Leading Through Tough Times

 Happy Monday, Tribe! I hope you guys are having a beautiful day full of positive affirmations and impact-driven decisions! I’m going to be perfectly honest with you guys — today’s episode took a lot of retakes. A few times now, I have done the ‘record, delete, repeat’ cycle with this topic, because I wanted to make sure that it came across exactly how I meant it. Today we are talking about something heavy, something that I know has been weighing on all our hearts and minds lately. 

We are talking about George Floyd and the horrific events that led to his tragic death, generating protests that awakened our nation to the desperate need for change. 

I know that a lot of people are having a difficult time comprehending and understanding the tumultuous state of the world right now. Most importantly, I know many of you guys are wondering what role you play in all of this. Because everyone has a role to play — an impact to make that cannot be ignored.  

For those of you who are entrepreneurs, that role is a lot bigger than you may think! As an entrepreneur, you have a platform and a following. You are a leader by choice, whether you realize it or not. Leadership is the first thing that I cover in my Impact to Income Academy. It is also one of the main things that I talk about on my social media. Why? Because it is the most unrepresented aspect of so many peoples' businesses! 

Oftentimes, people get into business and don’t think of themselves as leaders. But guys, here’s the truth — the second that you become an entrepreneur, you become a leader. And with great leadership comes great responsibility. 

This means you are a leader at all times. You are a leader when times are comfortable, and everyone agrees with each other. And you are a leader when shit hits the fan. You are a leader during times of fear and times of hate — during times of change and times of controversy. It is a beautiful privilege that you get to use your voice and speak up. What an incredible power to have! 

So as leaders, we have to take that stand and use our voices for good. We have to process things and move forward towards making a positive change. But what does that mean? What does it actually look like to use your voice? Today we’re going to talk about what it means to use your leadership and your voice and how you can start doing that right now. 

Processing Before Posting: Understanding the Situation and Your Emotions 

Guys, I know you feel it right now. The world is filled to the brim with emotion. Fear, hate, love, sorrow, hope — it is all there. It is tangible and real and raw. People respond to this emotional overload in different ways. Some reject it, some embrace it, and some pretend it's not there. But let me tell you this: as a leader, you have to process that emotion before sharing your voice. You have to look internally and assess how you are feeling before anything else.

This is so important. I’m seeing a lot of people saying or posting their thoughts, but they don’t have a heart connection to what they are sharing. They don’t have a deep understanding of why they are doing everything that they are doing. That’s a problem! 

Think about it this way — If I were to post something about growing a business but had never tried to do that before, you wouldn’t really get anything out of it! Before I could help you, I would need a connection to the material, an understanding of what growing a business looked like. 

The same goes for posting about current events and leading through tough times. For me, it's a process of analyzing my emotions. I think to myself, “Ok, how does this make me feel right now? What emotions are coming up for me?” And even further, “What is my initial reaction to that emotion? What about that should I try and change or understand more?” 

You have to take care of yourself in this way and process everything. Only then can you fully dive into sharing your thoughts with the world. Only then can you be a leader who fearlessly and passionately has a heart connection to everything you are speaking out about. 

Seriously, guys — this is huge. Focus on understanding your emotions first, and then use them to fuel your actions moving forward. Aren’t you way more likely to listen to someone who has a genuine connection with and understanding of the material they are speaking about? You know it! Other people are the same. 

My Experience Witnessing Social Injustice From A Child’s Perspective 

When I think about emotionally connecting with the topic of racial injustice, my mind immediately goes back to when I was a teacher. One of the little kids that I taught was seriously my favorite child on this planet. For real. He just tangibly radiated joy, and his smile brought me light every single day. I remember each day he would get off the bus and run to the front of the school to give me the biggest hug and say, “Good morning Mrs. Kennedy!” with so much positive energy. 

He was an African-American boy who had just transferred to our school from an inner-city school, and his former teacher had deemed him as a child with attention difficulty. He was branded as someone with anger issues, incapable of learning. 

At that time, I was an interventionist and got to work with this little buddy on my caseload. It was part of my job to help him understand the power of reading and learning. And guys, guess what? I kid you not— at the end of the 20 weeks I was with him, he started reading. Not only that, but he also gained a spark of confidence with school and his light shined brighter and brighter with every success. 

