Tremendous Tracey

This past week, I did something unusual for me. I attended a conference for business coaches—not as a speaker, trainer, or MC, but simply as a participant. Pure sponge mode. No agenda except to absorb, learn, and be poured into.

And somewhere in those three days of immersion, I heard a phrase that stopped me in my tracks: "Is there a 'there' there?"

It's a question of discovery, isn't it? A question we ask when we're exploring new territory, uncertain if we'll find substance beneath the surface. Is this worth pursuing? Is there real value here? Will this journey lead somewhere meaningful?

The brain is one of the busiest (second only to the liver) and the laziest organs in our entire body. Our brains tend to focus on things which make it feel good, keeping us in our comfort zone. If your brain is left unstimulated, it results in a condition known as lame brain or dull skull, both of which fall into the untremendous category.

Empowering is drawn out; enabling is dumped in. People who are willing to be developed need a hand up, not a handout. I'll do anything for anyone, but if you will not begin to pick up your own slack, I'm off to spend my resources on someone who'll use it to put their lives on a whole new trajectory. That’s genuine compassion and tremendous empowerment. Until the recipient owns their part of fixing life, the only thing they’ll want from you is more enabling. Give people the tools, and not just the solutions, and let them get to work. Invest in people wisely so you can help them and not hurt them.