E37: Multi-Hyphenates and Everyday Exploration: Chatting with Joel Leon

Joel Leon is a TED talk giver-creative-copywriter-rapper-father-and-the-list-goes-on – a perfect example that as humans, we’re all multi-hyphenated – capable of doing multiple things being the multi-heightened beings that we are. Today, Joel gives us some enlightening insights into how we can hold space for ourselves and for other people every day, as well as how we can bring awareness to diversity through empathy and compassion. Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation: The grind of agency life Bringing your heart to work and holding space The goal of meditation and how to find inspiration through exploration How we’re all multi-hyphenates Understanding the cultural nuance and intersectionality of people Episode Highlights: Holding Space for Yourself and Others Bring your heart wherever you are because it’s important to hold space for yourself. While we strive to be the best versions of ourselves each day, we also need to recognize we're going to fall short of that, on some days. And so we have to create space for that as well. You then feel more inclined to lean into the heart spaces of others more because you see people are doing the same. And even if you're not necessarily looking at the results, you're looking at the energy the person brings into the spaces. This then creates room for that conversation to happen and instances that wouldn’t normally have otherwise. How to Find Inspiration Through Exploration It's okay to treat the things that we consider to be mundane or “the every day things” as part of our exploration. Every single moment is an opportunity to be inspired. Our brains are tracking everything – whether it be conversations or interactions. Creativity gets to show up in different ways and as you become aware, you become inspired and you open to the things in the spaces and the people you’re engaging with. Humans are Multi-Hyphenates Humans are multifaceted beings. We're multi-hyphenated because we all do more than one thing. We also have a level of creativity alongside the other roles and responsibilities we have as humans. You could be a photographer-copywriter-designer and that list could go on. We’re built to do more than one thing and be good at more than one thing. After all, we’re all multi-heightened beings. Understanding The Cultural Nuance and Intersectionality of People The way a person greets you in Japan is different than the way a person greets you from the Bronx. You may have clients who may have come from other countries whose way of saying yes or no is how they position their bodies. The way we read people is different. So we have to understand. We can’t be too presumptuous or make decisions or judgments about people without recognizing the cultural nuance of those situations. Distinguishing Empathy and Compassion Empathy lays the foundation for compassion. Compassion is the action, empathy is the feeling. And compassion is that empathy being put into action. The distinction is paramount. And so, a person is not only able to feel what you feel, but feel what you feel in a way that creates space to do something about it – whether by lending a helping hand or using your voice as an ally. Resources Mentioned: https://www.ted.com/speakers/joel_leon https://www.instagram.com/iamjoelleon https://twitter.com/joelakamag?lang=en