DoubleJoy

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Stokely Carmichael said ‘If a man wants to lynch
me, that’s his problem. If he’s got the power to
lynch me, that’s my problem.’

So let’s talk about that power, let’s talk about
empathy.

Having limited empathy allows some to pretend
this is new.

Having limited empathy can allow some to say,
I didn’t know this happens in America.

Feeling that you have the impunity to execute
someone in daylight with cameras filming is
despicable.

When you have empathy, you are not non-racist,
you are openly anti-racist.

It takes courage, but we can do it.

When you ignore a leader’s racism, misogyny,
and hate speech, this, in the most charitable
terms, lacks empathy.

I have garnered some privilege as I have moved
through my career in life, it is my responsibility
and duty to use any influence I may have to
connect with resilience and work to change and
improve the system.

I can’t be quiet.  I will not be quiet, and frankly,
I am exhausted.

I have worked very hard over the last twenty
years to try and raise a kind, decent, good
black man.

I will not accept that his life matters less.

I will also insist you help me make systemic
change.

We don’t have to solve everything at once,
but we can all use whatever influence we
may have to remove injustice.

We know what is right.

I also say with change, the priority of
actions taken matters.

The first priority might not be to
solve how the oppressed react.

Martin Luther King said … ‘a riot is the
language of the unheard’.

We know why people are upset, let’s
not pretend to not understand.

While I do believe it is best to respond
and not react, there are moments
when injustice has occurred for so long
that people are too hurt and feel too
invisible.

The priority for change has to be
to remove those who have the power
and impunity to kill in the light of day
with their hands in their pockets.

These are people of low moral character
and are incapable of responsibility and
empathy.

We have to demonstrate that we will
work to address the pain and the hurt,
so the true protestors can listen to the
best way to organize and mobilize.

People are fed up.

#saymyname

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Shout out to the Charlie Browns.

I posit that the Charlie Browns of the world deserve mad respect.

They show up every day in the rain and the shine.

They do the right thing when it counts.

They are your true friends.

They are the essential workers.

They are the Walter Whites, not the Heisenbergs.

It is seductive to be the Heisenberg, people know your name, people have to SAY YOUR NAME.

The Heisenbergs are famous for their billion-dollar Grey Matter start-ups, but they are not doing it for their family. Heisenberg did it for himself.

Mad respect for the Walter Whites, the Charlie Browns, the essentials, the people keeping it down for all of us in the dark.

#CharlieBrown

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Post pandemic, what can we learn?

Science, technology, engineering, and math matters.

Character matters, empathy matters.

Understanding that we only win, when everyone
feels the impact the pandemic has on them matters.

We should cherish the mundane, the walks, the
time, and the space.

Truth matters, caring matters, inequality matters.

There should be no class of humans that exists
to support another class of humans.

No one should feel their life does not matter as
much as someone else’s life, it’s wrong.

Leadership matters.

For some of us, the pandemic provided the
opportunity to step up to the core of work.
It was done amazingly.

We can take the time to understand that we are
all affected by anxiety as a result of the pandemic,
and we should respect that all individuals are
uniquely affected.

It is important to connect with resiliency,
grit matters.

And for those who can, it is important to
cherish the space, time, and that socially
distant kind of closeness.

Some are impacted by great loss and great
grief. God Bless you.

When we finally get to take a breath and
when we get to a point when those you loved
and lost bring a smile to your face before
a tear, we will recover, we will learn.

I know that you matter, and I know that I care.

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One day we will all have “sunshine, freedom, and a little flower”.  Hans Christian Andersen

The cruelest thing about this disease is not being able to be with your loved one as they suffer through the symptoms and potentially have to die alone … too painful!

This disease has exposed the realities of income inequality.  Basically, many on the higher side of the income scale stay at home, exercise, walk their dogs, video call, and sometimes complain about being bored.

