I woke up this morning at my best friend, Bryce's house. He was still sleeping and the preprogrammed coffee machine was as well, so I took it upon myself to brew a pot, likely the first of many. I proceeded outside to the deck and woke up my laptop with the intention of working on this very website.
When I opened safari, as usual, I was greeted with Apple's homepage. However, this morning was different, and in a very satisfying way. Instead of the jaw-dropping and drooling over the latest and greatest tech, I found a heartfelt and very well-written letter from Apple's CEO, Tim Cook. Spoiler alert...if you don't read the news and/or live under a rock, this letter deals with racism. If you know me, personally or professionally, you know where I stand on many things as they relate to politics, but I'm not close-minded. Although I consider myself a "more conservative" individual, I'm not oblivious to the world around me, and unfortunately, that world is one saturated in racism, at all levels.
I've always admired Mr. Cook and reading his letter resonated with another piece I had read previously about him, probably aimlessly searching the internet. I spent some time prior to beginning writing this post, and also during it, and found that all of the topics in the previous are applicable to addressing racism effectively, regardless of where you stand politcally, or sit any other way, for that matter. The link will be provided at the bottom for you to hopefully draw the same conclusion and be the change you want to see in the world.
For sake of saving you time if you don't want to read it, I'm going to list them out for you.
Take Risks
Focus and listen attentively to those you speak to
Trust others around you
Diversity is important
Be humble
Admit it when your wrong
Do what you do and do it well
Believe in what your doing and take actions to reflect that
Be you and don't pretend to be anyone else
Write your own laws
Be transparent
This list may seem like an obvious roadmap to some professionals, however, no one, including myself do them all as effectively as we could, and more importantly, should. The world we live in, and I'm going to be transparent here, (see what I did there, see #11 above, speed-reader) is one that requires ALL of us to be this way if we want to see our kids grow up in a world, which they are not navigating trepidatiously, everyday of our their lives. I believe there is a problem, one that needs fixing.
We are all governed by the laws written previously, but in our own little worlds, formulating guidelines and supplemental ones will hopefully promote a better, open-minded perspective of everyone else's little world. Establish for yourself what you will tolerate and what you won't on your quest and contribution to alleviating even subtle racism, because I've grown to notice, it truly is everywhere.
My father always told me (and numerous actors and actresses, of all color and backgrounds) "you have your name, and your word. You have your name and control what comes out of your mouth, essentially giving others around you an idea of who you are and what you stand for. Stand for something you're proud to shout atop whatever platform you choose, being you and believing in it, and being you make it that much easier, and enabling you to do it well. Hopefully, our parents have all spoke of similar values to us, promoting a true understanding of ourselves.
Being wrong is something I've always struggled with, alongside most of you, I'm sure. As my wife would agree though, I always admit it. Saving face never was, nor is it ever important to me. I’ve always worn my emotions on my sleeve, very consciously and purposefully, because I have a horrible temper. However, I know when I’m wrong, and not doing what’s right in regards to addressing systemic and deep-seated racism is not right.
I see a lot of people, some friends and most not, act very arrogantly as it pertains to demonstrating wealth and success. I’ve never been that way, perhaps because I’m not particularly wealthy nor what I would deem highly-successful in many peoples’ eyes. More importantly, I could care less what other people think of me, to be honest. I am who I am, modest, honest, well mannered, respectful, and determined. The “late bloomer” label is what I would find most appropriate. I was always raised to be modest and humble, but there are many things I could work on to better demonstrate that aspect of my personality to others, and I’m going to work to do so.
I’ve always been told that I have many groups of friends. I think it’s important to socialize and identify with different groups of people, as it lends perspective, which shapes mine. In regards to diversity, in the big picture, surround yourself with people from different backgrounds. If you find yourself to be arrogant or insensitive, I guarantee you those traits will gradually diminish and you’ll find yourself more confident and proud of the person you are.
My brother, as the best man at my wedding delivered a rather impassioned and unmatched speech. I’m proud of him more than he’ll ever know for many reasons. But, standing in front of all of our friends and family, telling them who my wife who she was about to marry, and informing everyone else the person I really am. My outward appearance may suggest a primitive, cave-man-like person, who acts before he thinks. In many ways, that’s extremely accurate unfortunately, but he spoke of the size of my heart, very effectively. My heart loves all those around me that I call friends and those I call family even more. He said, Taylor will “truly would do anything for anyone,” and that’s very true. I would, but I have failed to deliver that side of myself to those who need it, that I don’t know. So I will work to assimilate myself into more people’s lives and culture. I hope we can work to improve the level of trust around us. In my eyes, that’s the best kind of “pay it forward.” With that being said, trust is not something I give away freely, nor do I expect it without earning it. The same goes for respect. In order to increase trust among strangers, we all have to understand that we ALL need to work on it together for it to work at all.
One aspect of the primitive personality traits I didn’t mention previously is my inability to listen whenever my emotions are involved. I think many people struggle with this. More importantly, there is nothing wrong with that. What’s wrong with it, is if you don’t recognize that you can do better. Without listening attentively to the person or persons your engaging with, significantly limits your ability to understand their perspective, the context, and why what you’re discussing is important to them. All arguments or conversation, in my opinion, are to establish common ground and understanding. If someone is giving you directions and your not listening, you are not in anyway entitled to get angry that you didn’t get to where you wanted to go, because you chose not to listen. If you choose to use your ears more than your mouth, I promise you, when your mouth opens, the message will be much more effective when it’s your turn to talk.
I proceeded to elaborate on this list backwards, because we live in a very backward world. Racism is such a systemic issue that is deeply rooted in most people, but none of them want to admit the problem. There are always two sides to every coin. EVERYONE can be better; I don’t care who you are. None of us are perfect. Getting better, growing together is no doubt, a very risky proposition, nor will it be easy. But like anything, both professionally and personally, the greater the risk the greater the reward. Someone I’ve always been very fond of is John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the Unites States, and the man who initiated the civil rights legislation prior to his assassination. He stated, “Those who dare to fail miserably, can achieve greatly.” I’ve had that poster on my wall, somewhere in my house since October of 2015. I’ve admired JFK since I was a young man. JFK, the youngest man to be elected president at the age of 43, his posting cut short. I rejoice in knowing that he would of continued to do good for all people of the United States, through empowerment, something we all need now more than ever. Take a risk, and work toward a world where we are proud to call ourselves Americans. I can’t see the future, but I’m confident the juice will be worth the squeeze. #blacklivesmatter #andalllivesmatter #apple #bethechangeyouwanttoseeintheworld #itsnotblackorwhite #itsUS
Tim Cook letter - https://www.apple.com/speaking-up-on-racism/
Tim Cook leadership article - https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/11-leadership-lessons-can-learn-from-tim-cook.html
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