I remember the moment the realization hit me… clear as day…
I’m the only one looking out through these eyes, seeing the world in exactly this way.
This was a massive revelation for me as a child!
I don’t remember exactly how old I was… but I remember how it felt, riding the bus home from school, staring out as the rain streamed down the window, looking at the drivers in their cars, other people glancing out their car windows, their eyes viewing something completely different than me.
In that moment, I had a flash of understanding.
I realized for the first time that I was seeing the world through MY eyes only… that everyone else around me was seeing the world through their own set of eyes… from their own perspectives… and that I was the only one who was seeing the world in the exact way I was seeing it in that moment.
I’m not going to lie, in that moment, it felt scary as hell.
But it also laid the groundwork for my deep and unyielding empathy for the unique lives and perspectives of all the people around me.
The understanding that each and every one of us sees the world in a very unique way… each and every one of us is walking through this world with our own perspective… our own set of coloured glasses, tinting the way we see the world.
Maybe you had your own moment like this? Maybe not.
My point is this… there are multiple different ways to view the world, to view each object and each interaction.
There are multiple different ways to perceive your organization and the wonderful work that you do each day. And there are multiple different ways to present that work, to showcase the amazing things you do, all the people, or animals, or nature that you help.
And yet, how many of you tend to do the same thing, day after day?
Send your emails out using the same format, from the same person… Send out direct mail letters with the same signer (often your ED or CEO),using the same size and colour of outer envelope, looking the same… same… same… same!
Why do you feel like you have to keep telling the same story in the same way?
Why not try a different perspective? Tell the story in a different voice, a different tone… and it just might hit home for someone in a more compelling way.
Do remember having a similar experience to what I had as a child?
What are some unique perspectives that you’ve used in your work?
