of all of the things that keep me up at night (and believe me when i say there are plenty) the most worrisome, even more so than money & financial concerns, is whether or not my kids will be happy, thriving, kind, thoughtful and contributing adults. especially my youngest as a person living with autism.

i could go on and on about why his future leaves me fearful and determined to be a healthy and active parent for as long as i can be, but i won’t. i don’t need to.

truthfully on some days it’s easier for me to recall “not my proudest moments” LOL

and again, I must be dating myself by repeating myself:

as one that subscribes to the “life is a series of moments” philosophy, there are several moments in time that stand out. personally, professionally, as a parent, a friend etc.

hmm for this post i will go with a professional moment. for context:

• i work for a large software company that’s based on the west coast of the united states but certainly has a global presence in some regard. i have my day job, my career and as a subset of that work, sometimes i am asked by other organizations within the company to take on a “client”. an individual that requires coaching and development. if and when i do these things it’s on a volunteer basis, an inexpensive way to provide coaching for an up & coming executive and a development opportunity for someone in my role to “flex” their organizational design and coaching skills.
• 13-months ago i was approached by one of our entertainment divisions to work with one of their senior directors. a person, i would come to find out 6-months later, had already gone through 3 other internal coaches all ending because he refused to work with them after a month or so. why not? i’m a glutton for punishment *and* i love a challenge. and what a challenge it’s been and i completely understand why my colleagues were more than happy to walk away. but i didn’t, mostly because not only do i enjoy a challenge but because i saw in him exactly what his vp was hoping i could flush out.

the moment?

• about 6-weeks ago i unexpectedly received an email from his vp letting me know they were promoting the person i’ve been working with and it’s largely due to the work we’ve  been doing together and because of the communication foundation i designed and implemented within his org.

i couldn’t have been prouder for this person, for being open to work with me when he was so adamant that it would be a waste of time, and for not only doing the work but really weaving it into his daily interactions and communication. it’s moments like these, a simple email that validates my work, that make me proud.