One thing that my 19 years as founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE has taught me is that helping folks is not so easy, and that often, "no good deed shall go unpunished." That said, we should all "do good anyway."
For confirmation of this, just look at many of my heroes, from Jesus Christ, to the more earthly saints such as Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and even Malcolm X (when he returned from Mecca and dared say that "all whites are not evil," he was dead within a month). But still, all of my heroes and sheroes, long since past in the human body and form we relate to, live on today, arguably larger, more brilliantly and more impactful than ever. In my work, I never doubt that it is all worth it, but boy this work can get so very frustrating at times! And this is why my favorite chapter of my now-bestselling business book, "Love Leadership: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World" (Jossey-Bass) is "Loss Creates Leaders."
Recently, just one of my many important projects out of the Office of the Chairman at Operation HOPE has gotten me at times totally flustered, while of course being at the same time completely undetered in my mission to get the work done (smile). Sometimes it just seems like no one is actually doing their job, and I am in turn doing too many. No good deed shall go unpunished.
From time to time I "get it" from, say, a local elected official who, for whatever reason, believes that I want to run for public office, and maybe their public office (and nothing could be further from my mind), so they are hesitant to help me help poor people. After 19 years as founder of HOPE, wouldn't I have done this already, if that was my ambition? No good deed shall go unpunished.
Have we become so cynical as a society that we no longer believe that there are actually people out there who simply wants to help, serve, represent and empower people who may not have a full "voice" of their own? Well, that actually does sound a little like I want to be a politician (smile). No good deed shall go unpunished.
Read the complete article here at the Huffington Post.
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