MAKE IT HAPPEN :: You have to believe in yourself. When I look through my Facebook feed, I can see a lot of people don’t. Or don’t think they can. But you have to believe in yourself.
If you had told me when I moved back to Toronto in 2008 that I would be on the Board of Directors for the AIDS Committee of Toronto, I wouldn’t understand. I wouldn’t understand how someone relatively new to the city could achieve such a feat. I wouldn’t understand how my journey would have led me there.
But that’s life: a fast flowing river that takes you for a ride. The ride can be crappy or it can be great, but that part is up to you.
My journey to the ACT Board started when I joined the Fund Development Committee of ACT. The committee is dedicated to the financial planning, organization and execution of ACT’s fundraising events, including the AIDS Walk for Life.
A year later, and a position opens up on the Board. I’m encouraged to throw my hat in the ring. I was hesitant at first.
But the trick to believing in yourself is you have to do that. You have to believe in yourself. Even when you don’t know how or feel you can’t.
I did what a person who believes in himself would do. I threw my hat in the ring.
Then came the interview. Three-on-one, but I held my ground and left feeling like I nailed it.
Then came the night of the Annual General Meeting, where votes are cast and a new Board is created. The existing Board and important players of the organization had gathered. I sat at a round table near the front, holding my partner’s hand under the table – and nervous as all hell about my impending speech.
Reading the other candidates bios was daunting. They were full of degrees, letters after their names, and decades in affiliated fields of employment.
There I sat, back in Toronto about 2 years, with just my experience on the Fund Development Committee, my desire to give back to the community and a smile.
I was introduced by the then Chair of the Board and I got up and walked to the podium. As I looked out at the faces looking back at me, all the nerves faded away and suddenly I was where I am always at my best; in front of a crowd. The speech ended in applause and I sat down exhilarated that I had done it. No matter the outcome now, I was proud of myself for going for it and being myself in the process.
When the votes were tallied and all was said and done, I had made it on the Board. I’m still milking that feeling of accomplishment that I had at that meeting last week.
The moral of the story (d’uh!): BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!
