I have been honored to be a part of a cool Seth Godin concept, whereby I received a copy of the book entitled, The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz via Peter Kim. I consumed the book in a little over a week, which is saying something because it is generally about a topic that I had previously thought I would never have much interest in: impoverished women in Africa.
Its not that the topic hadn’t been important enough for me to read about previously, I just couldn’t really connect with it. Until The Blue Sweater, that is… Which not so ironically is part of what the book is about, our interconnected world.
In a word – whoa
To label this autobiographical tale of world changing feats “inspiring” is a gross understatement. The story unfolds with a young Jacqueline hell bent on making a difference and ends after an epic journey of work, setbacks, triumphs, horror, and redemption. That’s the Hollywood sounding version. It’s way better then that though. I was hooked after reading this passage from the Prologue:
Each of these individuals and so many more have given me an incredible education about the human capacity to overcome enormous obstacles, how alike we are in the most fundamental ways, and that what is most important is our individual and shared sense of dignity. To a person, these unforgettable individuals, many of whom endured impossible suffering, never lost their sense of life or humor.
Yea.
Personal Reflection
My biggest take away from the book is to just keep pushing. What I loved about Jacqueline’s stories was that during every hardship and every setback, she just kept putting one foot in front of the other. Sometimes her pushing moved her forward, and sometimes her pushing moved her laterally or even backward, but she kept pushing nonetheless.
In life and in large organizations, I’ve found that there is always going to be somebody to tell me no… It’s inevitable and when it happens I actually have a choice. I can accept the negative response and do something else, or I can figure out how to squeeze that lemon.
Who is next?
As part of my agreement with Peter, I am now ready to pass the book on to someone else who can enjoy it, learn from it, and share it with others. If you would like me to send it to you please shoot me a note with your name and address. I will mail it to you, with the expectation that you continue the process when you are through with it, and pass it on. An old friend of mine from my days at Gunter AFB, Ross, has requested the book next. I am happy to pass it on to him as I am sure that he will get as much out of it as I did…
In the meantime, keep pushing.
There are many Chris Hall's in this world. This one blogs and tweets under the code name: hallicious.
