Being the pessimist that I am, after listening to the speech given by Mrs. Mason concerning her life achievements I couldn't help but think " I'll never do anything that great." Her speech discussed the struggles and adversity she experienced throughout her career which included her work with her husband in Sudan refugee camps, balancing work with raising a family, and creation of a humanitarian-based organization called Bright Horizons. Bright Horizons manages employer sponsored child care programs.
I realize that her speech's purpose was to inspire and inform others on how to create a career of their own, but I had a hard time relating her experiences to my life goals. If you put aside all of the humanitarian organization details and multi-billion dollar business issues, you can simplify her speech to themes of "never give up" and "do something you enjoy." While these are tips I've heard countless times before from people, I guess it meant a little more coming from someone who has lived it. What Linda Mason has done with her life is incredible and should not be overlooked.
One aspect of her speech that I kept finding myself coming back to was her tip of "sometimes it is better to leap before you look." She admitted that that statement goes against what is usually practiced, but was a major reason for her success. I couldn't help but think that sometimes taking that leap is a risk that a person can't afford to take. I don't mean a "leap" like something as trivial as ordering something new for lunch. I mean putting all your savings and effort into a business that may fail. I believe the majority of my cynicism stems from my assumption that Mrs. Mason came from a wealthy family or perhaps had plenty of "wiggle" room when it came to finances. Perhaps someone with less financial must take the safer route.
In the end, Linda Mason's story is inspirational and shows the impact one person can have on the world.
***On a side note, several years ago I had the pleasure of watching a video with a similar message to Linda Mason's. It is titled "Randy Pausch's Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" I didn't watch this video for a class or anything, I simply had some time to kill. The video is about an hour long and about 10 minutes in I was hooked. I encourage any of you reading this to check the video out. This guy is funny, entertaining, and tells a great story of his life. It is similar to Linda Masons speech in that he talks about his career and gives advice, but in my opinion does a much better job. I found the speech to be very emotional and spoken directly from the heart. Again, if you have some time to kill please watch it. You won't regret it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo
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