My son came across a wonderful website called GiveMeHope.com. Unlike the many negative sites that often make us laugh, this site inspires. Lex sent me a story about a man, now 101 years old, who traveled to Czechoslovakia in 1938 and realized what was likely to happen to the children headed into internment camps. Nicholas Winton decided to act. He discovered a twist in the British immigration policy that allowed children under seventeen years old into the country if they had a place to stay and 50 pounds sterling to assure their return ticket.

Without even telling his wife, Nicholas organized a relief effort. He bought train tickets, found foster families and deposited money to get the kids out. There were 669 kids, mostly Jewish, that escaped likely death in Auschwitz because of the work of Nicholas Winton in 1938.

In 1988, his wife was going through their attic and found his notebooks and some of the letters from the children. He had never told anyone of this work. She informed the local newspaper, and eventually the the TV show “That’s Life” did a segment surprising him with a reuniting.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_nFuJAF5F0&feature=player_embedded

He was knighted in 1993 and won many other awards since. Nicholas reluctantly accepts those awards, noting that he didn’t put himself in danger, certainly wasn’t a hero and just did a reasonable thing at the right time.

As a 29 year old stockbroker who traveled to Prague in 1938, he saw an opportunity and did the right thing. I challenge you and I challenge me to look for those opportunities (they really are all around us) and to respond well. In the end, that matters more than most of the things we are focusing on.

In keeping with the sentiment above, I just read Matt DeVries Best Practices Construction Law and his most recent post has a wonderful short quote about a contractor, a father and a friend who also made a difference. Take the time to live well, to connect with and inspire others.