As humanity tries to think about how we can find the inspiration to retake control of our actions and wipe away our tears of sadness and impotence… every day I become more acutely aware of the fact that these are extraordinary times. For those of us who for many years have had the privilege of living in peaceful, free, progressive societies, there has never been a more important time to collectively strive to be our best selves. A time to do our fair share to make sure that the good guys take their chances at creating the future… and that they not only have a go at influencing the future but also the right tools to make sure that their seat at the table is reserved. A time to unleash the energy and set the stage and the tone for the right conversations to take place.
We are all aware of some of the terrible things that are coming down the road… but they will be orders of magnitude worse if we do not take coordinated action to avert them. This awareness makes me wonder how am I truly doing... and here I am, sharing my questions in case they can help you shape your own: What action am I taking? How am I contributing to changing the tone of the conversation from despair to hope, from helplessness to action, from fear to care, from expecting some kind of “enlightened response” coming from some “other” place to engaging in hopefully enlightened action, from trying to avoid bad consequences for myself and my immediate surroundings to being part of the solution, from clinging to the past and counting my losses to moving on and counting my blessings?
The time to engage in hopeful, determined, gritty, purposeful action is now. The time to prepare the future is now. The time to start the right conversations is now. The time to not look the other way is now. The time to take care of ourselves in order to take care of others is now. There has never been a better time.
I wake up every day with those questions and striving to the best of my abilities to keep contributing to the right conversations and engaging in purposeful action. An example of this… for the past two weeks I have been working with a group of UN leaders from different agencies and countries to support them on their path to become better and more effective influencers.
A powerful experience and a very timely effort, I believe. A very personal effort to contribute to making sure that the good guys have a better chance at influencing what will come. The most amazing part of this, to be very honest, has been designing and creating this initiative with Felicitas de Zavalía, one of my Fundación Botín students… who was part of the first cohort of the Program almost 11 years ago. I would have never done this without her. She has made the experience beautiful, purposeful and seemingly easy and has taught me many important lessons. More than anything, she has taught me how to keep my magic alive in a completely virtual environment… and together we have had SO MUCH FUN. I do hope that this is only the beginning and that she will continue to challenge me to learn, to play with the new “rules” and to become my best version. Thank you, Feli… you are a wizard, a beautiful and powerful woman, and a wonderful human being. I hope that this is only the first of many adventures.
Last but not least, we are both grateful to Jesús Guerrero, Chief of the Management & Communication Unit at the Center for Learning in the United Nations Office at Geneva for this opportunity to be part of the solution!