Latest / Mosaic Sparks with Lesley George / Why the Room That Doesn't Want You Is Exactly Where You Grow

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Why the Room That Doesn't Want You Is Exactly Where You Grow · Mosaic Sparks with Lesley George

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Their surprise is not your stop sign.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_01: It is just proof that their imagination was way too small of you.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: So today we're talking about cool run-ins and the freedom to show up where they didn't expect you.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: What do you do when the room, the race, the industry or the track was not expecting you?
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: That is the question Cool Runnins puts on the table.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: Because there's something powerful about a group of Jamaican athletes showing up at the Winter Olympics in a sport no one expected them to answer.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: I said that, I said Jamaican, Winter Olympics, and it's Bobsled.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: That still sounds like somebody mixed three different meetings together.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: Sparklers.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: That is exactly why this story works.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: Cool Runnins reminds us that some people will only expect you in the places where they already understand you.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: They expect you where your culture makes sense to them.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: They expect you where your background fits the little box, where your accent, your skin, your story, your gender, your education, and your experience do not make them uncomfortable.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: Then you walk into a room they did not picture you in.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: And that is where leadership starts talking.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: So today we're talking about cool run-ins and the freedom to show up where they didn't expect you.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back, Sparklers.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to Mosaic Sparks with me, Leslie George, the space where stories, leadership, faith, and confidence meets right here at the mic.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: Sparklers, this is a space for you who knows there's more inside of you, even if life, fear, family, freedom, or a few loud opinions try to make you forget.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: Around here we use Disney stories, movies, and characters as mirrors to remind us who we are, what we carry, and what leadership lessons may be hiding in plain sight.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: We don't shrink the gift, silent the voice or wait for permission to become who purpose has been calling us to be.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: We take the lesson, find the leadership, and turn the spark into action.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: And every episode is a reminder that your voice has weight, your story has value, and your brilliance was never meant to stay boxed up.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: So lean in, sparklers.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: Today we're gonna talk truth, build courage, unbox your brilliance.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: One conversation at a time.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: And this is your moment to brag with purpose.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: So the movie we're talking about is Cool Run-Ins.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: Cool Run-Ins was released by Walt Disney Pictures in 1993.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's a loosely it's loosely based on Jamaica's first national bobsled team and their debut at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: Now let's be clear, the movie's not a documentary.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: Hollywood added comedy, drama, and extra season because apparently regular history was not spicy enough for the studio kitchen.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: The real leadership lesson still stands.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: A Jamaican team entered a winter sport and became unforgettable.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: That is a part I want us to hold.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: They showed up in a space where they were unusual.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: They showed up in a sport that didn't match what people expected from Jamaica.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: They showed up carrying Caribbean identity into a winter arena.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: They showed up with people watching, laughing, doubting, and wondering what in the world was happening.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: That sound familiar, does it not?
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: Because I know you may feel like to enter a room where people did not expect you.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: You may be the first woman in a position.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: You may be a Caribbean woman in a room where your accent enters before your resume.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: You may be a woman who started later in life.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_01: What about a woman building a business after people thought your season had passed?
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: What about a woman writing a book when your family only knows you as the helper?
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_01: The auntie?
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: The mother?
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: The fixer?
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: How about this?
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: The responsible one.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: You may be the one stepping into leadership where people already decided what kind of woman belongs there.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: Cool Running gives us a mirror.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: It asks, can you show up where they didn't expect you and still carry yourself like you belong?
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: Showing up in unexpected places takes nerve.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: It takes faith, but most of all it takes preparation.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: It takes humor because sometimes you have to laugh to keep from saying what your grandmother would not want repeated on the podcast.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: It also takes identity.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: You have to know who you are before the room starts acting confused about your presence.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about one of the first lessons that Cool Run In shows us.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: Do not let unfamiliar territory convince you that you are unqualified.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: Now the Jamaican Bob Sled story is powerful because Bob Sleddin was not a sport people naturally connected to in Jamaica.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: When people think of Jamaica, they think of sunshine, music, beaches, reggae, rhythm and pride.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: They don't usually think of ice, snow, helmets, and freezing tracks.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: That is why this story works.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: The team entered unfamiliar territory.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: Now, unfamiliar does not automatically mean impossible.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: That is where many people get stuck.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: They confuse I have never done this before with I am not supposed to do this.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: Those are two different things.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: You can be new and still be called, you can be learning and still be gifted.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: You can enter unfamiliar territory and still be the right person to show up.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: Some of you are standing at the edge of a new room right now.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: You may want to pitch the brand, start the podcast, write the book, become a speaker.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_01: What about raising your prices or lead the meeting?
