Be Ready for What You Wish For
Be Ready for What You Wish For
I had one of those shower revelations last week. You know the kind - where the hot water loosens something in your brain and suddenly a pattern becomes clear that's been right in front of you the whole time.
The word that kept circling: VALUE. VALUES. Over and over.
For years now, I've been pretty vocal about what I want from my work. I want to work with organizations where my values align with theirs. I want clients I respect, doing work that matters. I've said it in networking conversations, written it in proposals, probably muttered it to myself more times than I can count.
The word that kept circling: VALUE. VALUES. Over and over.
Turns out, the universe was listening.
Right now, I'm juggling three projects - all exciting, all demanding, all centered on one thing: values. I'm designing values-focused training for all employees of an organic natural food company. I'm facilitating individual and group work with a healthcare community access organization focused on creating a more inclusive culture. And I'm supporting a public benefits agency in creating training for all employees that reinforces their values and shared goals.
Not just working WITH organizations that have strong values, but actually helping them DO the work OF values.
It's pretty incredible. And also pretty ironic. I asked for values-aligned work and got work that's literally ABOUT values alignment.
When You Get What You Asked For
Here's the thing nobody tells you about getting what you wish for: it shows up ready to work. And it expects you to be ready too.
These three projects didn't arrive neatly spaced across my calendar with color-coded to-do lists. They landed simultaneously, each one complex and meaningful, each one asking me to bring my full attention and best thinking. Through my work with Activate Inclusion - where my colleagues and I serve as seasoned, warm professional thought partners - I'm supporting teams in growing stronger, more aligned, and more appreciative of differences in ways that create positive impact in their worlds.
That's the work I wanted. That's also the work that doesn't let you phone it in.
There's a lesson here about specificity and readiness. When you're clear about what you're seeking - when you say it enough times that it becomes almost a mantra - don't be surprised when the universe delivers. It might not arrive exactly how you pictured it. The packaging might be different. The timing might be inconvenient. But if you've been honest about what you want, you'll recognize it when it shows up.
And here's the important part: you have to be ready to actually do something with it.
The Values Thread
What strikes me most about these three projects isn't just that they're all values-focused. It's that they're helping organizations move from aspiration to practice. From "we believe in X" to "here's how X shows up in how we make decisions, resolve conflicts, and treat each other on Tuesday afternoon when we're tired and frustrated."
An organic food company doesn't just want their values on the wall - they want every employee to understand how those values inform their daily work. A healthcare access organization isn't just talking about inclusion - they're doing the hard work of actually creating it, person by person, conversation by conversation. A public benefits agency knows that shared goals only work when everyone understands not just what they are, but why they matter.
That gap between stated values and lived values? That's where the real work happens. That's where coaching, facilitation, and co-creating solutions matter. That's where training becomes something more than checking a box - it becomes the ground where culture actually shifts.
Through our work at Activate Inclusion, we focus on inclusive culture as a thread running through everything. Because values don't mean much if they only work for some people, in some situations, when it's convenient.
So, Be Ready
If you find yourself saying something over and over - whether it's about the work you want, the relationships you're seeking, or the life you're trying to build - pay attention. You're not just wishing. You're programming. You're sending out a signal.
And when that signal comes back to you in the form of opportunity (or three opportunities at once), the question isn't whether the universe was listening. The question is: are you ready to jump in and make something of it?
I'm finding out the answer is yes. Even when it means juggling more than feels comfortable. Even when it asks more of me than I initially bargained for.
Because this is what I wished for. And it's pretty cool.
