“The place in which I’ll fit will not exist until I make it.” ~ James Baldwin (1924-1987)
Frank Zappa said, Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.”
Let’s make places where the oddballs fit. And change the world.
Facilitating Creative Breakthroughs
“The place in which I’ll fit will not exist until I make it.” ~ James Baldwin (1924-1987)
Frank Zappa said, Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.”
Let’s make places where the oddballs fit. And change the world.
I grew up in an ordinary, middle-class family in Iowa where I attended public schools. Through a stroke of fate, I was critically injured in a head-on collision in my 20s and received insurance money that allowed me to attend the Ph.D. program at the University of Chicago. My fellow classmates were very different from me.
They came from wealthy and privileged families.
During my time at the University, I sat in on many conferences about educational policy, but there was one conference in particular that changed my view of the world.
It was a conference about school choice in public education. I didn’t have a strong opinion about this topic, but I soon discovered that people in the educational community DID hold strong positions about it. In this case, the people in the room were against it.
In particular, a fellow in my graduate cohort stood up and waxed on about how TERRIBLE school choice was—adamantly, insistently, and angrily voicing his displeasure.
And here’s the thing that twisted me: This particular guy had never set foot inside a public school, nor would he ever send his children to public school. He grew up ultra-wealthy and attended exclusive boarding schools.
In fact, he made fun of my college degree from a large midwestern state university, jeeringly calling it a “Midwest factory.”
This was the defining moment when I realized that the scope of policy in our country is defined by a select, chosen few. Maybe I was naive, but for me at that moment, I was blown away by the arrogance and hypocrisy. The privileged—the well-educated and wealthy—not only make policy decisions but believe they have the RIGHT to do so.
They believe they have the right to make important life decisions for the rest of us.
Years ago, I heard a story about a Cesar Chavez farm worker meeting in the 1950s. The room was packed with men who were arguing loudly. And then an old woman who’d been sitting silently in the back of the room for the past hour rose to speak. Apparently, when she started to speak you could hear a pin drop in the room. I don’t remember now what she said, but I do remember how important her voice was.
Her courage to stand up and speak changed the energy and direction of the entire conversation. In a machismo culture, in a roomful of men, her voice had an impact.
May we all have the courage to use our voices.
It takes courage to follow a creative path. It takes fortitude to go against the norm and follow an inner call. It takes resourcefulness to reassure parents and well-meaning friends & colleagues that you’re not crazy or out of your mind. But when we follow the nudges that don’t make any sense, that’s when whole worlds open up. Click here to read the article.
I’m SO excited to be part of the Tiny Buddha tribe. ✨
Giving a quick shout-out to my book GETTING MESSY: A Guide to Taking Risks & Opening the Imagination for Teachers, Trainers, Coaches & Mentors.
Check it out at online retailers or your local bookstore. Thanks! 🙂
Keeping your form when you teach, coach, facilitate, or lead.
Whenever we work with other humans, we’re working with the unknown. We can never know what’s going to be thrown at us.
What can we do in the face of the unknown?
We can keep our form.
Long-distance runners reach a point before the finish line where every cell in their body wants to collapse. But if they push through it, they eventually find a fresh pocket of energy that allows them to finish the race. As teachers, coaches, and facilitators, we need to do the same.
My friend John Baron, a vocal communication coach, shares an incredible story about being asked to give a small workshop in Italy. When he arrived for the workshop, he discovered that what he thought would be a small informal group was actually a talk on stage to a packed auditorium of 500 people. And the translator disappeared right before he was set to begin.
John’s story is the best I’ve heard about keeping your form in an unexpectedly stressful situation. 😉 Here’s the link to his article to read what happened: https://johnabaron.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Expecting-the-unexpected.pdf
John’s story is dramatic, but this happens to all of us, in big ways and small. For example, I knew someone who was hired to teach high school math and when he showed up on the first day, there were no books or supplies. He had six classes of students that day that he needed to try to entertain until his teaching materials arrived.
YOU can walk through fire and still hold your form. Hold your form no matter what.
For more on holding your form when you teach, train, coach and facilitate, check out my book: Getting messy: A guide to taking risks and opening the imagination for teachers, trainers, coaches and mentors.