“The difference between getting somewhere and nowhere is the courage to make an early start. The fellow who sits still and does just what he is told will never be told to do big things.” ~ Charles Schwab, entrepreneur
Last night I went to the orientation for Citizen Schools in preparation for my pilot of Innovation Station, an after-school program to teach product development and entrepreneurship to under-served middle school students. I was reminded of my friend, Amanda’s, post about being a beginner. I have taught lessons in public schools, though always with an organization’s planned curriculum. For Citizen Schools, I need to build the content. Citizen Schools offers a lot of support, though ultimately the apprenticeship is only as good as the volunteer.
On my way to the subway last night, I felt an odd mix of determination and trepidation. I feel so compelled to help these kids, and yet I worry that I will not be able to do enough. The lessons won’t be good enough, comprehensive enough. The students won’t fully understand how critical it is that they stay in school and work harder than they ever thought possible. How can 10 weeks, 13 small hours, make enough of a difference?
And then I read this quote by Charles Schwab. I have to get going. Now. I’ve got to start somewhere to make some kind of difference for these kids, these kids who are so much like me in so many ways. Imagine if my teachers or guidance counselors or my mom didn’t have the courage to start encouraging me despite the tough odds, didn’t have the water-tight belief that yes, I could do anything. Where would I be now? What would have become of me? I certainly would not be where I am.
Now is not the time for sitting still and doing what that nagging little voice of self-doubt tells us to do. That voice will never tell us to step out and try. It will never tell us to begin. It will only tell us to stay small. And we can’t do that. Not now. The world needs us too much; we have too many somewheres to be.
Christa Avampato 