Being ourselves one minute at a time, a little more every day

Nearly 3 weeks gone by since the Global Conversations. A team of 20 "ordinary people hosting an extraordinary virtual event"! Thousands of people around the world who hear about it and hundreds who us in these virtual conversations. What an adventure it was!

Long before the actual day of the event, we felt the excitement, the energy, and the power of connection with people across the globe, most of whom were strangers to each other and yet, it’s as if they were neighbors, dear friends or close colleagues. The buzz before, during and after the event was magical. It still is.

In creating this project with others, I felt drawn to the power of Brené Brown’s work and how it invites a coming home to who we are and what matters most to us in our individual lives. I was intrigued, curious, and thoughtful thinking about what life would be like if we could all be more real, authentic, and “perfectly imperfect” with a zest for life that celebrates the good, the bad and everything in between.

In her warm and whole-hearted way, Brene unlocks something in all of us. We relate to her immediately through her stories and through her spontaneous laughter. We see the wisdom in her research and the simple truths that seem so common sense. It made me wonder what life would be like if we all allowed ourselves to just be who we are, wherever we are: to laugh when we feel like laughing; to speak up when we have something to say without holding back; to pitch in and help without waiting for an invitation; to share stories and hear the stories of others. How many problems in the world would be solved by acting this way instead of pretending to be who we are not!

In an instant, we could each make that decision and take the giant leap to just be ourselves, one minute at a time, a little bit more every day. Perhaps we would inspire others just as Brene Brown is inspiring each of us. Of course, it might take some practice and a healthy dose of courage. It would require that we stop the busy voice in our head and resist looking over our shoulder, worried about what people might say if we smiled broadly when we felt like it, if we frowned, if we hugged someone, if we said thank you, if we asked for help and admitted: “I really don’t know; what do you think?”

Waiting until we have our act together or worse, projecting that we have our act together, isn’t a fun way to live.

Imagine the transformations that we would see in the workplace, in politics, in media, in government, in schools, in science, in communities, and with our families if people could get vulnerable and real. If we stopped thinking that leaders, experts, parents, teachers and everyone including ourselves needed to be perfect or just a little better than who we are now. We could then get to work doing what matters and makes a difference. We would have time to dance and sing. We could spend time with our families.

So for us, these Global Conversations hosted by a team of “ordinary people” was a simple invitation to talk about stuff like that and to bring the spirit of those conversations to the people in our lives. In the end, it’s really through the power of conversation that we inspire transformation and change in ourselves and others.

My passion is inviting these types of conversations in the workplace – knowing that when people let go who they think they are supposed to be, it leaves a lot of room to do the work that needs to be done: the new work in a new economy! Having so many people respond, include Brené Brown who joined us that day gave me great purpose and courage to continue in this mission.

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