Books that Empower Change

Sep 18

3 min read

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR: RASHEDA KAMARIA WILLIAMS

The Possibility of Change: How This Book Transformed My Commitment to Service

Years ago, I read a book that fundamentally changed how I thought about service and ultimately helped inspire the message I would one day share from a TEDx stage.

At the time, I had already been volunteering and mentoring young people for several years. Giving back wasn't new to me. I believed deeply in community service and the power of mentoring. But I would be lying if I said I never got discouraged.

Sometimes people didn't show up to the events I hosted. Sometimes the organizations I reached out to never returned my call. Sometimes I wondered whether the time, energy and resources I poured into serving others were actually making the difference I hoped they would.

Then I read The Gift of Change: Spiritual Guidance for a Radically New Life by Marianne Williamson

One passage, in particular, stood out to me:

“The only way we will triumph over hate is to become as deeply committed to love as some people are committed to hate, as deeply devoted to expressing our love as some people are devoted to expressing their hate, and as firm in our conviction that love is our mission as some are that hate is theirs.”

Those words reminded me of the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his teachings about the transformative power of love. But they also challenged me personally.

What would it look like if I became that committed to empowering young people and to the causes I cared about?

I started thinking about all the people and forces that intentionally compete for young people's attention. Gangs recruit. Traffickers prey on vulnerabilities. Extremist groups seek out people searching for belonging and purpose. Today, social media and online communities have added an entirely new universe of influences telling young people who they should be, what they should value and where they belong.

Williamson's words made me realize that those of us who want something better for young people have to be just as intentional.

We have to recruit them into possibility.

We have to introduce them to mentors, opportunities and experiences that remind them of their value. We have to create spaces where they feel seen, heard and supported. And we have to keep showing up … even when only a few people come through the door.

That realization lit a fire in me that has never gone out.

Years later, that same conviction became part of the foundation for my 2017 TEDx talk, Mentoring Makes a Difference. I shared that one in three young people face growing up without a mentor and I challenged adults to recognize the tremendous opportunity we have to reach millions of children.

But I also wanted people to think differently about how we reach them.

In my talk, I discussed how organizations that don't necessarily have young people's best interests at heart know how to get their attention. They understand the power of belonging, relationships and recruitment. Why shouldn't those of us who love and believe in young people be every bit as strategic and persistent?

That idea traces directly back to what The Gift of Change awakened in me: Love can't be passive.

If we believe mentoring matters, we have to pursue young people with opportunities as intentionally as others pursue them with destructive ones. We can't simply create a program, post a flyer and hope they show up. We have to build relationships. We have to listen. We have to go where they are. Most importantly, we have to remain committed.

That philosophy has influenced my work through Empowered Flower Girl and the messages I've shared with young people about navigating life's challenges without allowing drama or other people's expectations to determine their futures.

This October marks another milestone that makes me reflect on that journey. It’ll be 10 years since I published Be EmPOWERed: How to Live Above & Beyond Life's Drama.

A decade later, I realize that becoming an author, delivering a TEDx talk and building a social enterprise weren't separate accomplishments. They were different expressions of the same commitment to helping young people recognize their power and possibilities.

Programs change. Technology changes. Audiences change. The ways we reach young people change.

But my conviction hasn't.

The Gift of Change taught me that love isn't simply something we feel. Love can be a strategy. Love can be service. Love can be advocacy. Love can look like mentoring a young person, creating an opportunity, opening a door or refusing to give up when the results don't come as quickly as we'd hoped.

If there are forces in this world relentlessly working to diminish the hope and potential of young people, then those of us who believe in them must be even more relentless about helping them see what's possible.