Never, ever give up!
Their presence triggered mixed emotions
Recently, at Sabbath prayer services, a group of young men were in attendance
Turns out that they attended a NYC yeshiva that I had interviewed at when I was in process of leaving Atlanta eight years ago
That job search, like a few others, had come up empty, and again I was feeling low
Especially after the demeaning way that the dean had managed the process and eventually ended my candidacy
(Which I was told years later he had come to regret, but anyways)
When it was clear that I’d was moving my family north to a more expensive area with no guaranteed income source, I faced two options
One, get a job as a school leader
The other, make a career as a school consultant
Neither path was wide open or promising
Numerous (albeit each less than ideal) job opportunities had presented themselves, but all had reached dead ends
More than one person told me that no one they knew had succeeded in consulting full-time
The clock was ticking, and things were feeling desperate
But with faith in God and resolute belief in my ability to succeed, I put my nose to the ground
And worked harder than I ever had before
Which, if I’m being honest, is really saying something
Fast forward 8 years
My path has been far from steady and there were many points when things did not look good
But I stuck with it
And am I so glad that I did
During those 8 years I have:
🏫Served scores of schools and nonprofits through leadership and teacher training, leadership workshops, and mastermind groups
🏢Coached many business owners on how to scale their impact, increase profits, and live a more fulfilled life, through 1:1 coaching and mastermind groups
🗣️Presented at numerous events (national, regional, and local) to audiences in collective thousands
📚Wrote a leadership book that has taught my school of hard knocks to many others so that they could hit the ground ruining and avoid many of my mistakes (with another one, on productivity, on the way)
👥Built and incredible, empowering network
🎤Started a podcast
✒️ Penned hundreds of articles
👨🏫Developed skills I didn’t know I had, or could help others with
😌Become independent, able to decide who I would work for and when, and no longer beholden to board members or other power brokers
🔮And see a future in which my impact will scale MUCH more in the decades ahead
All because I refused to give in and “accept my fate”
We all have moments when it’s easy to give up
I’m here to say “don’t”
Believe in yourself
Work harder than ever
Have faith
And never, ever give up!
Naphtali Hoff, PsyD, (@impactfulcoach) is an executive coach who helps leaders and their teams become more productive. Download his productivity blueprint and take his productivity assessment. Reach out to him to learn more about his high-powered mastermind groups that help leaders power up, problem solve, and get more done.