“The best revenge is massive success.” –Frank Sinatra
Only human beings can hold grudges
Human beings are perhaps the only sentient beings that we know of that can hold a grudge when we feel someone has wronged us.
Every person has felt wronged at some point or another in their lives. Whether it was by the person that cut you off in traffic or the bully who skipped the long lunch line in school, we are pre-programmed to feel a sense of duty to right the wrong when we have been slighted.
There are countless stories in the animal rescue world of volunteers or organizations that are bent on revenge against another person or organization that has wronged them. It is as though they can see nothing else except the need for justice and the actions to balance out the wrongdoing by extracting their revenge to even the score. Unfortunately many a good organization has been ruined by these passions to settle the score and the only ones that suffer are the animals.
Let others myopic egos unlock your true vision for inclusiveness
When I started Doobert, I was inspired by the many volunteer drivers and pilots who dedicated their time and money to help save animals. My own inspiration came from another online forum called Pilots N Paws where pilots like myself could get messages from rescues that needed help transporting animals long distances to their forever homes. I quickly came to realize that this particular forum was technologically in its infancy and that there were lots of opportunities to bring more features to engage the aviation community and I wanted to help.
Because I always believe in the good in people, I figured that using my extensive background in information technology, that I could help this Pilots N Paws organization to advance their technical capabilities beyond the basic forum software into something more custom and designed to help make the process of transport easier. I tried on many occasions to get the attention of the PnP founder Debi Boies, and despite emails, phone calls, and even snail mail, she wouldn’t even grant me the courtesy of a response to my proposal to help them build a system to help animals at no cost to them. I learned later that I was not the only one who tried to contribute only to be blocked by someone who’s need for personal recognition seemed to far outweigh the mission of the organization.
Sometimes, you get lucky to NOT associate with someone
Debi’s lack of professionalism and courtesy of even responding to an inquiry fueled the revenge juices in me. Who was she to ignore me? How could she not see that together we are much stronger and that my technology skills could be an asset to helping to save animals? Thankfully after doing some additional research and networking with others in the animal rescue community I came to understand that Debi and PnP were not in it for the same reasons as I was, and that their mission was to eliminate the competition in lieu of their brand instead of focusing on how to engage, support and power the community of people to help the animals. In some ways, I look back and am glad I did not associate myself with their brand because while they may be helping animals, they are doing it at the detriment of supporting the passionate community of people because of their focus on protecting their brand and bolstering their own egos.
I did not realize it at the time, but Debi’s refusal to work with me ended up inspiring me to think bigger, and bolder. Her lack of collaboration fueled my passion and the vision I had for a collaborative online community of drivers, pilots and other volunteers that were united in a common cause for saving animals.
Collaboration, inclusiveness & purpose will win over those focused on their egos
I embarked on creating what is Doobert, and vowed to do the opposite of what Debi does and instead focus on being open to working with others, collaborating on a common goal, and continuing to enhance the platform technologically to make it easier for the volunteers and organizations to connect. I was able to focus my desire for revenge into a passion filled vision that ultimately did much more to help animals than my narrow grudge filled purpose for self-satisfaction ever could.
Doobert started to grow and the openness of the community and my approach towards collaboration quickly made an impact in the animal rescue world. My revenge canister was again filled a year later when I tried to continue my collaboration and join the Air Care Alliance association to continue to build connections and networks with like-minded rescue professionals. Once again, I was stonewalled from joining as Debi was on the board of directors and cast a rejection vote to prohibit the Doobert application without recourse, conversation or reason. Even the president of the association was at a loss for words when I enquired as to why Doobert could not join their non-profit community. It was as though my success would inhibit the success of PnP even though we were both focused on the same mission. So I was forced again to look inward and funnel my desire for revenge into augmenting the capabilities of Doobert even further.
Massive success = massive satisfaction
5 years later, Doobert has continued to grow and we continue to focus on our open and collaborative approach to serving the animal rescue community of organizations and volunteers. Our success is a direct result of the inclusive approach and the way that we respect, support and enable the tens of thousands of volunteers and organizations. We provide the tools and even downplay the Doobert brand to instead support their organizations since we know their passion and actions achieve the same goal that we have for animals.
Transform your revenge fuel into motivation for a bolder vision
Instead of using your feelings and passions to inflict revenge, use them to fuel your motivation and focus for the vision that you have. Make YOUR vision a reality. YOU have the ability and skills and the purpose for your vision. Realize that your passion has a place and that being open and collaborative is far better than being closed minded and restrictive. I am very proud to say that Doobert has far surpassed the capabilities of PnP both technologically, and with the community that we have built, we continue to welcome many different types of volunteers with a common purpose. But I am also very saddened that even to this day, that PnP refuses to work with us and many other organizations, to collaborate on how we can combine our platforms and volunteers choosing instead to focus on exclusivity. I hope that someday they will realize that we can work together to support the mission, and when that day comes I am ready to work with them so we can help more animals. I was able to channel my desire for revenge to make a successful community.
How will you use the fuel of passion and desire for revenge to achieve your goals?
How will you pivot to inspire others by the boldness of your vision?
