Thursday, August 13, 2009

Choice and Fear

At 53 (soon to be 54) I am perplexed by some of my apparent choices. When I and many street smart youth founded The Spot youth center (http://www.thespotdenver.org/) in the early '90s I started a wonderful ride on an entrepreneurial magic carpet. When I joined Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado (BBBSC) (http://www.biglittlecolorado.org/) in 2005 I was unsure of joining an almost 90 yr old organization which was the local affiliate of over 300 nationwide Big Bro Big Sis nonprofits. I can truly say that I have grown and enjoyed both unique experiences. Each has challenged and rewarded me in many ways.

It would appear that I will have a choice in the next few months. Do I invest time, energy and resources to revive services to The Spot's youth? We merged The Spot with another nonprofit in 2004 and unfortunately this organization may soon decide to permanently cease serving The Spot's youth. At my 4 1/2 year anniversary as the President/CEO of BBBSC I can choose to step fully into our next chapter, which may include shrinking further due to economy, creating a "value proposition" focused on educational impact that will vault us to a transformational relevance, asking donors for millions of dollars, envisioning community changing partnerships, and simply walking fast down a path of creating maximum quality with our children, mentors, staff, board, and investors. Both exciting, demanding, and scary choices.

Can I do both? Should I do both? Do I want to do both? Can both be succesful?

Maybe. Not sure. Yes and No. Yes.

At the outset I knew that 2009 was going to be a significant year in my life and the lives of the people I care about the most. While fear of failure, fear of being over extended, fear of holding back one or both organizations must be acknowledged, considered, and worked on, I will not let fear block my decision. Other factors will influence my decision, but not fear.