Have you ever had an experience
that is nearly inexplicable? You know, when something has happened that you
can’t find the words to say or emotions to express your feelings about the
experience – have you ever had one of those experiences? This week has been one
of those weeks for me. I am going to try to put into words the emotions I feel
about witnessing transformation happen in the lives of more than 500,000 youth
all across the world.
On December 1, 2016, I connected
with my friend and mentor, Paul Martinelli to discuss his idea for equipping
members of the John Maxwell Team with the skills and tools they need to serve
young people. Paul had reached out to me, his go-to leader for all things youth
(his words, not mine), to pitch his idea and gain my buy-in to help lead this
initiative. The great thing and sometimes the scary thing about my meetings
with Paul, is that he gives me an idea, seeks my wisdom and experience of how
to reach the goal, and then leaves it up to me. For many of you, you might say that
you’d love to have your boss or mentor lead you that way – give you the reigns
and allow you to take full control of a project or at the very least your daily
tasks. For me though, I am acutely aware of my strengths and I am also just as
aware of my weaknesses. Knowing Paul, I knew that this task was not a small
one.
After any conversation with Paul,
I feel like Wonder Woman. I feel empowered, equipped, and completely confident
that I can do whatever it is he is asking of me. Its great! I am so grateful
for him. And I wish the same experience for each of you. Finding a true mentor,
someone who can speak to strengths, help you overcome your weaknesses, and lead
you to take advantage of opportunities can be truly life-changing. The man is
truly a motivator and one of the best business men I know. He is the President
of the John Maxwell Team, the leader of the fastest growing professional
coaching, training, and speaking organization in the world. There are times
when I try to imagine what his days are like and then I quickly find myself
overwhelmed just thinking about what he needs to do to be so successful, so
attentive, so organized, so Paul.
Fortunately, I have the love and
support of my family to keep me balanced. I feel you laughing. Yes. I transitioned
from talking about my amazing motivator and how he makes me feel invincible to
talking about how my family keeps me real. Gina can’t do everything. I used to
think I could. Then I realized that I was doing a lot at a high cost. I wasn’t
doing everything at the highest level of efficiency or effectiveness. I was
poorly leading because I was super serving. Not good. Thank God for my family,
my husband in particular. He grounds me. He reminds me, without crushing dreams
and while being supportive of my goals, he reminds me to have balance.
So what do you when you want to
put on your cape and have balance in your life? You pray. You plan. You
re-Produce. I went to Eric (my husband) with Paul’s goal. Even before I told
him about the outcome of the call, he already knew I was going to be super
hyped. First thing was first, we prayed. We asked God for guidance and for the
Holy Spirit to be present with us as we talked. We prayed for Paul and the
team. We prayed for revelation as to what to do and how to serve. We then planned
ways that I could help the company meet the goal of organizing an international
youth leadership week, where John Maxwell team members would host free events
for young people in multiple countries around the world. It was very clear that this job was a big
one. I knew and Eric knew, that God had blessed this opportunity. We were all
in. It was time to get to work.Pray. Plan. Produce. Re-Produce.
Over the next month I consulted
with our marketing and administrative team members. I felt good about our
progress. We were set to launch the Global Youth Initiative on January 7th.
As we were finalizing the script for our teleconference announcement, we
settled on and I hesitantly agreed to a goal of serving 250,000 youth during
the week of April 24-April 30, 2017. Hesitantly. Did you catch that? I was no
longer, “all in.” I was more like, “mostly in and I’m scared that we might not
reach this goal.” How was I going to help make this happen? What are they thinking? We don’t even know if
the team members would believe in this project. Would they get behind it? Would
they want to serve youth? Would they do it for free? What am I doing? This is
going to fail. Paul is never going to trust me again.
Those phrases and questions were
everything that I was telling myself over and over again. I couldn’t shake it.
It was time for the live call to launch the first ever John Maxwell Team Global
Youth Initiative. Paul is on the line hosting our YouthMAX Ambassador Nick
Vujicic and me. Then the scariest thing happens. Paul says, “Team – we are
going to host 500,000 youth in countries across the world.” I seriously dropped
the phone and almost peed myself. He doubled the freaking number.
Remember how I said Paul is the
greatest motivator and the smartest businesses man, I’ve ever known? Remember
that? Well, he is. This week, we hosted more than (read that again) 500,000
youth at 667 sites in more than 52 countries around the world. Every day, I’ve
received stories and messages of hope from kids around the world. My fellow
team members have led events in Myanmar, Saudia Arabia, North Carolina, Puerto
Rico, California, Pennsylvania, Texas, Aruba, and more. Lives have been
changed. Communities have been changed. I am so grateful that God allowed me to
be a part of something so big. I am even more grateful that he recognized my
Timothy moment. He gave me a Paul to remind me that He “prepared me for
this…prayers are coming together now so that I will do this well, fearless in
my struggle, keeping a firm grip on my faith and myself.” 1 Timothy 1:18-19
MSG.
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| Paul Martinelli and Gina Watts |
Gina Watts is a former resident of Fayette County, now
living in Columbus, Ohio. She serves multiple communities as an advocate,
educator, and leader. Follow Gina on Twitter @professorgmarie.