LEAD FROM THE OUTSIDE - Stacey Abrams 042418 Harriet Tubman once declared , “ i freed a whole lot of slaves. I could have freed a whole lot more, if they’d only known that they were slaves. “ “ Leadership requires the ability to engage and to create empathy for communities. We have to understand and master the components of power: ambition, fear, money, failure, opportunity, and access. We tend to edit our desires until they fit our construction of who we’re supposed to become. Embracing ambition means learning not to listen too closely to anyone. With the constant reminder that the battle will be hard, marked with defeats and i may never be the direct beneficiary of success. As outsiders we are expected to continue on as the system commands, primarily to preserve our ability to participate. We have to hack it. Figure out its flaws, identify backdoors, and overwhelm the system. When you understand the roots of your dreams, you will have deeper insights into why you want what you want. To get there we must cease being participants in our own oppression. “ - Stacey Abrams