YOU Are Needed! Let's talk about it!

Hello, you absolutely amazing human being, you. And I say that seriously. Wow. We're gonna ignore the mess in my boardroom, okay? Wow. I always notice these things as soon as I turn on the camera. But I digress. You amazing person, you. I want to acknowledge that right now we are existing in a world where so many people feel insignificant. Today, I want to focus on the fact that we need you. They need you and who they are. I'm going to explain to you. So let's talk about it. Hi, everybody. My name is Sandy Boucher. I'm Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Loon clan, a proud member of Seine River first nation in Treaty 3 territory in Northern Ontario. And I am 100% committed to bringing Canada together. I'm a relationships and reconciliation consultant because I truly believe relationship is what's going to get us from truth to reconciliation. There's so many people now, and I'm not complaining, they're embracing the truth and they're learning about Canadian history, especially. Especially as it relates to Indigenous peoples. They're learning their. Their understanding is growing, and that's amazing. But if you learn all of the information and you're still not talking to us, we have fixed nothing. And we're not getting to reconciliation without the desire to reconcile with each other. That means actually talking to each other and forming genuine, authentic relationships. So, as I mentioned in the opening today, I wanted to talk about the fact that they, quote, unquote, they need you. As you go through your day, realize the hundreds of different times someone needs you, the opportunities you have to stay, step up and be exactly the person someone else needed in their world. So I have four different scenarios for you to consider. Now, the first one kind of still haunts me. Not going to lie, because believe it or not, there was a time when I was incredibly shy. Those days don't exist anymore. But they did exist. And I don't know about you, but have. Let's think of the elevator scenario. You're in the elevator and one other person gets on, and you can tell they're kind of uncomfortable. The old me, the shy me, would have spent our entire time together in that elevator thinking, I should say something, I want to say something. I don't know what I should say. What if they don't want me to say something? I really want to say something. They seem uncomfortable. I'm uncomfortable with this silence, and that's not talking. I should say something right up until they got off the elevator and not a word was spoken. I guarantee you how uncomfortable you're Feeling, so is that other person. Now, if I'm the first one on, I'm standing by the buttons and that person comes on and I'll say, hi or good morning, good afternoon. They usually smile. I'll ask them what floor. I'll tell them if it's the same floor. I'm making some comment about, oh, that's where I'm going. I'm going to race you. Something like that, it breaks the ice. And guess what? You become the person that made that uncomfortable situation way more comfy. They need you to say something. And it is so super easy. Not the first time. Do it anyways. Nothing is easy the first time. Do it. You're gonna love that you did it. You're gonna feel so awesome that you were the person they needed, and they are gonna be so thankful you're the person they shared the elevator with. So that's scenario one. Now let's look at scenario two. Scenario two is for people that are a lot more like me, who make their living or spend at least part of their career either on stage or standing up in a room talking to a group of people. These people need you to speak. In some cases, truth to power. They need you to use your voice to speak up for the people that don't have a voice yet. They need you to be real. They need you to be authentic. If you have a platform, no matter if the only team or the only group you speak to is your team of three people, you have a platform and you get to be the example of an amazing leader or not. So speak the encouragement. Speak the gratitude that you have that they're choosing to work with you. Compliment them on the amazing work they do. Do not blow smoke up their butt. I am not talking about lying. I'm talking about authenticity. Tell Imagine what your life would be like without your team. That makes it pretty easy to be gracious and full of gratitude for these people. Okay, so I don't care how tight the deadlines are. I don't care if the one thing that makes us human is remembering we work with humans, not robots. So treat them like humans. I hope you're saying hello when you pass them in the hallway or they come in in the morning. I hope you're, you know, greeting them or saying, have a great evening when they're leaving. Thank you for the great work today. You set the tone. If you're a boss, you control the culture of your office. Your team. Make that one that is welcoming and supportive and encouraging. Be the person they need. That's you on to scenario number three. Okay. None of my followers is going to be surprised that I come up with scenario number three. Oh, by the way, I just got to put my computer on. Do not disturb. I always forget to do that. There. No more bells and whistles. As I was saying, no one on my list is going to be surprised with scenario number three. The racist joke or comment has been made and it is funny. Not I'm being sarcastic when I say funny. It is ridiculous how often those comments are made. When there is a person in the near vicinity that belongs to the group that is under attack, it is pure insanity to expect the victim to say something. If you think the person under attack should be the one saying something, then you have no idea what racism feels like. You have no idea the gut punch it is. Honestly, when it happens, our brains are swimming going, did that just really happen? I can't believe that person said that. We're embarrassed. We're trying to wish ourselves physically somewhere else. Beam me up, Scotty. And we're frantically trying to figure out what to say. None of this is allowing us to speak. But you can say something. Whoa, dude, really? Seriously? Come on, give me a break here. And yes, I do it all the time. If you are and there's no risk, 99% of the time you're in public, what's the idiot going to say something rude to you? Who cares? He's already established he's an idiot. He, she, whoever, right? So. But say something. Every single time you don't. You establish a safe space for racism. You are saying this behavior is okay to me. I don't believe that's true. If you're on my channel. So say something. Anything. It's like, even if you say to the victim, wow, that was rude. Are you okay? Right? You don't need to talk to the individual if you don't want to, but say something. Wow. Seriously, you just said that? The one I use all the time because I live in the city of Thunder Bay and it earns its reputation. I often say, not in my city, dude. Like, come on, we're better than this. You want to take that crap home with you? Then do it. But not here. Not here. Say something. Be the person they need you to be. They the victim. None of you are surprised I said that. And scenario number four, the last one. Let's talk about it. Scenario number four is at work or at school. And this is your opportunity to be an advocate. If you so often people have relationships, they're friends with someone who was Marginalized or racialized, whatever the case may be, and something comes up and they don't feel empowered enough to say something again, they are the victim. They are being excluded. Excluded yet again. And they're so used to that, they don't even know what to say. But you can say something and kind of tie in with the last scenario. If there's one thing I realized when I moved to Toronto and spent five years down there, racism is horrible. I don't care who's it aimed at. Just because you're not aiming your arrows at me doesn't mean I'm going to stay silent. Racism against any group is wrong. And if indigenous people watching this, if we want people to stop being racist towards us, we have to stand up when they're being racist towards other people. And we cannot be racist against other people. So when you're at school, when you're at work, advocate for inclusion. Advocate for diversity. Okay, this sounds interesting. Did anyone ask, are there any indigenous participants in this? Are there any newcomer participants in this? It's all men. Are there any women participants? Is LGBTQ being included? Did you ask them their opinion? It's just asking a question. But you get to remind people of the importance of how we should be operating. No one should be excluded. Excluded. And by the way, inclusion of something someone else doesn't exclude you. For the people whose privilege is freaking out right now, inclusion is inclusion. For the people that think it's a tiny little pie and we can't share, well, then you've really bought the bs, because there's enough room for all of us. And if we get good at serving everyone, then everyone gets served. Served. Including you. No one is excluding you by including someone else. So what's our scenario? Speak up in the elevator. Speak up when you're on the stage. Speak up against any racism every time it shows up. And speak up at school, at work, in your family, in your community, at your local gathering, at the movie theater, in the restaurant, at your hair salon, wherever you happen to be, speak up. Because I guarantee there's a person in your vicinity that needs you. You are not insignificant. I happen to believe everything happens for a reason. And if you're there, it's because you're needed. Not to attack, not to be part of the problem, but to be exactly who they need. I hope that made sense. I can't wait to see your comments and hear your thoughts until next week. I love you. Take care. Bye. Bye.