I Wish I Were A Better Person

Queen Noor was the headliner at a fund-raising luncheon for a local, very admired women's shelter in my town. She was simply wonderful - very real, sincere, candid and grounded - you feel like you could sit around the kitchen table and have a cup of coffee with her. Sort of the way I used to feel about Oprah, who is wonderful, but certainly not a 'Queen'.  And seemingly not as in touch with reality as she once was but that is another topic.

The executive director of this particular group is a force-of-nature in her own right; she just does not get to carry the 'Queen' title. Her enthusiasm for this organization has never wavered - she is older than I am and I envy her amazing energy.  I met her last year, actually interviewed with her for a job as marketing director for the non-profit.  She gave me her time, took me on a tour through the shelter, and basically told me I was ridiculously over-qualified - which was very true of my skills but not of my self-image at that time.  She let me off the hook - I would have eventually become miserable in that job; what would have initially begun out of an altruistic heart would have ended with much frustration and disappointment.  I think I was attracted to the passion I hear coming out of non-profit work, especially when I found myself at a crossroads in my career and my life.  What I discovered was that what I really needed at that time was a vacation, not a major career change.

Now I'm on the board of a small non-profit that I am really excited about. It is a program that prepares mostly women to learn enough English to get into a GED program. The director of this non-profit is also amazing - another force of nature. She has ideas and creativity unlike anything I've ever seen - probably very much like the gal I described above but about 30 years younger.

I don't think I have ever had the sort of high powered energy and focus I see in either of these two women. And experiencing the younger one and the older one, I really think you're born with this energy and drive - maybe it's not a specific or well formed idea, but people like this just don't know how to 'sit around'. They do things - big things. Some go into business and use those skills to make money, some go into government and figure out the system early on so they can become leaders; and some hear the call of the non-profit world and lead those of us who just hope that through their example we will become a better person.

And that would be me.