Risk Free Assessment
As we begin a new year, and when many people look to start fresh, I’m looking to double down on something that I’ve been practicing for the better half of the past decade – Gratitude. It’s even something that we built the foundation of Ablr on.
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been reflecting on this idea of gratitude and what it means to me. During a recent Director’s Meeting at LCI, a significant portion of the daylong meeting was invested in the topic and how it is a business imperative. It really resonated with me. Then around the same time, I found myself in a marketing meeting, where someone downplayed the value of my social media post, because I often post how thankful I am of others. I know that there wasn’t any ill intention about my colleagues’ words, because for me finding the positives in life, within all its challenges, has served me well and that wasn’t going to change! And it’s because of this, every Monday during our Monday “Stand-up” meeting, everyone on the team shares their gratitude for someone who has exemplified our teams core values – Growth mindset, Relationships, Initiative, and Trust (which creates the acronym GRIT).
Sharing our gratitude of others was important to me because it’s easy to get caught up focusing on all the issues and challenges that we face daily, especially in the work that we do, but when you put the focus on those moments of positive, I knew that it would help our team persevere.
For me, one of the biggest challenges I faced this past year was around the recruitment of our Ablr Works Futures program, which we launched this year to prepare high school and early college students who are blind for the future of work. It’s a program I wish that was available to me, when I was first diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa as a Freshman in college, and one that I know will help students prepare for a workforce that will be more accessible and inclusive than ever before!
Soon after launching the program, I found myself falling into a trap that I constantly warn my team and myself about, the fallacy of “If you build it, they will come.” Even though we felt like we had an amazing program, the students just weren’t showing up, in the numbers that we had expected. And despite my constant outreach to parents, Division of Services for the Blind Counselors, Teacher’s of the Visually Impaired, and other organizations serving these students, I felt like I was running up against a brick wall! However, despite these hardships, there were two people who served as inspirations for me, and who helped me to keep pushing through, and help make Ablr Futures a reality.
Last year, I met Aditi Rao, a 12-year-old student who is blind, and her mother Sowmya, when they visited our office, through a visit that my friend, Omar Mohiuddin, organized for the Eye Shine Foundation. Aditi, though the youngest student on the visit, made her presence known immediately with her thoughtful questions. In fact, in preparation for meeting me, she had watched my TEDx Talk and shared how she was inspired and wanted to do one herself!
Well, less than a year later, she made that a reality. I was honored to be in the crowd to cheer her on as she shared her idea worth sharing! As I wiped away the tears from my eyes, seeing Aditi speak, was the reminder that I needed that the work that we are doing is truly making an impact.
After Aditi’s Talk, I was talking to her mom, Sowmya, about our upcoming Ablr Futures program, and she immediately jumped into action, making introductions to several parents and advocates. And thanks to her efforts, we were able to connect with several students, who ended up taking part in our program!
I can never thank Aditi or Sowmya enough for all their support and love this past year, but I do want to give them my GRIT recognition, because both exemplify our core values at Ablr, and we are so grateful that they are part of our community!
But as I wrap up, I’m going to challenge you to share your gratitude with someone who helped make your 2024 amazing, because not only will you make someone else’s day, but it will help you start the new year strong!