012 | The ANDs We Need for True Inclusion with Niiamah Ashong

07/28/20 • 37 min

Niiamah Ashong is a pioneer and outlier on a mission to create a world of true inclusion and empowerment. He is the founder and leader of the World of Joy Movement where he brings his vision of true inclusivity and diversity into life by helping leaders and organizations leverage their uniqueness and strength. Before embarking on leading this movement, Niiamah worked with AppNexus as a People Experience Consultant and a Senior Consultant for management services firm Deloitte Consulting. Today, Niiamah is a dear friend and kindred spirit who continues to inspire me on my mission.

Niiamah joins me today to discuss the Ands we need to create a world of true inclusion. He shares his vision of an inclusive world and explains how he was inspired to make this vision a reality. He explores the paradox of inclusion and exclusion and illustrates how we can become inclusive while maintaining our differences. He also emphasizes the role of outliers, trailblazers, and mavericks in a divisive and uncertain world, and explores the possibility of being fearful and still being authentic.

“ True inclusion is about being celebrated and valued for the things that make you different.” - Niiamah Ashong

This week on Life in the AND:

What inclusion means for Niiamah and why it’s more about difference than sameness
Creating a world of true inclusion and what it looks like in 2045
How innovation comes when people who are different from each other work together
The “Yes And” game and why And is a skill set that could be honed
Where Niiamah’s mission of creating an inclusive world started and how he came to realize it
How inclusion and exclusion go hand in hand, and how we can create a space of diversity that accepts outliers and trailblazers
The characteristics that make trailblazers, outliers, and mavericks, and what makes them important in a world of uncertainty
Self-identifying as an outlier and how we are alone and belonging at the same time
The difference between belonging versus fitting-in
The costs of owning authenticity and uniqueness and why trailblazing isn’t safe
Handling both sides of fear and what it means to be fearful and fearless at the same time

Connect with Niiamah Ashong:

Embrace Life in the AND

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Life in the AND, the podcast helping you embrace the AND in your life to cultivate more authenticity, creativity, inclusiveness, and love in every area of the world around you. If you enjoyed this episode, please head over to Apple Podcasts to subscribe to the show and leave a review.

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“ True inclusion is about being celebrated and valued for the things that make you different.” - Niiamah Ashong

This week on Life in the AND:

What inclusion means for Niiamah and why it’s more about difference than sameness
Creating a world of true inclusion and what it looks like in 2045
How innovation comes when people who are different from each other work together
The “Yes And” game and why And is a skill set that could be honed
Where Niiamah’s mission of creating an inclusive world started and how he came to realize it
How inclusion and exclusion go hand in hand, and how we can create a space of diversity that accepts outliers and trailblazers
The characteristics that make trailblazers, outliers, and mavericks, and what makes them important in a world of uncertainty
Self-identifying as an outlier and how we are alone and belonging at the same time
The difference between belonging versus fitting-in
The costs of owning authenticity and uniqueness and why trailblazing isn’t safe
Handling both sides of fear and what it means to be fearful and fearless at the same time

Connect with Niiamah Ashong:

Embrace Life in the AND

Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn and share your favorite episodes across social media. And for more great content and information, be sure to visit my website.

Previous Episode

011 | Leaders Can Have It All: What's Possible When You Expand Your Vision AND Narrow Your Focus with Tony Martignetti

Tony Martignetti is an entrepreneur and Inspired Purpose Coach who is passionate about elevating leaders and equipping them with the tools to navigate life’s challenges. His recently-launched podcast, Virtual Campfire, and upcoming book Climbing the Right Mountain: A Journey of Transformation, demonstrate this passion by sharing stories and ideas about people finding their purpose. Before becoming a coach, Tony was a finance and strategy professional who worked with the world’s leading bio and life science companies. As the mentor, Tony works with leaders to help them become unstoppable in the world.

Tony joins me today to explore what’s possible when you transcend your limitations and live your Life in the And. He reveals the most common limiting beliefs that hinder people from realizing their fullest potential and describes how success happens in small steps. He defines what it means to lead from a people-first mindset rather than a profit-first mindset and describes the possibility of creating innovation and impact the world. He also discusses people’s tendencies to become reporters as opposed to the authors of their lives and defines what it means to live a life of purpose.

“Be innovative, create something amazing, and do it in a way that celebrates humanity. Leaders can make an impact at work, and they can impact humanity.” - Tony Martignetti

This week on Life in the AND:

Connecting with a ‘people-first’ mission and what it means to have an “inspired purpose.”
Why Tony is inspired to help leaders overcome their limits and step into possibility
The most common belief that limits people from living a life of inspired purpose
Playing big and acting small and the necessity of taking the first step
The element of patience and learning the lessons of the present moment
The right and responsibility to stand for something and why environmental activist Greta Thunberg inspires Tony
Tony’s vision for leaders of the future
What it means to expand your vision and narrow your focus
Living life on autopilot and the value of working people who you can trust
The importance of interconnection and the power of the individual to make change
Changing the language we use to empower ourselves and other people
Tales of transformation and the emotional journeys people go through on Tony’s podcast, Virtual Campfire

Connect with Tony Martignetti:

Embrace Life in the AND

Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn and share your favorite episodes across social media. And for more great content and information, be sure to visit my website.

Next Episode

014 | The ANDs Are in The Creative Minds of the Listeners with Laurie Shiers

Laurie Shiers is a Creative Development Coach with a nerdy passion for the creative process and all its nuances. Laurie, a creative catalyst, made a literal Creative Block, a collection of cards that help people get unstuck and enter a new creative headspace. Taking this step further in inspiring people into new ways of creative thinking, Laurie co-authored the forthcoming book, Mindset Mondays: 52 Ways to REWIRE Your Thinking and Transform Your Life, which will be available September 01, 2020.

Laurie joins me today to explore the ANDs she discovered in the creative process. She explains why she created the Creative Block and the importance of letting ourselves feel feelings and what happens when we don’t. She discusses why emotional tension and the state of flow are both essential in the creative process. She also shares how she inspires herself to be creative and breaks down the five phases of the creative process.

“Creativity opens the door to emotional freedom. And the way to emotional freedom is by expanding your creative range and developing creative confidence.” - Laurie Shiers

This week on Life in the AND:

Pulling a card from Laurie’s Creative Block and how it can help your creativity get unstuck
The value of throwing a tantrum and what happens when we avoid feeling emotions
Emotions as catalysts to the creative process and the five phases of the creative process
How we get the big aha! moments of creativity while doing low-grade physical activity
Why the creative block and the state of flow go hand-in-hand in the creative process
Giving our minds the time to marinate and incubate ideas
How we lose creativity as children and using the growth mindset to foster creativity in younger people
How the narrow definitions of creativity prevent us from finding our creative genius
Why Laurie created the Creative Block
Why childhood is one of the biggest wellsprings of creativity
Creating in the absence of inspiration and when the mood strikes
Writing a book for Laurie’s 12-year-old self
Creativity as a door to emotional freedom and emotional freedom as a door to creativity

Connect with Laurie Shiers:

Brainchild Coaching
Creative Block
Laurie Shiers
Laurie Shiers on LinkedIn
Book: Mindset Mondays: 52 Ways to REWIRE Your Thinking and Transform Your Life by David Taylor-Klaus and Laurie Shiers
Email: [email protected]

Embrace Life in the AND

Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn and share your favorite episodes across social media. And for more great content and information, be sure to visit my website.