I first saw Angel Ocasio in one of my wife's Exponential workshops. There was something about his eyes paired with his labored walk revealed his exhaustion. "What's your story?" I asked. "Well, my wife and I run a homeless ministry in Harrisburg, PA. She serves the homeless full-time, and I run a painting business to support our family and the ministry," he said. "Wow, that must be exhausting," I replied. Angel looked down, paused then responded, "Yes, it is."
I spotted Ernie Williams taking down business cards from a bulletin board in Charlotte, North Carolina. His persistence and Carolina-Rastafarian style drew my eye. So, I introduced myself and asked, "Ernie, what do you do for a living?" He kept pecking at the bulletin board and answered, "Well, when I first started coming to this coffee shop, I noticed that nobody took care of the community space. So, I decided to make it my job. After a while, the coffee shop noticed what I was doing and decided to hire me. Now I work for many of the businesses around here because they know I care."
I ordered a drip coffee at @groundwork.common and headed to an empty table when I noticed Gabriel Risinger rock'n the Macklemore vibe behind the counter. I introduced myself and discovered that he had been working endless hours to get the joint open and was now running on fumes. After a sip of coffee I asked, "So, do you own this place...or does it own you?" He laughed and responded, "Well, I'm hoping to make the switch as soon as I get this concrete floor resurfaced, but today it owns me."
