Filed under: Development, Global Health Corps, Leadership, Public Health, Words of Wisdom
God bless the GHC staff for providing a tiny notebook at the start of training; mine was my constant companion for most of the two weeks . . . paging through it, here were the thoughts that moved me enough to take note – if not to always write down who said them. Quotes have a high rate of human error – I haven’t learned shorthand yet – but the gist is hopefully captured.
Deogratias, founder of Village Health Works: Where people are dehumanized by misery, they are dehumanized and can act like animals . . . you need to address the root causes of misery, not the consequences.
Deo also quoted FDR: . . . the test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abudance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.
Ed Cardoza urged us have a “hermeneutic of generosity” for one another, that is to trust that “every human is trying to be a good person doing a good thing.”
“Be aware of how people survive.” Unattributed – I’m not even sure what session it’s from – but lovely to me.
Lenny Mendonca of McKinsey & Co told us to be “tri-sector athletes” – to be fluent in private, public, and non-profit sectors to work well in any one of them.
Rebecca Onje, Founder of Project Health: Nothing drives me crazier than people elbowing each other out of the way to serve poor families . . . like we’re running out? Like there’s a short supply?
Condoleezza Rice: It is an enriching experience to consider why you have so much, rather than why someone else has so little.
James March, Professor Emeritus at Stanford GSB, on the message of War and Peace: Heroes only imagine that they accomplish things. History is created by millions of little people doing their jobs (well).
I’m cleaning out old boxes to make room for new boxes, and found my application to the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership program in 1998.
Q: In your school and community, what is the most rewarding and challenging aspect of being a leader for you (75-100 words)?
A: The most challenging aspect of being a leader is that between all the activities of leading, you have to keep in the front of your mind who you are and where you want to go. If you go out walking, chances are people will follow you, but you have to remember that the primary goal of walking is getting somewhere, and that if you don’t know the way, then the people behind you are lost as well. I think the most rewarding feeling would be to take a look around you and know you’ve arrived where you want to be, and then take another look and know you’ve helped other people get there too. That’s what leading is.
