Good trouble is yours if you want it

I spent part of my weekend diving into the life of John Lewis, the civil rights activist who passed away earlier this month. His opinion piece published in the NYT posthumously inspired me. I wanted to know more about him and what he championed.

His whole piece is a brilliant call to action for people. Two pieces, in particular, really stood out to me as it relates to what to inspire in women leaders.

“Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble.”

Ordinary people. It is so tempting to look to the people who are most out there for guidance. The people who have titles that suggest we should pay attention to them. We convince ourselves that those titles mean their ideas and plans are better. He reminds us that ordinary people have a tremendous ability to influence others. And suggests that good trouble is an acceptable form of influence. Though, we don’t encourage you getting arrested 40 times, like John. Unless of course, that inspires you. 

Democracy is not a state. It is an act…

Democracy is a verb. It is active. Not passive. This took my breath away. Yes, we live in a democracy (at least in the United States). Yet, democracy means little without the contribution of the individuals within our society. The action and participation by me, as an individual, is mandatory. Democracy comes alive when I choose to be alive IN IT.

This is a lot like how we hold leadership. Leadership is not something given to you by others in the form of a title. Leadership is a verb. It is something that you, as an individual, choose and honor through a series of choices and actions.

This is a simple concept, but hard to practice. To live into.

Shine on, 
Alicia