Apathy is not compatible with love
The Waiting is the Hardest Part
If you’re waiting to hear back from a job interview, sales prospect, or a potential date, remember that you can still make progress. Ambitious goals, especially world-changing ones, require both patience and persistence.
Not My Responsibility
Someone recently asked me how I felt about people reacting with, “It’s not my responsibility to teach white people about racism.” This was specifically about the context in the work that I do since I, in fact, do a lot of education around race and identity. And, I’ve had many challenging conversations around identity…
Take Offs and Landings
I realized that many artists (and entrepreneurs) focus a lot on taking off: how to build a critical mass for support, launching a new product/album, trying to get attention via social media and/or the press, and so on. In fact, when you look at the long list of consultant services, they’re all focus on growth, expansion, and scaling up. But very few, if any, ever talk about landing from those big moments.
Buying Cultural Currency
While I love the idea of having more symbols and tokens, the greater battle is to change the systems and culture that have made these women and their communities invisible. We shouldn’t have to rely on minted coins or printed paper to learn about history.
Why I Love the Bass Guitar
Growing up, I was often asked what a bass player does. These days, I’m often asked why I chose the bass guitar over any other instrument. Both questions are really two sides of the same coin and my answer about the bass guitar also reflects just about all of my big life decisions.
Who or what is a true American?
For the past several years, the phrase “True American” and “Real American” has been passed around, inferring this idea that there is a singular test as to define who is a true patriot of this country. Yet, the answer of who can pass that test is far from definitive.
Be the Bridge
I believe that this moment is a bridge. Yes, we’re acknowledging a moment of hope and the healing that this moment of justice can bring. But it also has the potential for things to fall apart. The bridge is also the part of the song where we can start bringing in additional voices, where we can prepare for that big chorus that is so beautiful, so contagious, that people can’t help but join in. That’s the kind of song I believe we out to write.
The Five Hate Languages
I’ve been thinking that if there are five primary love languages (words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch) to build connection, then certainly there must be opposite forms of this to express or to feel hate and dissonance. And that also means that we may even be expressing in ourselves in a way that harms others without realizing as well.
Keep Swinging.
You never know where you'll end up in this life or who you'll meet along the way, but the most important thing is to remember: keep swinging. As Justice Thurgood Marshall once wrote, "You do what you think is right and let the law catch up."
Make Every Word Count
If your life could only be judged by your words, how would you be remembered?
It’s New Year’s Day Everyday
What does it mean when any day could represent the end of something old or the start of something new? What happens when any ordinary day could be used to commemorate something extraordinary?
Roads and Adversity
When you’re faced against obstacles (people or otherwise), just think about the ways that road builders can approach the problem.
Uses for Friction
For those looking to disrupt, to make good trouble, or to create social change, remember: movement creates friction.
What Makes a Successful Leader?
“As you met with world leaders, CEOs, and other people at the top of their field, what were 3 qualities you found to be in common with all of them?”
Why We Vote
One of my greatest joys this year was helping my father vote…when we began, we both decided that voting should be an act of generosity: it wasn't about ourselves or "our side," but rather, what decisions would help the most people, especially in these uncertain times of need.
The past is the past
Years ago, I came across this great quote: “Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.”
We’re Reading More But We’re Learning Less
You don’t really learn anything when you consume something that you already agree with.