A fellow human being on this planet just wrote this to me on Linked In:
I saw you speak at the UCC Commerce Conference and was blown away by your speech – you’re so inspirational! Hope you’re keeping well 🙂
The message came at a time when I – and perhaps many of you – need a reminder about the importance of inspiring others.
It’s this time in the wake of the deadly rampage in Orlando – which just happens to be where I started my career as a journalist working for the Orlando Sentinel. A town I associated with happy memories now forever tainted with the statistic as the deadliest shooting in the US.
That horror was shortly followed by the senseless killing of a young Member of Britain’s Parliament. In the middle of the afternoon. In front of a library.
The victims in Orlando had been inspirations for their friends and family. MP Jo Cox was an inspiration too.
As Britain votes Thursday on Brexit, and my home country of the United States prepares to vote for a new president, I implore us all to remember that this is a time to not give up. We must go on and be inspirations.
Yes, there are plenty of people who are cynical or angry or divisive or even hateful. Some analysts say the global geopolitical landscape is turning more toward nationalism, more toward nativism. We can still stave off this turn.
We, as humans who share a planet, are better when we are positive. When we are uplifting. Encouraging. When we are appeal to our better instincts – which are, in fact, not instincts after all, but traits that we can develop and deploy – if we set our minds to it.
No matter if we’re in the public sector or the private sector. If we work in local or national government. For an SME or a major multi-national. A for-profit or a not-for-profit. If we interact with other people, let us try to focus on how we can encourage one another – not tear each other down – in order to get ahead.
We can deliberately decide that we won’t get personal when we disagree with someone else on a policy or about a work project or about a whatever.
It’s time to get serious about being kind. It’s about deliberately deciding that “we” is better than “me,” that being considerate is not the same as being weak. That caring for someone who may come from a different background than us, who may look different than us, who may even have a different culture than us – is okay.
I have lived or worked in dozens of countries. From Italy to Indonesia. Egypt to Nigeria. France to Romania. Cambodia to Ireland. I have friends from every place I have been. We continue to inspire each other.
As a fellow Member of Parliament, Rachel Reeves, said yesterday in tribute to Jo Cox, “What we have in common is greater than what divides us.”
We can carry on the work of those who stood for togetherness. For walking forward. Hand in hand.
I am convinced that we can be better.
Copyright 2016 Gina London. All Rights Reserved.
I’m so grateful you are reading my essays. I train, consult and speak about leadership, better communications, business and life empowerment. Please click ‘Follow’ (at the top of the page) and reach out to me directly to support you or your organization via LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and at GinaLondon.com
