You are beautiful

We need to instill confidence in our children to help them surpass the potential we see in them is one of the many nuggets I gleaned from being at the Hope Global Forum this weekend.

In the early 90’s I remember watching classmates being picked on because of the color of their skin, whether it be too light or too dark.  I am of a darker hue, so you would assume that I would be included in children being harassed, but I was not. I recall being called aspook once, but the ironic thing was he was much darker than me.  I rebutted his comment with the fact that he was darker than me, which made our peers target him.  I remember others asking him why he would say that about me, especially since I had done nothing to him.  He had no response he just shrugged his shoulders and hung his head in shame.  I really think that he was tired of being picked on and wanted to defer the harassment to someone else for once.  I was a pretty quiet, so he probably thought I would not say anything and our classmates would leave him alone and focus on me.  I actually felt sorry for him and tried to defuse the situation with a random joke (luckily it worked). 

Years later I remember being asked if I thought my skin color ever hindered me from anything.  I replied, my skin tone may have been a limitation without me really knowing it, but there were no specific instance that I can recall.  However, I never saw my skin tone as a negative.  My mother did an incredible job of telling me how beautiful I was and how my skin tone was amazing, so I always thought that I was extra special and my color was an asset.  My mother instilled confidence in me, without me realizing it.

Hope Global Forum had an awe-inspiring Saturday opening session (Expanding the Gains of Women and Girls “How to Prosper in the Global Economy”) packed with women who are successful change agents.  A common theme among the panelist was: I can do anything I put my mind to; which was a confidence builder that their parents instilled in them, through words and actions.  The city of Compton’s, Mayor Aja Brown, said that instead of allowing her to watch TV on Saturday morning, her mother enrolled her in computer and engineer classes that expanded her mind, which prepared her to be ahead of her classmates and gave her the confidence to push herself past the norm.  The managing Principal at Seventh Capital, Monica Mehta, told us how she was read Fortune magazine instead of famous childhood books subconsciously telling her that you are smart enough to understand these businesses stories that will help you later in life.  The common thread throughout all of the stories that the panelist told was that words and actions from their parents instilled in them a confidence to excel to unknown heights….which they are doing.

The opening session was followed up with an incredible break out session (The Youth Entrepreneurial Mindset: Taking Action for Generational Change), which reinforced through facts that building confidence in our children was a key factor in helping them be successful.

As Kat Cole, President of Cinnabon said– “Confidence gives you the power to see what is possible” Let’s help our children dream the impossible dream and then make it happen.

In closing … if you have never heard it before or you have not heard it lately … You are beautiful (Handsome)!