A SUCCESSFUL WEEK

We just completed our sixth annual Business Boot Camp, and it was, in my opinion, a smashing success. Imagine 150+ inner city teens giving up a precious week of summer vacation to sit for eight hours a day listening to business lectures, discussing business studies, and presenting business solutions. I got to see it with my own eyes.

Oh sure, there were behavioral issues. We're talking about adolescents here, so there was your fair share of love notes being passed; mock and real fights; and much too much shuffling around, slumping over, and jabbering while a speaker was speaking. Too often, I found myself policing the "no eating or drinking during the formal program" rule, to the detriment of my own ability to listen to and learn from our speakers.

But I prayed almost every morning that God would give me the ability to let go of the successes and mistakes of the previous day of camp, to let go of the anticipation and anxiety of the upcoming day of camp, and to simply be in the present. To enjoy the moment, to enjoy each young person who was with us for what seemed like an eternity this week but looking back will be merely a sliver of time in our lives.

And God answered. Every once in a while, when I had a millisecond between disciplining an unruly participant and getting something ready for the next activity, I would look around. And seeing a sea of eager teens soaking in business knowledge and preparing themselves for future success, I would smile and remind myself why I got into this kind of work in the first place.