Hippie CEO Life #62 - i Was Given a Head Start
A behind the scenes view of building a more humanistic company.
July 14, 2023
"The more privilege you have, the more opportunity you have. The more opportunity you have, the more responsibility you have." ~Noam Chomsky
i didn’t start my journey at the normal starting line. Life circumstances gave me the privilege and opportunity to get a head start, an opportunity that others aren’t provided.
In 1912, my Great Grandfather, Stefano left Italy for the United States, settling in a small coal mining town in Utah. In 1920, my Great Grandmother, Caterina, also left Italy for the United States, settling in a small coal mining town in Utah.
It was in this small coal mining town, that they would eventually meet and start a family.
i think about them often, a photo of them hangs on my office wall as a consistent reminder of the choices and sacrifices they made in search of opportunity. Choices that not only provided them opportunity but gave future generations a privilege that they otherwise may not have had.
The concept of 'privilege' is a touchy subject in that often there is a component of guilt associated with it, so when we bring up privilege, we tend to put those who have it in a defensive position in which they are ready to fight.
But rather than going down that path of negativity and conflict, what if we looked at it as an advantage or better yet, a head start that some people might have due to their specific circumstances?
For a minute, let's imagine a normal distribution curve, where a meaningful portion of the population start at or near the “starting line” -- a few may start a bit behind or a bit ahead but all relatively close to the same starting point.
Now let's imagine that for some, they were born into a family in which their grandparents made a deliberate choice to immigrate to place where they felt they had more opportunity, and let's imagine they met and had a family, and one of their children earned a college degree and then went on to make some powerful business connections. That 2nd and 3rd generation potentially were provided, due to their circumstances, starting positions well beyond the normal (average) starting position of most people.
Now let's imagine that for some, they were born into a family that lived in a place that for geo-political reasons did not provide the greatest of opportunities, perhaps part of a group that has been historically marginalized, to parents of little or no education. Their starting position, due to their circumstances, may very well be far back from the normal (average) starting position of most people.
So when we look at others and perhaps judge them or cast blame upon them that they haven't worked hard enough or they haven't sacrificed enough, based on where they are in the “race,” we need to remind ourself that the question isn't, "how far past the starting line have you gotten?”, rather the question is, "how far have you progressed from where you started?"
i think about the privilege and opportunity that has been afforded me, in part to the choices and actions that those who came before me made. And i think about the quote by Noam Chomsky, and wonder if i am fulfilling the responsibility that i have.
Now it's your turn, what factors have influenced your journey? And if due to circumstances, you were given a starting position well past the normal one, are you using your privilege to help others who might not have had the same advantages as you?
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I live how simple you made this difficult topic. I think privilege is hard to address because peoples first reaction is that their accomplishments are being taken away or dismissed and that mindset can be hard to change. You’ve really broken a piece of it down nicely which allows people to think about what they were “given” as they started their journey.