If you are anything like me, the fires in Los Angeles have been heavy on your heart.
If you are anything like me, you’ve asked yourself, “How can I help?”
Or, at least that’s what I used to ask. I’d spend my time, my treasure, my talent all in hopes of solving big problems. But, somehow I didn’t seem to be making any progress.
Then one day, I realized it was the wrong question.
Don’t get me wrong; it’s the question that comes from the very best part of our humanity. But, asking “How can I help?” is not doing anything to actually help.
In fact, years ago, I got so fed up with our best angels not solving our worst problems that I wrote a screed of a blog post. This blog post got seen by the Executive Producer of TEDxCambridge, who invited me to grace their stage and give this as a talk… my very first ever public speech. While the most recent talk I gave has reached almost 3M views on TED.com, this talk — be kind, it was my very first ever — will always live in my heart as one that I care about most deeply.
Because here’s what I know to be true: We aren’t solving the big problems simply because we are asking the wrong question. If we change the question, we change the outcome.
We simply need to ask: “What needs to happen?”
So, what needs to happen in Los Angeles?
There are so many small children displaced, without clothing, toys, diapers, and other essentials. You and I can’t know what those things might be — which sizes, which toys, which kids — but a nonprofit which has been working in Los Angeles for years does.
Baby2Baby has already distributed 1.5 million emergency supplies for the most vulnerable children and families who have lost everything in the Los Angeles fires including diapers, food, formula, water, clothing, blankets and hygiene products, and they are committed to continuing this work for the weeks and months to come.
But, how do we go about business as usual at a time like this?
This is exactly the problem that faced my friend and speaking coach, Mike Ganino, this week. He wrote a book — well, he poured his soul into a book — and it launches today. He lives in Los Angeles, has spent the last week with bags packed by the door, all the while flip-flopping between doomscrolling and launch prep, not knowing the next morning where he’d be or if he’d even be able to think about a launch at all. He wanted to cancel, to hide his light and soften the launch of this book so that he could not distract from the important salvage and rescue efforts underway. But we friends of his encouraged him to move ahead anyway. As I said, he poured his soul into this book.
And, I think you ought to take a look at it.
First and foremost, Mike has coached global leaders, TEDx speakers, and creatives on how to transform their communication into unforgettable moments. In “Make A Scene,” he reveals his blueprint for:
- Using the Five Stage Languages (verbal, vocal, physical, visual, and emotional) to captivate any audience.
- Building authentic connections that actually resonate.
- Show up with boldness, vulnerability, and presence in every conversation, meeting, or performance.
But, because he, too, has a small child, and can easily put himself in the shoes of his neighboring Angelenos, he’s generously donating a portion of his book proceeds to Baby2Baby during his launch.
So, you can help yourself in the way you need while also helping others in the way they need.
Sounds like a great way to help, right?
I think it needs to happen.
