We’re All Experts at Meaningful Work
The first time someone introduced me as an expert, I accidentally laughed out loud.
Last month, I was introduced the same way during a talk on behalf of the US Embassy in Baghdad. This time I almost cried.
While every opportunity to share my work feels like a gift - there was something personal about this season. Before jumping on the call with over 3,000 Iraqi business owners, I reread my favorite poem by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, and felt these words in a new way.
“Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good.”
Creating meaningful work that moves the world forward isn't actually about huge efforts and financial investment.
More often than not, it’s about taking small, consistent steps, realizing that we likely won’t see the full outcome of our efforts during our lifetime. It’s the work of continuing to seek out new paths, admitting to ourselves that we do know what work lights us up, and inviting others into finding their own meaning alongside us.