Claudia had spent weeks working with me to prepare a high-level presentation for a prestigious conference that would showcase her considerable expertise. The effort she’d put into developing and internalizing the presentation was almost as mighty as the effort she’d put into managing the anxiety she’d had about giving it. I was confident that she was ready, and that her performance would make us both proud. On the day Claudia gave her presentation, she shot me a brief text: “Went great! More when I see you next week.” Claudia’s brief text sounded triumphant. Which was why I was so taken …
Like Joan of Arc, You Were Born to Make Your Difference
I was shopping at the grocery store, when a quote on a card in the greeting card rack stopped me in my tracks “I am not afraid,” it read. “I was born to do this.” I stepped closer, to read the source of the quote, and was surprised to see that it was attributed to Joan of Arc– a heroine of France who led the French army to victory over the English at Orleans in 1430 when she was eighteen years old. She was ultimately burned at the stake by the English and canonized as a saint. Joan of Arc …