All summations have a beginning, all effect has a
story, all kindness begins with the sown seed.
Thought buds toward radiance. The gospel of
light is the crossroads of — indolence, or action.
- Mary Oliver, from “What I have learned so far”
Welcome to #BIOBG: Be ignited, or be gone. If you’re receiving this via email, at some point in the past couple of years you signed up for my newsletter Nota Bene. You may (or may not) have noticed that I didn’t publish n.b. in 2020—what started as a bandwidth-induced break in my writing became yet another casualty of The Pandemic.
So, why I am I writing now? And why #BIOBG? As we careen into 2021 (the year The Pandemic ends? or another year of The Never-Ending Pandemic?), I observe we are at a crossroads. The choices we make and actions we take now will shape how quickly, and successfully, we emerge On the Other Side. The easy choice? Indolence, of course. And, I am choosing action.
I’ve chosen two words to guide my choices in 2021: DO and LESS. DO means I will move beyond observations and ideas into action, when and as I can. LESS means I will choose to narrow and target my efforts, to increase impact through an intentional focus on what really matters. Rather than engage in all the bright, shiny things that come my way (and for which I am grateful, even when I must decline).
One way to DO LESS: integrate the various threads of my work and passions to amplify their impact. Thus, #BIOBG. Over the course of 2021, in fortnightly installments, I will offer you inspiration and practical resources to DO and be a leader in innovation.
In 2021, I continue my study and teaching in innovation, specifically, how do we make change to create value and #makelawbetter? Also in 2021, I am designing and teaching a curriculum in leadership at Vanderbilt Law School. The convergence of these two things feels serendipitous. Rather, it is intentional.
Leadership is a primary, necessary resource for innovation. And, we are bereft of leaders. And, each and every one of us has the capacity to lead.
I also believe each of us who “[c]an one be passionate about the just, the ideal, the sublime, and the holy” have an obligation to ourselves and our world to choose action over indolence.
In 2021, #BIOBG will explore how we act. How we DO this thing called innovation, and how we lead others to make the change we wish to see in this world. In the original spirit of Nota Bene, I will share curated content with you, presented in an actionable framework for how we lead as innovators. While my focus is on #makelawbetter, the framework and tools I share apply no matter your sector or focus.
I choose courageous optimism now more than ever, even as I reel in shock and raw emotion over 2021’s brief and terrible history as of the time of this writing (early January 2021).
In the face of all that is so hard—if not downright overwhelming—I choose to DO.
To get us started, I share this article on leading in the law, written by the trail-blazer Deborah Rhode, who passed away this weekend. It takes my breath away how the abject failures—in leadership, diversity, equity, and more—that she documented for 40+ years still define our profession (and many others) in too many ways.
And I take heart and strength in my belief that through our intentional action and leadership, we can be the change. We can #makelawbetter. And by so doing, make the world better.
I choose to be ignited. And I invite you to join me.
Onward,
Cat
c.moon@vanderbilt.edu | @inspiredcat
P.S. If you want to read the full Mary Oliver poem that inspires the name and energy for #BIOBG, enable images if you received this via email. And it will automagically appear, below.
Introducing #BIOBG: Be ignited, or be gone.
So glad you are leading initiatives like this at Vanderbilt Law School, Cat!!