What’s something you’ve done that you never thought you could?
Sometimes, you don’t realize what you’re capable of until you find yourself doing something you never imagined you could.
If someone had told me years ago that I would be organizing a team of people, leading meetings, coordinating projects, raising funds, and bringing people together to accomplish something bigger than myself, I probably would have laughed.
Me? Leading a team?
I have always had ideas. Lots of them, actually. Sometimes, I have so many ideas that I don’t even know where to begin. I’ve always enjoyed creating things, organizing activities, and finding ways to contribute. But having an idea and convincing other people to believe in it enough to help make it happen are two very different things.
Yet, that’s exactly what I found myself doing.
Two projects in particular helped me discover something about myself that I hadn’t fully recognized before: the Korean Flag Project for BTS’s Los Angeles concert and a grassroots radio campaign supporting BTS.
Both started with a desire to do something meaningful. Neither came with a ready-made team, a detailed instruction manual, or any guarantee that things would work out.
I just knew I wanted to try.
It Started With an Idea
The Korean Flag Project began when I learned about a similar project organized by Stanford ARMY. During BTS’s Arirang tour, fans had raised Korean flags as a gesture of love and appreciation for BTS’s heritage.
I remember thinking, What if we did something like that in Los Angeles?
It was a simple question, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
I imagined thousands of fans at SoFi Stadium raising the Taegeukgi during the Body to Body performance. I wanted BTS to look out into the audience and see that we weren’t simply celebrating their music. We were also acknowledging their Korean identity, their history, and the culture that has always been part of who they are.
Los Angeles has its own history with BTS, and I wanted that moment to feel like a homecoming.
Of course, imagining thousands of flags waving in a stadium is one thing. Figuring out how to print, pay for, transport, and distribute them is another.
That’s when things got interesting.
From an Idea to a Team
I reached out to people who had organized the Stanford project because I wanted to learn from their experience. I asked questions, took notes, and tried to understand what had worked and what they would have done differently.
Then I started reaching out to other ARMYs.
One person volunteered. Then another. Before I knew it, we had a team of around twenty people helping in different capacities.
There were meetings to organize, printing companies to contact, designs to finalize, funds to raise, volunteers to coordinate, and logistical problems to solve.
I created a Discord server so we could communicate and organize our work. We divided responsibilities, discussed ideas, and worked through challenges together.
There were challenges.
We had a limited budget, tight deadlines, and thousands of flags to prepare. There were moments when I wondered whether we had taken on more than we could handle.
But people kept showing up.
Some brought their organizational skills. Others helped with fundraising, printing, logistics, or social media. Some offered advice based on their previous experience. Everyone contributed something.
What amazed me was watching people who didn’t necessarily know one another come together because they believed in the same vision.
Eventually, the flags were printed, the volunteers were organized, and the project became a reality.
On September 5, 2026, at SoFi Stadium, something that had once existed only in my imagination was happening in front of me.
I wasn’t just watching a concert anymore. I was witnessing the result of what we had accomplished together.
I remember thinking about how far we’d come from that first question: What if we did this in LA too?
The Grassroots Radio Campaign
The Korean Flag Project wasn’t the only experience that challenged what I thought I could do.
I had also been involved in grassroots radio campaigning for BTS, encouraging fans to work together to support their music.
Radio promotion may sound simple from the outside. You request a song, encourage other people to participate, and hope the station plays it.
But organizing a coordinated campaign takes persistence, communication, and patience.
You have to get people interested, explain what you’re trying to accomplish, encourage participation, and keep the momentum going.
You have to accept that not everyone will respond or participate.
That experience taught me that leadership doesn’t always involve a large event or a visible celebration. Sometimes, it’s simply the work of encouraging people to keep going when results aren’t immediate.
Both projects required me to communicate a vision clearly enough that other people could understand it and decide whether they wanted to be part of it.
That’s something I never imagined I would become comfortable doing.
Discovering the Leader in Me
For a long time, I associated leadership with having a particular title, position, or personality.
I thought leaders were people who naturally knew what to do, spoke confidently, and had everything figured out.
Well, I certainly didn’t have everything figured out.
I was learning as I went.
There were decisions I had to make, conversations I had to initiate, and situations I had to handle without knowing exactly how things would turn out.
I had to learn to delegate instead of trying to do everything myself. I had to listen to different opinions, trust other people’s abilities, and recognize when someone else had a better solution.
Perhaps one of the biggest lessons was realizing that I didn’t have to know everything to lead.
I just needed to be willing to learn, take responsibility, and keep moving forward.
As John C. Maxwell wrote, “Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.”
I began to understand that leadership wasn’t necessarily about being the loudest person in the room. It was about bringing people together, helping them see what was possible, and creating an environment where they could contribute.
