I have been fortunate in my career to be exposed to many great leaders and people that push harder than ever when challenged with something they believe in.
I have just witnessed the most impressive example of this to date:
The Denver Chapter of Active 2030
http://www.da2030.com just put on our largest fundraiser of the year. The event is one of the largest Polo events in the country. This year we had 1,400+ people per day for three days and net close to $300K despite temperatures over 100 degrees in Denver each day! Good start in '06 for the kid's charities we support in Denver.
Here is the impressive part - The young leaders associated with this group have demanding jobs, are building and running businesses and some have families with very young children at home. This group donated significant time leading up to and during this event. (Tom, our Polo Chair put in 100 hours easy). Those who have been around this event in years past took leadership roles covering every aspect of the event providing the correct insight and inspiration to newbies like me. There was a ton of work to be done in preparation and it was HOT! Everyone stepped up. People stepped into areas of need when finished with their own task at hand instead of taking off or resting for too long. Our volunteers are top notch and donated services rounded off a great event!
The event was fabulous with great feedback from guest and sponsors. As successful as this was, I am already hearing about improvements for next year - I LOVE THIS GROUP!
I can't recommend strongly enough that everyone seek out a passion and get involved. You will work with like minded people while doing good things and make some powerful friendships along the way. win:win:win