In a recent LinkedIn post, Jon Colby wrote, “Allow yourself to rest today and remind yourself that every small effort or good deed contributes to the greater good. You are enough.”
If you attended last year’s AME conference, you surely remember Jon from the opening night celebration, and you will recall the engaging way that he demonstrated how improv comedy applies to leadership, life and careers.
We are excited to welcome Jon Colby back this year as a keynote speaker for the AME Everywhere 2022 conference. He will help conference participants become better communicators and leaders so they can fully engage the people who they serve – employees, customers and others. In the meantime, I am so grateful that his LinkedIn post has given us another positive thing to think about between the 2021 and 2022 AME international conferences.
As we head into Labor Day (or Labour Day, if you prefer) weekend in the U.S. and Canada, Jon’s advice to allow ourselves time to rest is timely. But the second part of his statement, “every small effort or good deed contributes to the greater good,” is even more appropriate for this moment.
Our news cycles are populated with stories of tragedy: hurricanes, tornados, wildfires, flooding, earthquakes, human rights violations, war and aggression, and the pandemic’s continued prevalence. It can be easy to forget that we have the power to act in our local communities to make the world a better place. I am sure if you take a moment to reflect, you will recognize where you have made a difference.
You contribute to the greater good when you mentor someone so that they can become the best version of themselves. Or when you show compassion for what someone might be dealing with outside of work. Or when you network with those in the AME community to help one another solve a work issue. Or when you have the courage to say to your team or your manager, “That might be how we’ve always done it, but that doesn’t mean that’s how we always will.”
Respect for people and a drive to continuously improve are pillars of the AME community. As we head into the long weekend, take a moment to rest, as Jon recommends. Remind yourself of all you’ve overcome on your journey and the people you have helped along the way. There is still much work to be done and the challenges will certainly continue to emerge, but your small efforts and good deeds add up. They are contagious and they contribute to the greater good.
We might not be able to do everything, but we can do the little things. And those little things matter.
You are enough.
As always, please stay safe and keep looking out for one another.
