Birth of New Aspirations: How A Year Long Social Experiment Changed My Life
At the 47 Annual Grammy Awards, Kanye concluded his acceptance speech by saying:
I know everybody’s asking the question, …“I know he’s going to wild out, I know he’s going to do something crazy”
Everbody wanted to know what I would do if I didn’t win.
When I first started the Fresh 15 Social Experiment, I said that the experience could make me win new opportunities, new friends, skills, or even a new job. To truly test the saying “It isn’t what you know, it’s who you know.”
Even though I got a lot of support, there were serious critics and conditions that challenged me every step of the way. Some wondered what it was exactly that I hope to accomplish because the net was too wide. Others, faithlessly, wanted me to get back to them when I was finished.
I felt like I was trying to raise money to find my very own cure for cancer. Only to receive criticism that “ you’re not a doctor” or “we’ll give support when you already have a cure.”
However the aim of my experiment was clear- How can I improve the life of myself and those around me by introducing new people, habits and experiences in to my personal and professional life? I created pitches, videos, newsletters, slide shows and guide lines to maintain and expand on the point further. Simply saying I wanted to create a pilot to humanize the workspace and improve diversity and inclusion wasn’t inviting or clear enough. I needed to show and prove that taking a risk is the best way to improve the quality of any circumstantial situation or environment. I needed to do this while also exploring the power of translation and vulnerability if I ever wanted the experience to be fulfilling.
For example, if I were to say: “I needed to use the power of translation and vulnerability if I ever wanted the experiment to work.” I’d be left with the question of “what does ‘work’ mean” which is not the question I want to ask or answer. I learned that in the 2nd month of the Fresh 15 experiment. You can’t control the outcome just because you’re testing it.
Often times we fail in our quest for answers before we begin by not taking the time to ask a question that holds us accountable to an end result. We set standards and set out with no real path finder but our priorities and specific goals.
I’d be setting myself up for failure if in 2014 I told just told folks “ I want a job in the corporate world as a creative that’s going to let me travel all expenses paid and teach me new things”… I’d get laughed at.
The bubbles of possibilities would fizzle out casting a net that small.
So here I am 15 months later writing this blog, thousands of feet high, avoiding NYC’s first blizzard of 2016, trying not to be distracted by the TV in-front of me and the awe of flying into New Orleans for the first time. Wondering if I’m going to I’m going to ace my new job or if my new co-workers flights got cancelled and I’ll be doing my first day as the only exec with our clients. Wondering about being the only black person at the office and about how grateful I am for everyone I met in the past year. So much love and so many thoughts running through my head.
I didn’t do the experiment for this…but I’m shocked I got everything I needed out of the discovery. (Even this turbulence)
I guess that’s the moral of the story if there is any. There are going to be parts you don’t like but it’s a part of the package or process. I will never have to actually think about what if I didn’t do this whole thing. Never!
Although I can’t squeeze everything I learned into one post…If there was any constant, it was me and my faith in a concept that will get you closer to your dreams. Assess, Commit and Follow-Through. Do it with the little things and the big picture will work itself out.
Expect the unexpected…Proper preparation prevents poor performances…Prayer without work is nothing…Conditioning is crucial to endurance.
All these sayings are true. But being realistically honest doesn’t mean you can’t have big dreams. The biggest misconception is that you can / have to do it all alone. Haters and non-believers are hurdles to challenge how committed you are…other times they are the catalyst you need to stop looking outside yourself and dig within. Maybe it’s to be for you to hold yourself more accountable or figure out how to find allies by being one. Be the change you wish to see in your life and you’ll see more of that in those around you.
Either way, I guess the saying is right as you start your 2016 journey.
“Your network is your net worth” and I’ve never felt richer.
