I have often been asked, “What made you decide to become this empathy guy?” I used to sort of stutter and fumble my way through an answer. I was a bit…nervous to really reveal my reasons for becoming an empathy champion, so to speak, really out of fear of being laughed at. I mean, who talks about “feelings” and “emotions” these days? It’s sort of seen as “soft.” Especially when you are a 6’3 240lb African American man!
In the early days of this journey I would come up with something like, “Well, as I was studying for my TWO master degrees…” as though people would take me seriously if they knew that I was a well educated man. Or, how about this one, “As I was opening my OWN business, I decided…” I would throw out the fact that I was an entrepreneur in order to validate my legitimacy as a businessman, again in an attempt to convince people that I was for real. The answer that I’ve grown to embrace, however, is so much different than the early stages of this evolution. Now, when I’m asked, “What made you decide to become this empathy guy?” the answer is something along the lines of, “My heart was calling for it. Time, experience, heart ache and triumph is what led me to become this ‘empathy guy.’”
Do you want to know what unifies every single person across this beautiful place we call planet earth? Everyone has a story, from beginning to end. I have come to learn that if you allow a person to tell A story they will appreciate you for the length of the story. Kind of like, “thanks for listening buddy” type of sentiment. However, if you take the time to allow someone to tell THEIR story then they will appreciate you for life. Well, here’s what led me to become “this empathy guy.”
More to come…
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Very nice piece, Jason.
Thanks Scott!