We touch people's lives

Before I went “entreo” (became a serial entrepreneur), I had a job with a how-to publisher that I enjoyed immensely. It was a family-owned enterprise and the owner worked our butts off. Actually, I thrive in that kind of atmosphere, which added to the pleasure.

Late nights were common. So was the ritual of extracting a bottle from a desk and toasting the putting to bed of a magazine issue or book in the wee hours. During one of these celebrations, the question was posed about what we found so appealing about our arduous work. John raised his tumbler to the light, inspecting the smoky amber of the single malt scotch. “We touch people’s lives.”

That hit the nail on the head for me and I would think of it often down the road. I retired eight years ago after a particularly successful venture. That lasted about two weeks before I was hankering to get back into the ring. Since I was free to select about anything I wanted without caveats, I applied the touching people’s lives principle and went into social services.

What brings this to mind is another project I undertook. About the same time I exited retirement, I started a local paddling club. A week ago, we topped 1,800 members. As far as we can ascertain, we’re the largest of the kind in the world and more than double second place. I received a lot of congratulatory emails from members and peers in the field.

But, as gratifying as that is, two stuck me with greater significance. Essentially, what they both said was that the club helped them find their voice (paddling) and provided a supportive”family.”

I know both of the people and their histories, which were troubled. One was struggling to find equilibrium while the other was completely adrift when they encountered the group. We gave them something to latch onto and climb out of their holes.

While I’m often thanked for providing adventures and experiences people wouldn’t have otherwise enjoyed, these two had the greatest impact. We touch people’s lives.