I was at the Neuschwanstein castle, sitting on a bench reflecting for a while. A lady walks up and says “I gotta take a picture of those faces. I’ll put it into Gemini and it’ll tell me what they mean!” (There were 5 faces way up on the castle wall).
She proceeds toward a small stone in the ground, inspecting it a bit too intently it seems. At first I thought she might be a geologist geek. Nope! She’s endeavoring to take a selfie with her group.
Carefully, she tries to shim it just the right way and struggling for a couple minutes…
Meanwhile I sit on a bench and onlookers walk by and we make eye contact and chuckle inside, they see the absurdity of the situation too. They could have simply asked me, or any of the passersby. (As a solo traveler, this is my unofficial job it seems at tourist places.)
But she didn’t. And she gave up and they all walked away. Without a picture.
Now contrast that when it was time to head down the hill and leave.
I had 2 buses and a train to catch to make it back to Garmisch-Parkenkirchen. And the timetables were tight.
Now back up…on the way out, I was hesitant about a bus ride because sometimes they don’t take cards. Low and behold, it was cash only but I did have a 50 euro bill. Presenting it to the driver laughed and then hurriedly waived me back. I got lucky.
Now on the way down the hill, I met Tessi and after telling my story, she gave me 5 euros to cover the ride. I’m feeling grateful about now.
Now at the stop waiting for the bus in a long line while everyone stares into their phones and actively tries not to chat with people around them, much unlike myself.
The first bus approached and we were eager to get on. But then, another small group of people and us realized it was taking the long way (35 minutes) and we were definitely going to miss the next and critical 2nd bus to the train connection. I’d be sleeping somewhere interesting tonight!
With a little collaboration, we saw the next one would be only 9 minutes and we helped each other make sense of it. We all made it on our way.
Here’s the deal:
Two situations. Two different views on human cooperation.
We seem to increasingly live in a world where it can feel easier to wrestle with a problem alone than to reach out for help. Certainly as the AI and digitization advances. But the real magic for nonprofits happens when you don’t go it alone. Collaboration — whether between staff, volunteers, or with an outside expert — is what takes the pressure off and makes the mission sustainable.
Now my examples might seem trivial but they show thought patterns. Every time you lean on others, you expand what’s possible. Just asking, “what do you think?” to those around you brings humility in exchange for credibility and authenticity.
It’s OK to ask for help, plus people like to feel wanted. And sometimes, asking for help is exactly what turns a potential setback into clarity and impact.