Practical Inspiration for Nonprofit Leaders
I believe that to succeed in our sector we need to bring our whole selves to the job. In this section of the Giving Way blog I share short reflections on timeless wisdom I have encountered over the years. These morsels, many of which are drawn from Jewish tradition and other faith and philosophical traditions, help me move toward becoming the kind of professional – and human being – I want to be. I hope you find meaning in them as well. I welcome any insights you would like to share back with me as well.
Warmly,
Todd J. Sukol
In the wake of profoundly unsettling events these past few weeks, I am reminded of a profound lesson to be found in a deceptively simple question humanity cannot seem to stop asking: “Why?” A charmingly genuine, quirky, insightful podcaster/broadcaster/commentator retold the so-called Parable of the Chinese Farmer sent to him by a listener to his…
Thomas Edison, whose remarkable mind turned discoveries into groundbreaking technologies, famously said that “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety nine percent perspiration.” Indeed, many of the world’s spiritual traditions warn that, as the New Testament puts it in the book of James, “..faith without works is dead.” From my own Jewish tradition, it is…
I stumbled upon a precious lesson in a gritty industrial town in Northern New Jersey. It happened many years ago, in a plastic bag factory, to be precise. I was visiting the owner, a donor to the organization for which I was executive director at the time. After handing me a check for our humanitarian…
Build your strengths and strengthen your weaknesses. This two part formula will take you a long way toward becoming the best professional you can be. (Yes, I did say weaknesses, not challenges. More on that here.) Our innate abilities express themselves through hard-won skills. A college roommate of mine was a classical guitar major. An…