Author | Biz Architect | Speaker - Lisa Robbin Young helps visionary leaders align their business strategy with their true capacity — so they can grow in a way that feels simple, steady, and profitable, without burning out or watering down their impact.
the "yes, and" of burning down the world
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In theater (improv, specifically), there's this concept called "yes, and". The idea is simple: acknowledge the reality your scene partner has created and build on it. So if your partner says, "there's a snake in my boot," you play along. That's the reality your partner has created and informs what you do next. What you choose to contribute to that reality needs to build on what you and your partner are creating together. The worst improv partners are the ones who refuse to play along. But "play along" doesn't mean you have to agree with everything. If he says there's a snake in his boot, you may agree, or you may be a doctor, telling him he's delusional. Or, you might be his girlfriend, reminding him that he used that excuse the last time he tried to get out of horseback riding lessons. Whatever you choose to contribute to the scene still comes from your creative mind. But you have to accept that the reality your partner has presented is where you're starting from. Then, you pass the baton back and forth until the scene ends, each one of you building on the reality you are creating together. To deny that reality not only makes it impossible to work together, it takes the fun out of seeing what happens next. And what happens next, is up to YOU. I've been battling myself lately Reader... On one hand, I know the reality of how trash our current society is for marginalized folks. I'm watching people I love flee this country in fear for their lives: Selling off, packing up, and moving overseas where they are WELCOMED for their diversity, instead of threatened for it. I see clients and colleagues taking to the streets, their activist hearts on fire for the change they want to see in the world: Calling their congresspeople, picketing, protesting, and demanding we dismantle everything and start fresh. I also see the less marginalized among us, the wealthy among us, and the unbothered among us living their lives, spending, earning, and going about their lives as if none of that were true - because for them it's not real. Then there's me. I'm no activist - at least, not like my friends. I've always seen the grey area in the middle. I'm a tired, old lady who LOOKS white, but was raised by a dad (from the silent generation) who was one generation removed from slavery. I'm from a family that wouldn't have been possible before 1967, when the Loving ruling made interracial marriage legal in the U.S. Frankly, I'm scared I'll miss my window to be able to leave the country if it comes to that. My activism is with myself, first and foremost. I have my own marginalizations and biases to unpack. I'm not calling out the speck in someone else's eye before I deal with the log in my own. But I'm also a, who understands that two things can be true at the same time. We can demand change and still be in a world that needs our light. We can fight and want to flee. We can be marginalized and still have biases to reckon with. It's the world's version of "yes, and". And where you go next is up to you. YES, the world is burning down, AND I choose to hold space for the visionaries and world builders - the creative mavericks who know they're part of the change they want to see in the world. The ones who can't afford to wait and might even be terrified of what's on the other side. The folks who know they (and their Great Work) are the antidote to the crises we're facing now.
Until next time, - Lisa P.S. If you want to build something that works for how you're wired to work, book now. My monthly calendar fills up quickly! |
Capacity-Aligned Business Design For Maverick Entrepreneurs
Author | Biz Architect | Speaker - Lisa Robbin Young helps visionary leaders align their business strategy with their true capacity — so they can grow in a way that feels simple, steady, and profitable, without burning out or watering down their impact.
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