Reflection Series: What To Keep and What To Let Go Of

In my Leadership and Personal Development (LPD) class we are assigned weekly reflections. Normally, I respond only to our professor Mary Kay. In the sake of transparency and to provide some personal insights, I’ve decided to share one of those reflections with you.

Here I am sitting in a beautiful condo in downtown Seattle. I look out of the window to my left and see the Seattle Space Needle. I look behind me, and I see the beautiful waters of the Puget Sound. Several of my goals have come to fruition. I’m in a great graduate program. I’m in a beautiful city. And I’m surrounded by wonderful people. I should be feeling great. And for the most part, I do. However, at the same time, I just can’t release this feeling of guilt—this feeling that I don’t deserve the success I’ve achieved up to this point—the feeling that I am sitting on this couch because of pure, undeserved luck.  That’s what I need to let go of.

For the past several weeks, I’ve been trying to fight this feeling. I think, finally, I may be starting to win that fight. I had a conversation with a couple of friends about it and, through that conversation I learned three things. 

1. It’s an obligation to take full advantage of the opportunities that are presented. To not take advantage of those opportunities would be a waste.
2. There are systems and institutions in place that play a major role, many of which I cannot be held responsible for (e.g., family, social, financial, educational, access, etc.)
3. The best place for me to make a difference in those systems is a position of success.

Success with compassion is what they explained to me. It’s great to care, but we can’t let the caring become a debilitating factor in our quest to promote positive, social change.

I want to keep my drive. And I want to keep those positive people in my life. I want to keep making progress.

What would I like to create? I’d like to be part of a community that helps ensure that everybody has the opportunity to dream.

Here's To The Crazy Ones

I chose to attend Bainbridge Graduate Institute without so much as a visit to the campus. I decided to apply based on the recommendation and support of three people I trust—three people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world. I did my research. I turned to LinkedIn and Quora to ask professionals what they thought about the school. Many had never heard of it. But the ones who did greatly respected the program and the citizens the learning community develops. Did I say citizens? Yes, I did. How can we expect businesses to be good corporate citizens, if the individuals who go into business don’t know how to be individual ones?

We often refer to ourselves as consumers. When we use language like this, we must be careful not to overgeneralize who we are as people. We are not consumers. We are people who consume. Consumers do not feel an obligation and responsibility towards fellow human beings. People do. I chose to attend BGI because I wanted to surround myself with a group of people better than me who want to use business as a tool to promote positive social and economic change. During orientation, I asked my Leadership and Personal Development professor Mary Kay why she chooses to teach at BGI.  You can watch her response here.

In just 37 seconds, Mary Kay reaffirmed why BGI exists and validated my decision. We exist because we want to be the change we want to see in the world. They might call us hippies. They might call us optimists. They might even call us crazy. But as they say, “The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”