WHERE DID I PUT THAT BOOK?

“There’s grace in being willing to know and hear others.”
: Michelle Obama

…

The above image is a bit misleading, because I’ve not actually read it … yet.
I bought the book the day it came out.
It leapt out at me, metaphorically speaking of course,
there are no leaping books,
not in Crystal Palace anyway.
My queue of books is next to my couch,
and ‘Becoming’ is very near the top.

Let me digress …

One of the wonderful things that came from doing Seth Godin’s The Marketing Seminar
was the creation of a small, but beautifully formed mastermind group.
JoAnn, Louise, Beat and myself chat once every 2 weeks.
It’s a global thing, literally.
JoAnn is in Toronto, Beat is in Switzerland,
and Louise is based in New Zealand.

Louise, the head of a company called TetraMap.
has recently launched their own podcast, called ‘In Your Element.’
And I’ve just listened to the latest one…

An infectious laugh, with inspiring enthusiasm, tenacity and an MBE.
That’s Olive Strachan; from the north of England,
and with a heart warming tone to her voice.
She has a real sense of her energy and enthusiasm for the work that she does;
helping leaders and organisations develop their full potential.
In particular, she’s about female entrepreneurship,
and how to help boards be more diverse
with their ethnic minority representation.

During the podcast, Olive describes beautifully how the elements of nature
represent how we are as people, and our personalities.
Which is exactly how TetraMap work,
creating better teams and understanding, naturally.

Opening the door

When asked for a quote that was meaningful for her,
Olive picked out a quote from the epilogue of Michelle Obama’s book;

“For every door that’s been opened to me, I’ve tried to open my door to others.
And here is what I have to say, finally: Let’s invite one another in.
Maybe then we can begin to fear less, to make fewer wrong assumptions,
to let go of the biases and stereotypes that unnecessarily divide us.
Maybe we can better embrace the ways we are the same.
It’s not about being perfect. It’s not about where you get yourself in the end.
There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story,
in using your authentic voice.
And there’s grace in being willing to know and hear others.
This, for me, is how we become.”

Olive continued in her own words;
“… often we’re seen as women not allowing other women in,
not encouraging and supporting each other, so it’s about sharing …”

and of TetraMap..
“It’s about saying that all diverse people are valuable, we all belong.
…we are all valuable in our own ways,
and we all need to be respected. …
Let’s look for what’s similar about ourselves,
lets allow each to come in and respect each other …
and helping others to develop.”

Becoming Connected

This reminded me of the story I found yesterday.
Of two young women from my native north east,
who had originally left the area to go to college,
and then on their return found a lot of their friends had moved on,
or moved away.

So they’ve created Sheesiders with the aim of bringing about
quality connection between young women;
arranging social events where women can
meet together to escape “toxic friendships”
and meet in a “safe space”.

…

This post started out wanting to share
a podcast I thought worth sharing.
And became one about connection.
The connection between people,
how they can shape us,
and how they can inspire us.
They can give us the confidence
to become the person that you want to be.
to start the business you want to create,
or creating the change you want to see.