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: You may want to step from behind someone else's platform and build your own.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: Then that little voice starts talking.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: Who do you think you are?
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: You have never done this before.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: People like you don't usually do this.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: What about ooh, you're too old?
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: You are too late.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have the right background or the right connections.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: You don't even sound like them.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: Any of those sound familiar?
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: Cool runnings answers back with one clear message.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: Show up anyway.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: Showing up does not mean you skip preparation.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: Showing up means you stop letting unfamiliar territory become your excuse for disobedience.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: The first time you walk into a room, you may know every rule.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: The first time you pitch yourself, your voice may shake, but pitch anyway.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: First time you launched a thing, it may not be polished, but launch with excellence and then continue to improve.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: The first time people see you in a new space, they may act surprised.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: Let them adjust.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: Carry your identity into the room instead of copying the room.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: One of the most memorable parts of cool run-ins is that the team had to wrestle with identity.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: Do they become a copy of what people expect Bob's Fletters to look like?
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: Do they shrink their Jamaican heritage to fit the winter sport?
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: Do they try to become acceptable by becoming less themselves?
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: That is the tension.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: That is where the movie gives women a powerful lesson.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: When you enter a space where you are different, the pressure to perform, sameness can get loud.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: You start watching how other people talk, you start adjusting your voice.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: You start standing off your sanding off your edges.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_01: You start hiding the very thing that makes you memorable.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: What about thinking maybe I need some more like them to be taken seriously?
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: Guess what, sparklers?
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: No, you don't.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: Learn the room, respect the room and prepare for the room.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: Then bring yourself into the room.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: There's a difference between being professional and disappearance.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: There's a difference between adapting and abandoning yourself.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: And there's a difference between learning the standard and losing your soul trying to fit in.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_01: I know that too very well.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: Where I had been in rooms where I felt I needed to disappear, where I felt I needed to conform, where I wanted to hide my accent, or I didn't want people to know I was from the Caribbean.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: And there's so much mental gymnastics that's happening.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: And you are literally chipping away at your own identity where no one asks you to.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: And that matters.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: Your background is not baggage.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: Your story is not a liability.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: Your culture is not a costume you put on during heritage month or take off when the meeting starts.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: Your accent is not an apology.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_01: Your lived experience is not a side note.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: Your difference can carry strategy, creativity, humor, and perspective that the room did not even know it needed.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: As for the month of July as we talk about Caracum in the Caribbean, because Caribbean identity has always carried more than one island, one sound, one dish.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: The Caribbean is full of movement, resilience, rebuilding, and pride.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: And Caracum represents regional connection and cooperation among Caribbean nations.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: It reminds us that unity does not require sameness.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_01: Unity has honor, difference while building shared strength.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: And that is a leadership lesson all by itself.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have to erase where you come from to build where you are going.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have to mute your identity to be taken serious.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: And you don't have to sound like everyone else to carry that authority.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: There's no need to perform a variety of leadership that makes you unrecognizable to yourself.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: Sparklers, some of you have been trying to enter rooms by leaving yourself outside the door.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna ask you to go back and get her.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: Bring in the accent.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: Bring in the wisdom, the faith, your humor, your quirkiness.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: Bring the I have seen hard things and I'm still here type of energy.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: Bring the woman who knows how to make something out of almost nothing.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: Because that's not weakness, that is the type of leadership C to seasoning.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: And now lesson number three.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: Let the setback become part of the story, not the end of the story.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: Cool Runners is remembered because the team didn't have a perfect journey.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, they had doubt.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: They were inexperienced.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: There were mistakes, there was pressure, and you know there was a crash as well.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: The movie shows them facing disappointment and still choosing dignity.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: And that part really matters because showing up where people don't expect you does not mean everything goes perfect.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes you enter the room and you stumble, and the first opportunity doesn't go the way you hoped.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: People may judge you.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes the thing you prayed for exposes that you still need to learn.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: But you have to be brave and still be prepared, and you may still miss something.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes the public moments become messier than the private vision.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: That does not mean you did not belong.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: That means that you are human.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: A setback does not automatically disqualify you from the space.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: A mistake does not erase your calling.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: A hard beginning does not cancel your right to keep going.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_01: Some people are waiting for you to fail because they never wanted you there in the first place.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: Don't build your life around their expectations.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: Build your life around your assignment.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_01: Cool runnings gives us a picture of dignity and disappointment.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody loves confidence when the applaud is loud.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: The real test is what do you do when the track gets rough?