Many on the lower side of the income scale worry about how they will pay the rent, pay for dinner, or pay the utility bill.  Many may worry when they are deemed ‘essential’ and have to go to work unequipped with protection for the disease. At the same time, many have to listen to a myriad of leaders saying PPE and checks are on the way.  Yet and still, the checks and PPE are not where they are needed.

Lord, please have mercy on us all.  We know this will pass, and one day, we will vaccinate everyone in the world.  Whichever position we are in, please help us learn, grow, be empathetic, help, support, and love.

We all handle our anxieties in different ways.  Most of us will work to do whatever is our best at this time.

I pray for us all. I love us all.  I thank the essentials.

Stay at home, wear a mask, wash our hands.  One day we will test everyone and vaccinate everyone.

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Time to plan and prepare
Time to save
Time to spend with family
Time to send that hopeful note, text, or post
Time to exercise while you can
Time to pick flowers
Time to smile and be kind
Time to respond versus react
Time to have empathy because everyone is anxious
Time to appreciate what you do have
Time to let them know you care
Time to say ‘I love you’
Time to go for a walk because they are still around (Stay six feet apart)
Time before they grow up and move away
Time to smell the roses
Time to say thank you to the ‘essentials’
Time to be grateful you are breathing comfortably
Time to know that one day we will be on the other side of this
Time to be grateful for your paycheck if you are lucky enough to have one
Time to #stayathome #together

 

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Imposter Syndrome

The effects:
You don’t deserve the position.
You are the ‘only one’.
Why should I care that you are the ‘only one’?
Do you belong?

Underrepresented minorities in a majority centered space can be particularly susceptible to feeling this definition of ‘imposter syndrome’.

You don’t get the same resources.
Opportunities for critical experiences are not presented to you.
You do not get audiences with influential team members.
You feel isolated.
Others assume you are not a team player.
You don’t see leaders who look like you, so you think, WE don’t make it to that level.

Senior leaders have to take pro-active and sometimes ‘additional’ workload and accountability to address imposter syndrome effects.

We must have EMPATHY.

Independent of what others may think, we can address what is in our control.

We can be BUILT Up, not PUFFED up.

Develop a foundation that is well-earned, it comes with a confidence that is unfailing.

Show up Everyday
Establish Receipts
Persevere
Be afraid, but go on in any way
Compete only with yourself
Respond versus react

You will come to understand that MOST people respect well-earned knowledge and hard work, no matter their bias.

You become hard to IGNORE.

When you are puffed up (without a confidence well-earned), you can sometimes get sucked into emotions where you MAY feel you have something to prove.

You may feel like an IMPOSTER.

Enjoy the moments engaging with what you do well.

Embrace the mundane, the grind, the hustle in getting BUILT Up and you will never have to worry about feeling PUFFED Up.

Stand Tall.

Get BUILT Up.

You will outlast all those who may try to suggest you are an imposter.

#BeBuiltUp  #IWD2020 #EachforEqual #InternationalWomenDay2020

 

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Being built up gains you a confidence that is well-earned.

You show up every day with a positive attitude in the rain and the shine.  We can all show up happy in the sunshine.   Your energy should say something positive about you even before you speak.

You live joyfully and work hard to hold onto your peace.  Peace is the greatest gift that you can provide yourself.

You can articulate what you have accomplished succinctly in a manner a six-year-old can understand.

You work hard and persevere.  You understand these qualities are hard to beat and not everyone is willing to put in the work.  You will not require a special talent for this, you will have to be disciplined.

You can be afraid, but you will go in anyway.

You understand that, in general, people respect hard work.  No matter their bias, you become hard to ignore.

You are only in competition with yourself and the aspirations you have for life.

You respond and do not react so you are always on your best game.

When you are PUFFED up (without a confidence well-earned), you can get sucked up in emotions where you always feel you have something to prove.  You may feel like an imposter.

Instead, enjoy the moments engaging with what you do well.  By well, I mean outstanding.

I suggest that you embrace the mundane in getting built up and you will never have to worry about being PUFFED up.

