Risk Taking

Be Vocal in Your Opposition to Racism

/ Dave Eberwein / 7 Comments

How often do you think about the colour of your skin?

If you’re white like me and live in Canada, my guess is that your answer is probably rarely. I may think about my whiteness every few weeks or months. If you ask a person of colour this same question you will likely hear they regularly think about their skin colour — perhaps every day. The reason is that they live in a world of ‘white privilege’ and wonder whether the words, actions or decisions by others have anything to do with their skin colour.

  • When they apply for a job, was the decision about who was appointed based on the colour of their skin?
  • When someone is rude to them, was it because they aren’t white?
  • When a person cuts in front of them, was it because they don’t look like most people in their community?

I don’t wonder whether my skin colour is the reason I am stopped at the highway check stop, if someone doesn’t speak to me in the store, or if I am bypassed for service at a coffee bar. There are surely reasons for all of these things happening, but it’s not because I’m white.

Maybe you’re thinking that I’m exaggerating or perhaps even completely wrong. If that’s the case, you’re wrong. Racism exists — it’s in our stores, in our offices and in our schools. People of colour experience it — they also think about it regularly — more than a person who is white.

“OK, so we still have a long ways to go in our society to build equality. I get that. But, that doesn’t make ME a racist. I don’t do anything because of a person’s skin colour. I’m not part of the problem.”

Hmmmm … are you sure?

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Six Types of Courage

/ Dave Eberwein / 6 Comments
The Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz

When I think of the word COURAGE I sometimes think about the Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz — although, truthfully, I never thought that was an appropriate name. He was certainly fearful and skittish, but he wasn’t a coward. He showed what it took to be brave when he travelled to Oz in search of the courage he believed he was lacking.

Spoiler Alert: The Lion always had it.

I have previously blogged about courage (The Necessity of Courage, Sept 2020), but I wanted to share some additional thoughts on the concept. As a reminder, here are a couple of points that I emphasized in my previous post:

Having Fear isn’t the Same as Lacking Courage

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.

Ambrose Redmoon

It Takes Courage to Lead Change

You build your ‘courage muscle’ daily, by being courageous in little things. Just do right.

Maya Angelou

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You’ve Got to Know When to Hold ‘Em – Know When to Fold ‘Em

/ Dave Eberwein / Leave a comment

I’m not a big Kenny Rogers fan but his megahit single The Gambler from 1978 was an instant classic – fun lyrics and a catchy tune. It tells a story about the options you have with the cards you are dealt – when you need to keep playing or when you need to fold ’em and try again.

Here are a few of the lines:

Every gambler knows, that the secret to survivin’,

Is knowin’ what to throw away, and knowin’ what to keep.

‘Cause every hand’s a winner, and every hand’s a loser.

You’ve got to know when to hold ’em; know when to fold ’em.

Kenny Rogers The Gambler, 1978

You were singing the lyrics, weren’t you? Yes, you were. If you know the song you were singing it. It’s a catchy tune!

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