Full transcript here 👋 Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is proximity. Have you ever realized that people who seemed so different from yourself are actually really similar? My father used to help out with a program at our church that gave homeless people shelter for the night. I remember going with him when I was maybe 9 or 10 years old, and as I watched them set up their sleeping space and I saw kids with their parents, I had the epiphany that they were simply people, like myself. I might never have had that realization without proximity. Bryan Stevenson at NYU says that proximity to people who are poor or different from ourselves is essential in creating any kind of social change. There is a link to his presentation in the show notes. I’ve worked in disability services professionally, and the same realization has happened there. Someone with a disability is simply and fully a person. Act accordingly.

Today’s concrete challenge is to get proximate to people who are different from yourself and your circle. I know the pandemic has made this difficult, but the opportunity is reemerging. I plan to go work at the public library space down from my house once a week to see what revelations still exist.

If you want to commit, say the following phrase: “I will find people to interact with that are different from myself.”

I’ll keep the music playing while you get it done, and don’t miss the soundtrack at the end of this episode.

Before you go, repeat the following soundtrack, “I am the kind of person who sees that we’re all the same.”

Let me know if this made a difference in your day by leaving a comment in your podcast app or at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

References:

The Power of Proximity | CEO Initiative 2018

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