08/05/2026
Cutting Your Teeth
I smiled when I saw these little keepsake jars labeled Baby Teeth.
It made me think about the phrase, "cutting your teeth."
Most of us who start nonprofits or small businesses don't begin with a business plan.
We begin with people.
We begin by helping one family... solving one problem... listening to one story at a time.
Those experiences become our education.
We cut our teeth on compassion.
On relationships.
On showing up when it mattered.
But then something changes.
The vision grows bigger than what we already know.
Suddenly, you're making decisions that affect employees, budgets, partnerships, facilities, strategic plans, and futures.
The questions become heavier.
The risks become greater.
The responsibility becomes real.
No one really prepares you for the weight of carrying not only your own hopes and dreams, but also the hopes of your employees, volunteers, donors, community partners, and the families who believe in what you're building.
You realize you've never really had to chew on decisions like these before.
You don't have all the answers.
You never will.
But the mission still deserves to move forward.
So...you put on your big girl pants.
Not because you're fearless.
But because leadership isn't about having every answer. It's about accepting the responsibility to make the best decision you can with the information you have...and having the courage to keep moving forward.
Every new challenge stretches us.
Every hard decision teaches us.
Maybe that's what cutting your teeth is really about.
We don't stop growing just because the organization grows.
We spend years learning how to serve.
Then one day we realize we're being called to lead.
Those are different lessons.
Different muscles.
Different responsibilities.
Helping people taught me my purpose.
Leadership is teaching me my courage.
The mission hasn't changed.
The responsibility has.
And for that...I'm grateful.
Because every hard decision...
every uncomfortable conversation...
every leap of faith...
every lesson I didn't know I needed...
has been preparing me for what's next.
It's not just about growing the mission.
It's about growing into the leader the next season requires.
And maybe that's what cutting your teeth is really all about.
