Put Up or Shut Up
For over 6 years, I have been honored with serving on our company's charitable Foundation advisory committee. Since day 1, when our then President asked me to join, I have worked my butt off to try and grow the Foundation and to help people which is what the Foundation is all about. And when I say I'm going to do something, no matter what it is, I am going to try my damndest to do it.
I wish that was the case with everyone.
I will not lie: I've lost my shiz at a couple meetings and by "losing my shiz" I mean raising my voice and pounding on the table. Not my finest hour but let me tell you why.
I get so tired of people throwing out suggestions starting with "I think we should" or "We need to" and then thinking it's someone else's responsibility to take the ball and run with it. Bullsh*t. If you think your idea is so fabulous then you take the ball to the goal line. I got to my wit's end with a couple people always doing this and when I get to the end of the line, it's on like frigging Donkey Kong, folks. Now, if the company President had been there I more than likely wouldn't have gone off the rails but she wasn't so I let it fly. The one board member always got on my nerves anyway acting like she was the be all end all in charity work and at every freaking meeting would do the "we should do" BS and I was done with that. I turned to her one day and said, "Then do it! You go on and on about how we should do this and that so why don't you take the lead and just do it! Put up or shut up!" Let's just say if looks could kill, I'd have been dead on that conference room table that day. She wouldn't say good-bye to me when she left (she said good-bye to everyone but me) and ask me if I care. I did apologize to the head of the board for losing my temper and she laughed and said, "I thought it was great!"
Another board member would space out at meetings but then started in on the "we should" crap and I said, "And just what do you do to help the Foundation? Are you doing fundraisers in your office? What are you doing???" Yeah; she wouldn't speak to me for a while after that. Again, ask me if I care.
One the agents in our office piped up at a meeting one day stating that we should do a drive for Bridging meaning collecting gently used furniture, linens, etc for them. Great idea, right? I said, "Great idea! If you need help organizing it, let me know!"
Crickets after that. See, she expected me, as a Foundation member, to do all the work.
I don't want you to think that I don't love the charity work I do because I really do. Y'all know how I am with the Pillow Fight and how much Bridging means to me and when I say I'm going to do my best to collect as many pillows or just do some sort of fundraiser, I am going to give it my all. And this is how I live my life. If I tell you I'm going to do something, I will do everything in my power to do what I've told you I'm going to do. I may dread every second of accomplishing what I said I would do but I'm still going to do it. If you have no intention of doing what you say you're going to do then shut your trap. Don't throw out ideas and expect someone else to do all the work to make those ideas come to fruition. If you're going to throw out ideas then you at least need to step up to the plate to help make those ideas a reality.
Putting up or shutting up doesn't just relate to charity; it relates to life itself. If you never take the bull by the horns and step up to do something, you'll be left in the bull's sh*t.
I wish that was the case with everyone.
I will not lie: I've lost my shiz at a couple meetings and by "losing my shiz" I mean raising my voice and pounding on the table. Not my finest hour but let me tell you why.
I get so tired of people throwing out suggestions starting with "I think we should" or "We need to" and then thinking it's someone else's responsibility to take the ball and run with it. Bullsh*t. If you think your idea is so fabulous then you take the ball to the goal line. I got to my wit's end with a couple people always doing this and when I get to the end of the line, it's on like frigging Donkey Kong, folks. Now, if the company President had been there I more than likely wouldn't have gone off the rails but she wasn't so I let it fly. The one board member always got on my nerves anyway acting like she was the be all end all in charity work and at every freaking meeting would do the "we should do" BS and I was done with that. I turned to her one day and said, "Then do it! You go on and on about how we should do this and that so why don't you take the lead and just do it! Put up or shut up!" Let's just say if looks could kill, I'd have been dead on that conference room table that day. She wouldn't say good-bye to me when she left (she said good-bye to everyone but me) and ask me if I care. I did apologize to the head of the board for losing my temper and she laughed and said, "I thought it was great!"
Another board member would space out at meetings but then started in on the "we should" crap and I said, "And just what do you do to help the Foundation? Are you doing fundraisers in your office? What are you doing???" Yeah; she wouldn't speak to me for a while after that. Again, ask me if I care.
One the agents in our office piped up at a meeting one day stating that we should do a drive for Bridging meaning collecting gently used furniture, linens, etc for them. Great idea, right? I said, "Great idea! If you need help organizing it, let me know!"
Crickets after that. See, she expected me, as a Foundation member, to do all the work.
I don't want you to think that I don't love the charity work I do because I really do. Y'all know how I am with the Pillow Fight and how much Bridging means to me and when I say I'm going to do my best to collect as many pillows or just do some sort of fundraiser, I am going to give it my all. And this is how I live my life. If I tell you I'm going to do something, I will do everything in my power to do what I've told you I'm going to do. I may dread every second of accomplishing what I said I would do but I'm still going to do it. If you have no intention of doing what you say you're going to do then shut your trap. Don't throw out ideas and expect someone else to do all the work to make those ideas come to fruition. If you're going to throw out ideas then you at least need to step up to the plate to help make those ideas a reality.
Putting up or shutting up doesn't just relate to charity; it relates to life itself. If you never take the bull by the horns and step up to do something, you'll be left in the bull's sh*t.
Comments
Post a Comment