All Within My Hands

Some of you may not recognize the title of this blog. That’s okay, as the band responsible for this phrase rarely puts themselves in the spotlight (unless they are on stage, of course). The band I am speaking of is Metallica and the title of this blog refers to their charitable foundation.

The All Within My Hands Foundation aims to assist and enrich the lives of members of the communities who have supported Metallica for years, and encourages participation from fans and friends. All funds are donated to a cross-section of national and local charities. Founded in 2017, the All Within My Hands Foundation is dedicated to creating sustainable communities by supporting workforce education, the fight against hunger, and other critical local services, including work addressing the Australian and California wildfires and the COVID-19 pandemic.

What does the All Within My Hands Foundation have to do with a working smart website? Let me explain. When I decided to write my book, Hello, Career, I wanted to demonstrate my own commitment to the cause of workforce education. After extensive research, and given my love of Metallica’s music, I decided to donate 10% of every sale of Hello, Career to the All Within My Hands Foundation. The cherry on top was the fact that 100% of any donations received go to the organizations they support—not a penny is used to pay for Foundation expenses, as they are paid for by the band and the Board of Directors.

I “cold emailed” the Foundation to let them know my plan. Like a kid waking up Christmas morning to see that Santa Claus had visited, I was so excited when the Foundation emailed me back. They expressed appreciation for my donation pledge and even asked for a copy of Hello, Career. A few weeks later, they not only offered to endorse my book on their LinkedIn page but they also introduced me to a community college association leader they felt would see value in the book’s message for students. Christmas morning moment revisited! Not only was I on cloud nine that they enjoyed the book, I was humbled and grateful for the generosity they were showing me. It was something I didn’t expect at all, but, given the ways I’ve seen the band conduct themselves over the years, including their tremendous generosity, I was not surprised. This is what they are all about.

So, given you’re on my mailing list, I’ll make the assumption that working smart is important to you. While I respect your individual decisions regarding any charitable organization you support, I encourage you to consider donating to the All Within My Hands Foundation. As I hope I’ve demonstrated— they truly know how to work smart.