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: Do you quit because people saw you struggle?
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: Do you disappear because the outcome wasn't perfect?
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: And do you decide you were never supposed to be there because one moment hurt your pride?
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: Or do you stand up, gather yourself, and keep walking?
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: Now, that's grown woman leadership, which is not always cute.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes leadership is fixing your face in the bathroom mirror and going right back out there in the room.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes leadership is sending the second email after the first pitch was ignores ignored.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes leadership is applying again and again or trying again and again.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes leadership is standing back up in front of people who saw you fail.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: Freedom is not only the right to enter, it is the courage to recover.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: Now, let's bring these three lessons together.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_01: Cool runners teaches us do not let unfamiliar territory convince you that you are unqualified.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: Carry your identity into the room instead of copying the room.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: Let the setback become part of the story, not the end of the story.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_01: That is more than a movie.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_01: That is a leadership framework.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_01: Unfamiliar territory, authentic identity, resilient recovery.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: Those three ideas can help you step into a new space.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: People may not expect you in certain rooms, but guess what?
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: Go anyway.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: People may not understand your background, bring it anyway.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: People may not know how to pronounce your name, respect your accents, or recognize your brilliance.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: Stand in it anyway.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: And people are gonna question whether you belong.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: Prepare so well that you that your presence becomes the answer.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: You don't need everyone to understand your assignment before you obey it.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_01: You don't need the room to be comfortable before you become visible.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I want to talk to you who feel like she is entering her own winter sport.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: You are stepping into something new and it feels cold.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: It feels different, unfamiliar.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_01: The language is new.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: You're trying to figure out how to move with grace when the track is faster than you expected.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: You're wondering if you should go back to what is familiar because familiar feels safe.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: Sparklers, safe is not always the same as called.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: Familiar is not always the same as fruitful.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes the next level will feel strange because it was never meant this version of it has never met this version of you before.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: Let it meet you.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: Let the room adjust.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: Let the audience adjust.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_01: The family adjusts, and the old version of you adjust.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: You are allowed to become visible in places where people didn't expect your name to show up.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_01: To build authority in field where you are still learning, allowed to represent your culture without becoming a spokesperson for everyone.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: And you are allowed to be nervous and still go.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: What about being the first in your family, the first in your circle, the first in your church, or the first in your own mind to say I am going to do this?
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_01: Doing it is not small.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: Doing it is a declaration.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: Saying I refuse to let fear write the final sentence and then saying I know there is more in me because your story deserves that movement.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: Freedom is movement.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: Where are you being called to show up where they didn't expect you?
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: What room have you avoided because you didn't want to feel like the only one?
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: This week I want you to pick one place where you have been shrinking because you feel unexpected.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_01: Then take one action.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_01: Write the first page, what about recording the episode, submit the application, register for the class, start the conversation, and walk into the room.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_01: Do not wait until nobody is surprised.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: Cool run-ins remind us that the world often remembers that people who had the courage to show up when expectation says they should not be.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_01: That is leadership.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: So this week, sparklers, show up where they didn't expect you, but show up prepared.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: Show up proud, teachable, with your name attached to your work, and show up with your brilliance on box.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_01: Sparklers, this has been Mosaic Sparks with me, Leslie George, where we use stories, leadership, faith, confidence to remind you that your voice, your brilliance, and the purpose deserves room.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_01: Until next time, sparklers, keep shining, keep speaking, keep turning your spark into action.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: And don't you dare leave this episode the same way you did when you press play.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_01: Bye for now.