You Are Pregnant With Possibilities

Bar keep takes a leap

Coco, Billing Specialist for JH Kelly, one of the largest industrial mechanical contractors in the Pacific Northwest, told Session 3B of the Leadership Development Lab (LDL):

"In 2001, I was 21 years old and working as a bar tender. I had worked in the food services industry for seven years ever since I was fourteen, it was all I knew. I was nine months pregnant. Back then people still smoked in bars. Being pregnant, I was uncomfortable in this smoke-filled environment. My boss, who was not only my employer, but a good friend was just as concerned as I was about my unborn baby's health. One day, he told me his wife, who worked as a receptionist for a construction company, told him her company was hiring for a Billing Specialist position. He believed I would be great at it.

"Being nine months pregnant, the idea of starting something new was terrifying to me. I was very hesitant since I'd never worked in an office setting, but I took the leap of faith, applied, went through the interview process, and got the job! It's now 2022, twelve years later, I am still doing construction billing and I love my job!

"The lesson I learned from this experience is the importance of taking that "leap of faith", trusting someone who believes more in me than I may believe in myself can bring the rewards of a happy purposeful life.

"The action I call you to take is listen to the people who express their belief in you. Don't blow them off with 'Who me?' or 'You can't be serious.' Be willing to take a leap of faith even in the most terrifying times. Don't let your current circumstances hold you back.

"The benefit you will gain is confidence, pride, and a joy-filled, happy career that will keep you on the growing edge."

Don't miss the all-important line in the above story, "He believed I would be great at it." Coco's boss's belief in her helped instill in her the confidence she needed to make the leap, risk, take a chance on an entirely new kind of work. Her boss gave her what Turbo Leadership Systems calls a "Life Sentence." The more authority you have (her boss), the more powerful your life sentences can be. Don't underestimate your potential for entirely changing the destiny of another person's life.

"Everyone who got where they are, had to begin where they were."