Creating a New World Through Courageous Leadership
Since opening the doors to Upside Thinking, Inc., I have been advocating for courageous leadership.
Over the past several years, my plea for people to step into their calling has gotten stronger and the call to action has gotten louder.
Born in the 1960’s, I don’t remember the societal upheavals of the United States of America 50 years ago.
Yet I’ve listened to friends and colleagues share their personal accounts of having to prove, cover, or dim their light to tow the line in a world that made it difficult for them to thrive.
Right now, humanity is in trouble – and what plagues the world today has been around before the Founding Fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence in the United States of America.
This disease perpetuates throughout the United States – and world – because the courage to dismantle the disease is more daunting than focusing on surface symptoms.
Individuals like Abraham Lincoln were torn understanding what was “right” and what action to take to move the United States of America forward.
As a practicing Catholic, I acknowledge the disease of racism was ever present in the Church long before this country was founded – and the divide it created amongst its leaders.
Writing about this moves me to tears as I’m in the inquiry about what is mine to do and say in a time of great pain and anguish.
I’ve taken bold steps quietly over the past 20 years advocating for colleagues and friends and have participated in panels, projects, and social change initiatives around safety, belonging, and racial justice.
While it’s never been the front facing part of my business, I’m committed to mercy, justice, and protection for a reason.
The consciousness that is needed for societal transformation cannot come from darkness.
Racism is a deep-rooted symptom – like many isms – and is not the problem itself.
Being “anti” anything allows the energy of what you don’t want to show up stronger.
I talk about this to my clients in our coaching sessions and group coaching calls – and it’s why my company name is Upside Thinking, Inc.
Being and feeling angry is a healthy emotional response – valid for anyone and everyone. The key is what you do with the emotion.
Responding to what you don’t want with anger will create more of it as you’re giving it energy. It is hard and necessary work to channel the energy of anger to the energy of Upside.
When you focus on the Upside, you create more love and light creating the space for what is yours to show up.
We are stronger than our fears and the energetics of intentional embodiment has the ability to cause transformation. Using our emotions as catalysts to intentional pro-action is powerful.
Dr. Shariff Abdullah said, “Being “anti-racist” is like the person with lung cancer being “anti-coughing…Responding to racism with anger, fear, and violence (or denial, empty gestures, and fad workshops) is like fighting shadows with more shadows, like fighting a raging fire with gasoline.”
As society struggles to come together for a common goals, the divide is getting greater.
My sister has a mantra, “We protect heads and hearts in our home.”
She’s confronted people at work, in the community, and her place of worship who used rhetoric and dogma to create division.
Where you stand as an individual inside the comfort of your home matters as it will be put to the test in public.
Be pro black, pro brown, pro including, pro belonging. Be pro the ideals of this country. Be pro safety for all persons, colors, and creeds.
Live it in heart, mind, and action.
How? It takes courage, bold action, and an examination of how people behave in a system that was built to perpetuate the status quo: a white patriarchal society. A society where the power would remain in the hands of a select group.
With many forces seeking to pull people apart, courageous leaders seek to bring people together and bridge the divide.
As I use my influence and work on new projects, I’m clear we must understand the present position and empty gestures that look good for photo ops in order to take meaningful action.
I’ve been inviting you to fully step into your calling for years now – because the world needs you and your brilliance.
This has never been a marketing line or ploy to have you attend my annual Design Your Destiny Live (www.DesignYourDestinyLive.com) 3-day leadership course.
It is a call to action that comes from deep in my Soul.
When I envision a world where everyone wins, my impossible promise and vision, I see a kinder world…a society filled with human beings where everyone belongs and has a voice.
This can only happen when YOU step into your calling.
A new society – and a new world – can only be created by courageous, compassionate leaders, not through slogans and banners.
“Who holds the pattern of a new, inclusive, and compassionate society? Not the leaders of the toxic, dysfunctional status quo. Not the extremists of the Left or the Right. Definitely not the media, who fuel our fears, confusions, and separations to sell advertising space,” said Dr. Shariff Abdullah.
Courageous leadership starts with you.
ACTION: The Upside Challenge of the week is to examine your thoughts and beliefs. Take action on one thing.
The world needs you and your brilliance.
