Willow Creek GLS18--Nthabiseng Legoete

Willow Creek GLS18 -- talk by a doctor who is working to make health care accessible to underserved patients in South Africa

I’m grateful for the opportunity to tell my story. When I started Quali Health I wanted to provide health care for those who don’t have access and that everyone has a fair chance at life. As the organization started I realized my role morphed into that of a leader and that’s not how I saw myself.

“The Man in the Arena” by Teddy Roosevelt

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who pointsout how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

This poem touches me deeply because it encompasses my journey. How do you fight your way out of defeat and seeming failure? How do you forgive yourself and move on?

2016 was a triumphant year. Everyone told me how great we were doing and that allowed us to attract funding and open more facilities.  Then in the spring of 2017 things started going south.  We had problems with cash flow. I did not want this to be a nonprofit because it is not sustainable. All of a sudden what I’ve been adamant about wasn’t working.  I had to step back and examine and the tendency is just to throw out the whole concept. I fell victim to that for a couple of weeks.

Then I began to see what I had done wrong. You need to focus on WHY you started. I had to realize that challenges don’t mean the dream is not working. Challenges are stepping stones to lead you to a better place.

We don’t discuss times when we doubt our own dreams and lose our focus. As long as you are achieving what you set out to achieve you are on the right path. 

While focus has to be on what you want to achieve, be FLEXIBLE on HOW you get to the goal.  My dream is to build 100 facilities but I’ve had to rethink the method for getting there. Changing the HOW doesn’t mean you change the WHY. 

I had to develop patience since I am trying to solve a problem that’s been there for hundreds of years. I needed to realize this couldn’t be sorted out by me alone.  I had to learn collaboration. 

Collaborate with those in alignment

Disassociate with those not in alignment.

Be relentless and unwavering in WHAT you want to achieve but not inflexible in how you get there.  Don’t be surprised when we face defeat, challenges, or resistance. We tend to think visions from God happen unopposed. Challenges are part of a purpose-filled journey.

I realized I had too many people who were not leading us to the goal of providing the least expensive health care. We needed to be profitable.  Most of the costs came from people who were not leading us forward so a big challenge was letting people go.

We need to forgive ourselves for mistakes.  2018 began with a process of cutting people and restructuring the organization. We suddenly had to deal with emotions and critics. You have to realize it’s not about you.   I had to face those challenges to get more efficient. Expect pain, challenges and doubt.  Don’t let the surprise paralyze you.

With faith comes letting go of yourself and how you want things to work out. I needed to look intently at the situation and see what God wanted to show me. I was so set on people being the success of Quali Health and I realized a vision cannot be dependent on any one person.

Maybe if we are able to just stand and take in all the criticism without being deterred by them maybe more businesses will succeed.  I want to inspire people to stay with their dream. Are you doing what you set out to achieve? If you are, everything else is just noise.