The Will to Believe

By Mark A. Leon – Talent Acquisition Specialist, Hewitt Associates

On April 28, 2009 Peter Griffith a young boy of 9 experienced extreme episodes of vomiting. After being hospitalized, he was diagnosed with a Medulloblastoma brain tumor. Today he is undergoing radiation treatment and his family and friends are praying for something much bigger than themselves.

This evening while attending an outdoor fund raising event, his best friend, draped out in his soccer uniform and carrying a wicker basket was raising money the help with the medical bills two dollars at a time. With that donation came a baby blue silicon bracelet bearing the words “Superpete”. I don’t know Pete and I barely know his story, but I had a glimpse into the unrelenting dedication of his family and friend through this little boy and the flyer that led me to his website. It is a story of courage and friendship but most importantly the will to smile and laugh. I cannot even pretend to guess how this story will end. An optimist sees a very happy ending and a pessimist just the opposite. Either way, I feel like I did what I can, even just for a moment to show a symbolic gesture of my support.

As I write this, my left hand bears the words “Superpete”.

Peter isn’t a victim. He isn’t looking for sympathy. He is looking for the chance to be a little boy with the same dreams and ambitions we all have. The key in any time of adversity is to never stop dreaming. Never stop believing.

“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” – Gloria Steinem

One of the biggest mistakes we make as adults is living in the immediate and not looking forward to the next step. We are in a global recession. Families are losing their homes, individuals they jobs and for many; hope.

Some economists predict a recovering is coming sooner than later. Others do not see the turn in the road. Do we know the answers? No. In fact, for the mass majority of global citizens, this is not something we have experienced in our lifetimes.

Generation X was supposed to be the first generation to generate more income than their parents. Finally evolution and intellect are reaping its reward but something happened along the way. Was it greed, mismanagement, selfishness, lack of planning, overpopulation or misguided principles that made us believe the magic kingdom was around the corner? There is no room for blame nor fault; there is only room for solutions.

The greatest potion for a cure is the human will to survive. We will survive and believe it or not we will be stronger. It may take one year, five years or even ten years but we will persevere.
Why am I so sure? The answer is very simple: community.

I am volunteering my services and expertise in a grass roots effort to assist others in resume preparation, interview training and personal brand strategy. It is my way to say thank you to everyone that has given me the opportunity to be where I am today. The great thing about what I am doing is that I am not alone.
Thousands around the world through their words, their professional expertise, their time and their money are helping out those that are in need of support right now.

The recruitment community is using the tools and time they have to keep our community together. All around the country networking events are being planned in cities and towns, people are volunteering with the free time they have, HR professionals are helping other HR professionals find careers and the community of recruiting and sourcing specialists are banding together to stand up to the recession and believe.

I don’t know that any of us when we were seven years old said “I want to be a recruiter when I grow up” but we did dream big. Whether it was a basketball player, actor or astronaut the one common element was that we wanted to be the best at what we did. Being the best isn’t always about talent but will.

Right now, I am seeing the recruitment community show such tremendous will. For all the Pete’s in the world I think we are following our dreams and seeing light through some dark times.

Thank you recruiters, sourcers and all human resources professionals around the world for showing the will to believe and for being the best they can be.