From Wishes to Ambitions: the Power of Vulnerability w/ Reggie Ford
I want to start this week’s newsletter off with a quick note of appreciation and gratitude to you all. It’s been a wild month between starting my new position at Gun.io and keynoting at THAT Conference. But I know I couldn’t have done it without the support of my awesome community. Thank you for always tuning in, reading, commenting— all that stuff. And I promise to keep providing a space for all of you to connect and communicate… because y’all are naturals.
This week we’re talking to (my friend) Reggie Ford— author, advisor, advocate and activist. All around A+ guy who’s not afraid to talk about the deep stuff, like today's topic of authenticity and vulnerability. So buckle up cause we’re going to be in our feels today.
Honestly, take the time to go watch this one. There’s no way I’m going to do Reggie’s wisdom full justice:
But here’s my attempt at some of the highlights of our conversation:
Reggie didn’t come from an easy background, and it’s his story to tell so I’m going to recommend scrolling back up to that link to hear more. Or better yet, go out and buy his book, Perseverance Through Severe Dysfunction: Breaking the Curse of Intergenerational Trauma as a Black Man in America. It’s a deep dive into his journey of turning pain into peace within the framework of intergenerational sociopolitical issues. You can grab your copy here.
Being vulnerable, and more importantly, granting yourself the freedom to embrace vulnerability with those around you, is a challenge many of us face. We tend to think that people will use our vulnerability against us. But maybe it’s time to recontextualize the meaning of being vulnerable. In the job search and your career, it can appear as simply as sharing your story about a bombed interview on Twitter or reaching out to your community for help when you reach a problem you can’t fix in one of your builds. We don’t have to do this whole thing alone, you know. Many of us are struggling with or have struggled with relatable problems and can offer support.
Most importantly you have to make sure you’re surrounding yourself with people that encourage and uplift you. Whether that’s friends and family, a Discord server or the comment section on one of my lives. Having to set boundaries and cut ties with people isn’t really something they cover on Sesame Street when they teach you about making friends. But back to Reggie’s point, you have to protect your peace.
So how about authenticity? One of the powers of showing up as your authentic self is your freedom to openly pursue your ambitions. And, as I accidentally semi-profoundly said, “Ambition is the execution of desire.” So until you can integrate your desires into the fabric of your everyday life, they remain only wishes. If you wake up one day and decide you no longer want to be a front-end developer but instead want to be a cattle farmer (desire) but make no effort to 1) be vulnerable about that with people around you for support or 2) roll that desire into acting ambition, how are you ever going to get those boots dirty, cowboy?