It’s been a pretty crazy three days here in beautiful Colorado Springs. We are in the midst of a major wildfire which is threatening tens of thousands of homes and businesses on the edge of the city. 3600 acres have already burned, there’s 0% containment, over 6000 people evacuated, and close to 500 firefighters battling the fire. Combine that with record high temperatures of over 100 degrees including new high temperature records set in six of the last eight days, and it’s a wild time here.
As I often say in my presentations, “You can’t outrun your character.” The character of the peeps in Colorado Springs is amazing. It’s been wonderful to see how people have come together through Social Media. Businesses have offered free use of their offices, restaurants have offered free meals, storage facilities have offered free space, over 25 tons of food and water were donated in the first 24 hours of the fire. This is all being tremendously accelerated through Social Media channels.
Sometimes people think that Social Media is just a minor tool. A paintbrush is a minor tool in the hands of a one year old and a major tool in the hands of a Picasso. Social Media is a minor tool in the hands of someone who is just interested in trying to promote themselves or their business like a spammer. Social Media is a major tool when used by caring, compassionate, heroic people who are seeking to help others. Social Media is a lifesaving tool when used correctly.
I’m proud to be friends with so many amazingly loving people, who when the doo-doo hits the fan, put aside their political, spiritual, and lifestyle differences and band together to save lives. We can’t outrun our character. And our character is good.