Stepping out of the comfort zone

You could have heard a pin drop on Saturday.

And no, that wasn't because everything was shut because it was public holiday June 2 to celebrate the anniversary of the formation of the Italian republic as a united country.

It was because Mario was telling his story to the participants in the workshop Making the Most of Your Internship we were running on behalf of Global Experiences.

He was telling students of his own life as a successful young professional in Italy and the moment doctors in a Genoan hospital told him he had a rare and advanced form of cancer and had to start treatment that very same day.

But what grabbed the interns most was because story was told without pity. Having nearly lost his life, Mario wasn't dwelling on the suffering he went through. Rather he was telling them how stepping out of his comfort zone and living overseas had given him the skills to confront his fears - and in this case, cancer - head on.

I've heard this awe-inspiring story loads of times but it never loses its impact on me.

It was just one of the great moments to come out of the workshop which really helped prepare GE participants for their internships in Florence. I'll be blogging about some of the others later on in the week.

Comments

[Joanna Young]

I can well believe it Emma. Inspiring stories like this one can have a transformational effect on other people. Who knows what seeds of change you've sown in your workshop...
Joanna

[Emma Bird]

Joanna - good point. I'd be interested in finding out. I'm also always struck by how the people who are inspiring are, for the most part, incredibly unassuming. It's as if what they've gone through or what they've achieved is no big deal whereas everyone else is thinking 'whoah'.