Impactful Quote

“Love is Looking Over Various Errors” 

The first time I listen to the song Prisoner 1 & 2 by Lupe Fiasco the quote jumped out at me. I immediately pressed pause and rewind. The song holds as two stories. In the first half Prisoner 1 is a prisoner who has been racially profiled and incarcerated. In the second half Prisoner 2 is a prison guard working at the prison, who himself is trapped but in a different way.  https://genius.com/Lupe-fiasco-prisoner-1-and-2-lyrics

The song is filled with explicit lyrics and some may find the story he is telling to be grim. Keeping the quote inline with the song content, I am reminded that we live in a world that when people come out of incarceration they are automatically stigmatized. When it comes back to being integrated most people don’t want to give them a chance. We as humans have all done something bad(errors) in our life, be it something small as talking ill of someone or as big as committing a crime. We as humans are constantly evolving and this means we are growing and changing, with that being the case should someone be judged on what they did years, months, or weeks ago? It it’s clear change is shown let them turn the page and create a fresh start.

I try my best to not judge someone solely on past actions. One of the processes that has helped me with managing expectations with people is by letting others be the author of their own chapter in my book of life.  Always Believe in People.

A great example of this is Tom Bilyeu the creator of Quest Nutrition (now a billion dollar company). In 2010 he created the company in Compton (considerably a “dangerous” neighborhood). In an interview about how he started he says:

..my employees were former gang members, ex-drug dealers, felons. We were in Compton, and we literally told everybody in the neighborhood, “I don’t care if you’ve been convicted of a crime. I just want to know if you’re willing to bust your ass to change your life, and if you are, you’re going to get an interview. And I’m not going to ask for your resume. I don’t care about your resume. Your resume tells me where you’ve been. It doesn’t tell me the price you’re willing to pay to become somebody new.”

Interesting Video – Flow State

For the entire year of 2019, I have been fascinated by this thing called being in a state of flow. Spent the entire year trying to get into it. The video below came across my Youtube feed. As the gentleman spoke I reflected and realized I have in several instances get into a state of Flow. This is a state in which your body and mind just go without through. It’s as if everything is automatic. Many athletes get into a flow state when everything just clicks this can be known as runner’s high, or being in the zone.

When in flow I have been able to read and absorb texts at high speed, been able to write text flowing like the Niagara Falls. I have been able to figure out answers to questions I have had and been able to brain dump in a clear and organized fashion. Watch the video below.

Finished Reading

Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek. In listening to the book the best quote that stood out is

“the true price of leadership is the willingness to place the needs of others above your own. Great leaders truly care about those they are privileged to lead and understand that the true cost of the leadership privilege comes at the expense of self-interest.”

For me this is a great way to describe leadership. Even if you don’t manage a team you can display leadership by helping the person next to you. As long as you make contact with another human in your day, you have the ability and opportunity to help someone. This can be from holding the door open for a stranger, helping a neighbor bring their groceries to their door. 

You may ask yourself what does all of this have to do with leadership. In the quote above if we focus on the last part “at the expense of self-interest”. That to me is the most important part, it comes down to serving others. We live on and share this planet with billions of neighbors, imagine if we all just took a moment to help the person next to us how AWESOME the world would be. It’s like the old adage “Be the change you want to see in the world”