Say “Yes”
This blog is part of Renee’s Loving Leaders email series, where she shares insights and strategies for Leading with Love every week. To receive these reflections directly in your inbox, sign up for the series here.
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I'm sitting with my cup of coffee under old fir trees next to moss-covered rocks. It's cool this morning but I can see that it's going to be a clear and beautiful day here in the Cascade Mountains. Our lodging is nearby where our friends from Barcelona, Carolina and Victor, are still sleeping.
This is their first visit to the Pacific Northwest of the US and we are spending the two weeks to show them our beautiful our state. I'm working in the early morning and touring the rest of the day and evening, and know I'm fortunate to do this. Yesterday we hiked on Mt. Tahoma (Mt. Rainer National Park at the Sunrise trailhead) on a stunningly gorgeous day as you can see in the photo above!
We have a special, joyful friendship, built over just the last six years that transcends language, culture, and national boundaries.
People sometimes ask, “How did you meet? How did you come to spend such time together?"
It all can be traced back to saying, “Yes!”
Victor and I met when we both spoke at a conference. He attended my workshop and wanted to know if I would speak at a conference in Barcelona.
I said, “Yes!”
He arranged the dates and I built a trip around this event. In Barcelona, at lunch with Victor and Carolina, they invited me to join them in meeting their friends at National Day of Catalonia, a remembrance of the fall of Barcelona during the War of Spanish Succession.
I said, “Yes!”
This is how I came to learn about modern efforts for self determination, experience Catalon culture, and join 1,000,000 people in protest…and then in drinking beer and socializing in the square after!
I said, “Yes!” to spending the week riding on the back of Caro's motorcycle zipping around Barcelona visiting incredible local sites, laughing, sharing and building bonds of friendship.
I said, “Yes!” to numerous visits to their home, to hosting them in Hawaii, and to celebrating the start of Summer at their huge fiesta in Costa Brava, to touring the North of Spain with them for our honeymoon.
And they said, “Yes!” to our invitation to come to Washington State to stay with us at long last.
Renee, Jim, Carolina and Victor
I am grateful to have other friends like this both locally and around the world too. Many of you are reading this and I love you and that you are also part of my “Yes!" to life and the possibility of heartwarming relationships and adventures together.
I was not always this way.
Years ago, when I was in graduate school, Peter Block was teaching our class and asked for four volunteers but didn't say what for. I hesitated and four other people volunteered. Then he said, “Thank you. Now reflect and share with a partner about the choice you just made, and how that is representative of what you always do.”
I was dumbstruck. There it was. I hesitated. I was rarely the first person to raise my hand, and as a consequence, I was often left watching others have experiences I wished to have.
In that moment, the discomfort of holding back with uncertainty became greater than the discomfort of saying “Yes!” to the unknown.
And so, I started to be more bold and say, “Yes!” whenever I could.
This boldness encompasses saying, “Yes!” to standing for Loving Leaders and advocating to make work more loving and human. This boldness has led to speaking about Loving Workplaces in ten countries around the world, so far.
“Yes!”
Why am I sharing this with you today?
Because some of you are hesitating. You know the life you want to have. You know the leadership you want to bring. You know the stand for love and humanity you want to take. But you haven't quite found the confidence to throw off your hesitation and step forward. My message to you is to encourage you to say, “Yes!”
Others of you are already committed to living boldly and standing for love, to being Loving Leaders, and building more Loving Workplaces. I want to celebrate your decision and stand with you this morning, affirming your, “Yes!”
These choices change the trajectory of our lives, bit by bit, moment by moment, decision by decision, we end up somewhere.
Today, my decision to say “Yes!” back in 2017 led to me being here today with friends ready for more adventures, to making the business case for love around the world, to launching A Human Workplace and to working with leaders to put Love at the center of their work.
Where will your choices today lead you? What will your trajectory be? Will you hesitate or live boldly?
Perhaps it is time to say, “Yes!”
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Looking for encouragement and insights on being a loving, human-centered leader? Sign up here for Renée’s Loving Leaders email list and receive several short, supportive emails each week.
