Surround yourself with people who inspire you
By: Amanda Bernardo
Tags: Support, Charity, Inspiration, Teamwork, Entrepreneurship

Surround yourself with people who inspire you

“I want to be around people that do things. I don’t want to be around people anymore that judge or talk about what people do. I want to be around people that dream and support and do things.” ― Amy Poehler Amanda Bernardo Follow Oct 16, 2019 · 3 min read

Interview day can be daunting for everyone. You spend your morning worrying about what you’ll wear, what they’ll ask, and how you can make the best first impression.

While some may purchase a brand new power suit to mark the day, others are counting on people like Scott McNaughton to dress the part.

Meet Scott.

By day, Scott works as a federal public servant with the Canada School of Public Service.

In 2012, after losing his father to cancer, Scott was inspired to honour his legacy by helping those in his community.

“I was only 24 when I lost my dad, and losing him hit me hard. As I was cleaning out the family home and making difficult decisions on whether to keep, junk or donate my father’s belongings, I came across his suits, dress shirts, ties, dress shoes, and other professional clothing. My dad was a giving man and so, I wanted to honour him by giving his belongings to someone truly in need. Unfortunately, such an organization did not exist in my community so it was up to me to bring such a charity to life.”

Suits his Style served it’s first client in 2014 and has since helped over 2000 clients in need.

Suits his Style provides professional attire for those looking to dress their best for a job interview or new job. Founded in 2013, Suits his Style helps build confidence in the community to those who otherwise would not have access to professional clothing.

“We rely on donations from the community to stay operational and have enough clothes to help our clients. We partner with over 70 agencies across the city who refer clients to us when they are job ready and actively looking for work.”

Run by a mighty team of 20 volunteers, the team relies on the community as much as the community relies on them. Monetary donations help to cover the team’s operating expenses of running a store-front and storage, while clothing donations help to keep their shelves stocked.

Like many charities, securing these donations is always a big challenge but awareness and partnership continues to help secure the funds and clothing needed to keep Suits his Style operating.

These challenges, however, can be easily solved when at the heart of your outside8 is a passion that drives your purpose forward.

“Find something you deeply care about and are passionate about. Managing a nine to five and outside8 (plus a 10 month old) is hard and time consuming. However, whatever your outside eight may be, it will work if and only if you truly and deeply care about it. It also helps to build allies and supporters in your corner. For Suits his Styles that means recruiting a strong team of volunteers who can keep things running even when my nine to five takes over.”

So, how can you build an army of support to pursue your own outside8?

Share your outside8 with your family and friends. Let them know what you’re working on and why you’re working on it. Having others understand your purpose will help build the foundation of support around you. Find others who share your passion. Growing your outside8 with others who share the same purpose or passion will help build capacity and resources around a shared outcome. You don’t have to go at it alone. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you’re building a network of support, don’t be afraid to turn to them when you really do need help.

We never know what will inspire us to start our outside8. Sometimes we see it coming, sometimes we don’t. Most of the time, however, we are driven by a passion that makes it possible for us to succeed and are surrounded by people that support our success.