When the need seems to be big. It’s very encouraging to see the blessing LIFE Scholarships has been for the many students it has supported. Despite the growth, sometimes the stories of poverty can be overwhelming. Sometimes the need just seems too large to meet. It’s easy to accept the circumstance as a part of the way things are.

Here are some things we need to recognize to help us keep plodding even when we are facing circumstantial giants:

1. Recognize the immensity of the need - when we have an appreciation of the full scope of the need we are able to determine how to defeat it.

2. Recognize you have to act - don’t wait for the need to shrink to a handy bite-sized problem. Needs don’t shrink on their own, on the contrary, they grow naturally. We need to realize that unless someone does something nothing will change, and even more importantly, realize we are that someone.

3. Recognize that you need others - as I like to say during talks and meetings with partners “It is both arrogant and foolish for any organization to think they can fill the needs of the world by themself.” Instead find your strength, and link up with others who have complimentary strengths.

I recently attended a business conference hosted by the Asian Institute of Management, and one of the speakers said something, I believe, we can learn from. He said, “Pessimists may be better at predicting the future, but it is the optimists that shape the future.” If we allow ourselves to be pessimistic and apathetic we will no doubt be accurate in predicting a discouraging future. I’d rather be part of those that shape what’s ahead.

When the need seems too big, recognize its scope. Recognize that you are a part of the solution. And finally, recognize that you need partners in order to succeed.