#embrace the mundane  #bebuiltup  #enjoythemoment  #peace

 

 

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Life doesn’t turn out the way you wish for it,
it turns out the way you WORK for it.

Many people want and wish, not everyone works,
yet they still want.

Ten years from now (if you are blessed), will you
be able to say, I chose this life or will it be the
life that happened?

You can decide today.

Either way, life will happen.

You will find that there is no way to hack creating
a company (disrupting an industry), building a
brand, or having a life of experiences.  No matter
what you want to do, you are going to have to
‘show-up’ every day.

You will have to hustle.

Be in competition with no one but yourself and
the aspirations you have for your life.

When the bad things happen, go hang out with
the helpers.

And when you want to react and not respond …
and I so get it when you want to … just remember,
when you respond versus react, you are on
your BEST game.

Today counts, tomorrow counts, and Wednesday
will count.  I suggest you will care in ten years
what you did on Wednesday.

 

Go out there and make 2019 happen the way you wish.

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Nobility is the quality of being noble in character, mind, birth or rank   Synonyms include virtue, goodness, honor, and decency.

Character is the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.

For me, nobility and character mean that in the toughest of times, you do the RIGHT thing.

Being noble and having good character does not mean that you never make mistakes, but it is defined as in the toughest of times, being counted on to do the RIGHT thing.  And what enables you to make the RIGHT decision is an internal motivation that is greater than yourself and your personal needs.

Two legends were laid to rest this week, Aretha Franklin and John McCain.

Oh, the lessons their lives shared!

Nobility and Character.

Ms. Franklin was born of the church and of the Civil Rights era, she embodied an ideal vision for America.

Senator McCain was born into Navy nobility.

Both came to know privilege.  But for these icons, equality did not feel like oppression.  Even if something was not a problem for them personally, they owned that it was still a problem, and they committed themselves to do something about it.

They were not self-important, arrogant, or pompous.

They were great people who were reinforced with achievements that were widely recognized.

They were people stiffened by failures and successes that they learned from.

They were strengthened by the opportunities and journeys that they experienced.

They were ‘BUILT-UP,’ not ‘PUFFED-UP’.

As we learn from Ernest Hemingway, today is only one day in all the days that will ever be, but what will happen in all the other days will depend on what you do today.

I thank these great icons for the lessons we learn from their lives and for the additional day that will determine the rest of our days.

Rest in peace to Ms. Franklin and Senator McCain.

You taught us about nobility and character.

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Release the balloons!

Let the doves fly!

Set off the fireworks!

Wow, when you can exhale.

When you can breathe deep.

When you are blessed to learn that it truly
comes in God’s time.

Embrace the mundane during the waiting time.

Let others worry.  You are good.

You are prepared.

When you embrace the mundane and
recognize the beauty of that weed in
the brown lawn,

When all you want to do is give love,

When you appreciate time,

When you are AWARE,

Enjoy the blessing.

Train your thoughts the way you
would practice your soccer footwork.

Counter the negative thoughts
with positive thoughts immediately.

You will have to work at it.

Over time, though, with practice, you begin
to master this technique.

Continue practice through to mastery.

You don’t worry about that decision you have to make,
when you have spent the time to clearly understand
what you value.

Every decision after that (from the grand to the mundane)
will be made in such a fashion as to impact what you
value in the most positive manner.

You READILY accept whatever consequences come with
that decision.

You made that decision with forethought.

You will NOT focus on what others are doing or GETTING,
because you will be too busy impacting what you value
in a positive manner.

You will spend your ‘worry’ dollars wisely.

You will be frugal with what you worry about.

Dollars will be spent ONLY on things that are TRULY worthy.

You will get to this place where you appreciate EVERY day.

You may even wonder how did it get so good?

I suggest when you let grace and ease come your way,
you value peace over control.

You realize that YOU control YOU.

YOU appreciate time.

YOU embrace the mundane.

YOU see beauty in weeds.

YOU breathe deep.

Release the balloons.

Let the doves fly.

How did it get so good?