals and manuals and more manuals, and feeling like I was the most stupid person on the planet because somehow I forgot how to do addition or anything I had previously been trained in.  I remember crying in Katie’s office because I had no idea what the DFC was and I was responsible for doing it everyday.  I remember feeling like a deer in headlights when I got on the phone with a customer the first time.  And I remember the elation in getting off the phone and having made a difference in the life of a human being that I would likely never see or speak with again. 

The last 1700 days of my life have been the most extraordinary, transformative, moving era of all of the time I have spent in this here world.  I have discovered the gift of making a difference, the thrill of standing—deeply, powerfully, full of love and compassion—for the brilliance of the life of others.  I have been present to the grace and wonder of freedom, power, and the joyous dance of being alive and being a person who contributes that kind of greatness to another human being.  I have discovered that there is no limit to who I am and what is possible for my life and for the lives of others.  I have discovered the joy and thrill of causing others to get the difference their leadership makes and reveling in their own delight and wonder at their ability to make things happen that weren’t going to happen anyhow.  I have been touched, moved, and inspired to work with a group of exceptional human beings who go to work not to get through something, but to make something miraculous happen. 

For those that have not known and experienced it, when I tell you that being a Staff Member for Landmark is one of the deepest, most poignant, most thrilling and extraordinary experiences any human being could have, you may question my bold declaration.  I don’t know how to answer that matter of uncertainty, only to say that these last near five years have brought me through a multitude of transformations, only to come out discovering myself newly each and every time, and discovering along with that the beauty and grace of the power and magnificence of humanity and the gift we are to each other. 

Thursday, December 31^st was my last day fulfilling on the joyous, demanding opportunity of being a Staff Member.  (Though, we may also add that it may not be the final last day…)  This was, from a view, the most terrifying, adventurous, daring of choices I have made in a long time – possibly ever.   Completing this piece of my life has been the oddest and wondrous of experiences.  It has been bittersweet and heart-aching, and delightful and breathtaking all in the same moment.  I am clear there is something out in the world, in my own being, that awaits discovery and to be meticulously wrestled with.  That something lies in wait to be captured, exposed, and wondered at—something new but also known, there to take on and master.

So, for whatever will be next, I know and promise it will be taken on with passion and spirit; that it will be approached with the grace and wisdom of someone who has been thoroughly trained to make a most powerful and impactful difference.

And to the body of 400 plus human beings gracing the world with your white nametags and bold aliveness, I promise you will be proud of me.