Sharing an old experience. Maybe it will speak to your situation or someone you know. Here goes...
WHERE I WAS...
It was the Fall of 2011 and I was preparing my organization for the annual fundraiser in the Spring of 2012. The event raised funds for high school students entering college. Up until then, it had been a few years since the annual fundraiser was successful. In 2007 it netted $11K, in 2008 it netted $145.00, and in 2009 it netted $190.00 (Yes, you read correctly). I had become chapter president in 2009 and for the 2010 fundraiser, we netted $1K...but it wasn't enough to change the lives of high school students in need. Assisting students at their 'transition point' was important to the New York Urban League, and it was my desire to communicate the intention and need and inspire others to participate.
Committee meetings began in Fall 2011 and there was excitement. The First meeting had 30 people, and so did the second. We had momentum and engagement we hadn't seen in years. Then something odd began to happen...Chapter members who were 'volunteers,' like we all were, began to request payment as a 'consultant' to do what they joined the organization to do. Needless to say, I asked them to remove themselves from the planning. Then the attendance at the meetings began to dwindle...and then there were six of us...and I began to panic, I began to question my ability to lead, the outcome of the event, the promise to high school students in need, and my legacy to the chapter. In the midst of the confusion, I was sitting at my desk trembling and asking myself, "What am I going to do...what am I going to do...?" In that moment, a voice spoke to me saying "You have what you need!" I immediately stopped trembling and thought "what was that?"
Instantly the story of Gideon and the Midianites (Judges 7) came to mind. A story I haven't thought about since Sunday School. God allowed Gideon to be victorious over 120,000 men with only 300 men! You have what you need! I knew in that moment, I had exactly the right-sized team to be successful.
THE LAW OF FEW...
The Law of Few is often described as the 80/20 rule. 80% of the results come from 20% of all stuff. According to RTC, 20% is ok... few is actually abundance. At any given moment, in any given circumstance...You have what you need!
RTC's Law of Few:
- Faith the size of a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20). I'm not focusing on the size, but the fact that it is singular...Few
- Two fish and five loaves were few (Mark 6:37-44)...and fed multitudes
- Abundance is the simple fact that there is an unlimited Source of everything we need or could ever want...infinitely available to all of us all the time
In that moment when you don't think you have enough...pause and say "I have exactly what I need.'
THE OUTCOME OF THE EVENT...
Not only did the event sell out, we netted $16K and donated $20K to the New York Urban League's Whitney M. Young Scholarships. A group of six people changed the lives of several high school students that year and forever.
Keep standing in abundance!
With Joy,
Rahshib Thomas, PHR
Principal Consultant