I remember he was outside at recess one day, and I was in my office working during lunch. Suddenly, he ran inside. He was irate, screaming and crying with anger. So I said, “What’s going on, buddy?” And he looked at me, tears running down his face, and said, “They treat me differently because of the color of my skin.” 

They treat me differently because of the color of my skin. At six and a half years old, this loving and passionate boy had to learn the harsh reality that he was discriminated against because of his skin color. He was labeled as “incapable of learning” and told that he had anger issues. He was treated differently by his classmates because we were in a predominately white school district. And I knew that he was right. I told him, “You’re right,” and I cried with him that day in the lunchroom. 

I get emotional every single time I think of this story. That little boy changed me. Actually, he was a significant catalyst for the segregation and anti-racism work that I did in my school district right before I left. And he came back to my mind when all of this first started. When I was trying to understand the anger and frustration and fear that people of color have to face every day. 

Of course, I cannot understand what it really feels like. It is nearly impossible to understand if you’re not a person of color. But I can vividly feel some of that emotion when I think of that little boy. It hurts when I think of how he was forced to see that he was treated differently at the age of only six and a half years old. 

I’m not sharing this story with you to say that you’re the problem, or that we’re the problem. I’m sharing this story with you to create awareness around the fact that this shit is real. Seriously, it is so real, and every single one of us in this world can play a role in making it not real. 

How You Can Use Your Voice to Actively Combat Racism 

Remember, your voice is powerful. As entrepreneurs and leaders, it is our responsibility to use that voice, whether that is having a conversation with our spouse, our children, or our Instagram followers. So how can you go about doing this? How can you use your status as a leader to have those conversations that can lead to change?

The first thing you can do is equip yourself with information that does not come from a general news source. Guys, the News is bullshit. You are given a highly filtered version of the story from a limited perspective. No matter what you support, you have to look elsewhere for information. I know, its hard work. It takes much more work to research information on your own than to stare at a TV for three minutes. But it is worth it, I promise. 

Secondly, know that you have an active choice in everything. I know you’re worried about being “right” or “wrong.” But there’s no right or wrong about how to move forward with eliminating racial injustice, no matter how pressured you may feel from others. You have to get uncomfortable and make the choice of integrating positive leadership about racial equality into your business and your life. 

Here are some ways you can do this. You can choose to integrate social justice and anti-racism into your business content. You can choose to donate regularly to a charity that fights against these issues. You can choose to integrate everything you have learned into your life and business in your own unique way. You can choose to never stop learning, refusing to limit your eduction to just a week. 

Whatever you choose, it has to feel good in your heart, mind, and gut. Move forward in the way that feels right to you, and do it with passion. Do it with a heart connection. Do it with impact. 

Personally, I will be choosing to live out my passion for helping men and women own their financial power. I will do this while also continuing to learn about injustice, racism, and how my company can be a part of a positive change in this world. I will continue growing and sharing my growth in all areas of life as I always do while donating to charities that I feel 100% aligned with. 

What Will You Choose? 

My question for you today is this: what will you choose to do with your voice and your impact? I hope you are giving yourself time to understand what is happening in the world. I hope you are taking care of yourself first and processing your feelings and emotions. And then I hope you are using that emotion to speak out and utilize your voice for good. 

Guys, I’m going to challenge you because, as a leader, that’s what I do. If this was a financial challenge or a business strategy challenge, you’d jump on it immediately. But this is a very different challenge. I want to challenge you to take some time with week, starting today, to apply some of the things I just said. I challenge you to use your voice and your platform to continually speak out for what is right. 

Because this fight for racial equality doesn’t end after a blackout Tuesday. It doesn’t end after a muted week. It doesn’t end. I’m going to continually be doing the work to understand and learn and help. And I genuinely hope you will too because all humans deserve to be treated equally no matter their skin color. 

I’m going to leave you with this. Not one child should ever have to grow up and say “they treat me differently because of the color of my skin.” Not one adult should ever live life knowing every single day that they are treated differently because of the color of their skin. 

I truly believe that we are all put on this planet to make it a better place and to be the change that we wish to see in the world. 

I love you guys, and I'll catch you next time!