That changed how I saw myself.
When Faith Meets the Unknown
Looking back, I can see how God has been developing certain qualities in me through experiences I never expected.
I’ve always believed that God can use our experiences, abilities, and even our uncertainties to prepare us for something we may not fully understand at the time.
Proverbs 16:3 reminds us:
“Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.” (KJV)
That doesn’t mean every idea I have is automatically God’s plan. I still have to exercise wisdom, examine my motives, and consider whether what I’m doing is worthwhile.
But I’ve learned that I don’t always need to see the entire path before taking the first step.
There is a passage in Zechariah 4:10 that asks:
“For who hath despised the day of small things?” (KJV)
I love that reminder because so many meaningful things begin with something small.
A conversation. A question. An invitation. An idea shared with someone who says, “I’d love to help.”
The Korean Flag Project didn’t begin with twenty volunteers and thousands of flags. It began with a thought that I was willing to share.
That small beginning eventually grew into something none of us could have accomplished alone.
Helen Keller once said, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
I experienced that firsthand.
Soul Insights
1. You May Be More Capable Than You Think
Sometimes, we limit ourselves because we have a particular idea of who we are and what we’re capable of doing. I never really pictured myself leading a team of volunteers through a project of that magnitude. But when the opportunity came, I discovered abilities that I hadn’t fully developed or even recognized. It makes me wonder how many other things I’ve dismissed simply because I’ve never tried them.
2. Leadership Is Something You Learn by Doing
I didn’t wake up one morning suddenly knowing how to manage a team, coordinate a project, or handle difficult decisions. I learned through conversations, mistakes, problem-solving, and the willingness to ask for help. Some things worked beautifully, while others needed adjustments along the way. I’ve come to appreciate that experience can teach us lessons that no amount of planning can fully prepare us for.
3. A Shared Vision Can Bring People Together
One of the most rewarding parts of the Korean Flag Project was seeing people contribute their time and abilities to something they believed in. They weren’t receiving a salary or a promotion for helping. They simply wanted to be part of creating a meaningful moment for BTS and fellow fans. That experience reminded me that people are often willing to give generously when they understand the purpose behind what they’re doing.
4. You Don’t Have to Carry Everything Yourself
I have a tendency to take on a lot, especially when I’m excited about a project. But leading a team taught me that doing everything myself wasn’t practical or fair to the people who wanted to contribute. I had to learn to trust others, share responsibilities, and accept that someone else’s approach might be different from mine and still work just as well. That was an important lesson because good leadership should help other people grow, too.
5. God Can Use Unexpected Experiences to Prepare You
I don’t know exactly where all these experiences will lead, but I believe they are helping me develop skills I can use in other areas of my life. Organizing projects has strengthened my communication, decision-making, and ability to work with different personalities. It has also given me greater confidence to pursue opportunities I might have overlooked before. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me,” and I see that as an encouragement to rely on God’s strength while faithfully doing the work in front of me.
Final Thoughts: Maybe I Can
If you had asked me several years ago whether I could organize and lead a grassroots project involving thousands of people at a major concert venue, I probably would have said I didn’t know how.
That would have been true.
I didn’t know how.
But I learned.
I learned to reach out to people, ask questions, make decisions, coordinate responsibilities, and deal with unexpected problems. I learned that people have different strengths and that a project becomes stronger when those strengths are recognized and appreciated.
I also learned that leadership comes with responsibility. When people trust you enough to volunteer their time, you owe them clear communication, respect, and a willingness to listen.
I’m proud of what we accomplished, but I’m equally grateful for the people who made it possible. The project was never mine alone. It belonged to everyone who contributed to making that vision a reality.
Perhaps that’s what I appreciate most about the whole experience.
I discovered that I could lead, but I also discovered how much more we can accomplish when we work together.
As Eleanor Roosevelt encouraged, “Do one thing every day that scares you.”
I don’t necessarily need to do something frightening every day, but I understand the wisdom behind those words. Growth often requires us to attempt something unfamiliar.
These days, when an idea comes to mind and I begin wondering whether I can actually pull it off, I remember the Korean Flag Project and the grassroots radio campaign.
I remember the uncertainty, the work, the people, and the satisfaction of seeing an idea become something real.
Instead of immediately thinking, I don’t know if I can do that, I’m learning to ask myself a different question.
Why not give it a try?
A Question for You
Have you ever accomplished something you never imagined you could do?
Maybe you started a business, organized an event, returned to school, spoke in front of an audience, or took on a responsibility that initially intimidated you.
I’d love to hear your story. What did you discover about yourself along the way?
Sometimes, we don’t recognize how much we’ve grown until we look back at something we once thought was beyond our abilities.
© 2026 Amelie Chambord
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