“I Was, I Am, and I Will”

I visited the Asian Society Texas Center in Houston Museum District this week. At the entrance area, a large three-parts mural in hallway instantly caught my attention. The playful line drawn figures illustrate the phrases "I was", "I am" and "I will be", obviously encouraging us to think of life of becoming: “reflecting on the past, being mindful of the present, and envisioning the future.”

Upon a quick search, I realized that the artist, Chanel Miller, was a Palo Alto born artist and writer, but her name came to the public eye because she was the victim of a 2015 Stanford University sexual assault. The case caught national attention in the media both due to her powerful impact statement and also the eventual lenient sentence received by the person who assaulted her. Eventually, she decided to come forward with her name, rather than staying anonymous as the "Emily Doe". The art work is her creation as part of her continued healing process.

Everyone encounters ups and downs in career or in life, but few experiences the kind of trauma as she did. It is powerful that she could uses her experience to motivate and inspire, not only herself but others as well, to focus on the present and future.

Since the main theme of my book, The Odyssey of Self-Discovery: On Becoming A Leader, is about self-discovery, I resonated with her message right away. Our leadership values and purposes are one way or another shaped by our past experiences, either positive or negative, successes and setbacks. Those leadership values will knowingly or unknowingly inform and guide us in our ongoing decision making. The more clarity we have about those values through self-reflection, the more likely we will be making decisions based on our vision for the future.

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