Freedom & Purpose | It's Not Just Something We Celebrate

What does freedom really mean?

In this special Diversity Conversations episode, Eric Ellis explores the powerful connection between leadership, freedom, purpose, and community.

Freedom isn't just something we celebrate. It's something we choose to use... It is the opportunity to become who we were created to be.

Through personal stories, reflections on leadership, entrepreneurship, character, family, service, and community, Eric challenges us to think beyond independence and ask a deeper question:

How are you using your freedom to create a life of purpose and make a positive impact on others?

Whether you're a leader, entrepreneur, educator, or someone seeking personal growth, this conversation offers practical insights on leading with integrity, discovering your purpose, embracing opportunity, and building stronger communities.

Diversity Conversations is hosted by Eric Ellis and Dr. Tommie Lewis, bringing together meaningful conversations that inspire leadership, inclusion, authentic dialogue, and positive change.

leadership, purpose, freedom, community, leadership development, authentic leadership, personal growth, purpose driven leadership, character, integrity, entrepreneurship, service, workplace culture, inclusion, diversity conversations, professional development, emotional intelligence, resilience, community leadership, positive change, independence day, 4th of July

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to Diversity Conversations, where we engage in thought-provoking dialogue to identify leadership solutions to today's most challenging conflicts. Stream live each week, Saturday, 9 30 a.m. to 11 a.m., hosted by Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategists and CEOs Eric Ellis and Tommy Lewis. Join us and add your voice to this engaging diversity conversation.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Good morning, Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, the United States, and the world. My name is Eric Ellis, and I'm the president and CEO of Integrity Development Corporation. And Tommy Lewis is on sabbatical. He's out enjoying the sun, and he will be back joining us again back in August. And so I'm going to be with you, community. It's you and I today. And so we're going to see how we do. It is the 4th of July celebration in the United States of America. We are celebrating 250 years of being around. And I'll tell you that whenever we come to the Fourth of July celebration, I think that a number of people, different groups, sometimes have ambivalence. I mean, I know from a kid growing up, the 4th of July was always fireworks. And man, we love just, you know, knowing that we were going to go to Indiana and get some fireworks and either try to blow up our hands or blow up somebody. What is good about being an American? What is good about this country existing? Because I think that we live in a world that, uh in a country where there's so much freedom, that we do have the freedom to just really be able to criticize, uh, to own some of the problematic history that we've had. Uh, but I think there are some times when it's just useful for us to say, is there something that we actually can celebrate about being here? Uh as we celebrate independence and freedom, whether personally or as a nation, it can be powerful to think not just about freedom from something, but freedom to achieve something. And I'll tell you that uh that's one of the things that I'm really excited about is that I live in a country uh that I can just think of what it is that I want to do. The other thing I would say that is really uh special for me is to see uh the uh sort of uh FIFA World uh games here in the United States and all these people coming from around the world playing soccer and just celebrating their country and their opportunity to compete. But they're also just having a ball here, reconnecting with some of their uh, you know, uh country uh men and women that are citizens here that uh, you know, uh still feel like they are Colombian as well. I was watching the game last night and really just enjoyed that excitement. Uh, I want to uh sort of look at some things that we can celebrate as we think about this country. And if you want to weigh in, I certainly uh welcome your participation community as well. Uh freedom to become our best selves. I was just putting down some thoughts here. Independence gives us the opportunity to grow, to learn, to heal, uh, to develop our gifts and become more fully who we were meant to be. Uh, community, I want to say that to you today that it's it's so important to begin to recognize who you are and what your purpose is here on earth. Uh, I'm grateful that I am absolutely certain that I'm uh I'm sure of why I was born. And I've said this before. Uh, I feel like uh, you know, God put me on the earth to really reconcile people together. I've said in the past, you know, my father was a consultant, uh, a pioneer in the field of uh diversity and inclusion. Uh, my mother was a preacher. And so the combination of those really makes me a person that feels like an ambassador uh of peace and somebody who is really put here on earth to help people quite simply understand the power of loving each other. You see, because I believe that if we love each other, we can accomplish more. In the workplace, if we like each other, we can be more productive. And so I'd say to you, community, that one of the things that exists for you right now, here in this moment, is the freedom to decide that you're going to identify your purpose and you're going to go after it. You see, there's uh there's so much money that's being made on negativity. And uh, as I listen to the news sometimes, it just can become overwhelming, all the things that we are weighed down uh with on a regular basis. Uh, if you don't feel like the prices are high, you certainly will feel that way after you get through listening to the news. Uh, I do know that there are difficulties in the economy right now. Uh, I do know that the gas has been high. I do know that we uh got ourselves into a war that we try to figure out how to get out of. But I'm saying to you, community, that you also have the freedom right now to turn all that noise off and begin to think, what has God created me to do? What is my purpose? And how do I make that happen? How do I accomplish that? And so for me, uh, you know, uh the DEI industry uh sort of found its, in some ways, its demise, but certainly has been set back. Uh, people don't know if they uh really feel like diversity is important anymore. But I absolutely know it's important. I know that uh what makes us strongest right now, I was listening to some people talk about New York and what they love about New York. And what they love about New York is it's probably one of the most diverse places on planet Earth. And uh, and so you're not gonna get away from the beauty and the power of our uniqueness, and that when we meet each other and when we sort of get a chance to get introduced to one another, we see something beautiful. And so for me, the fact that God has given me as a purpose to sort of go out into the world and to help people respect each other, care about each other, love each other, that's something that I can do and I feel great about that all the time. And I'm asking you right now to uh examine and embrace your own freedom to be all that God created you to be. Some of you may uh want to be entrepreneurs yourself. Uh, I'm saying that you have the freedom right now to do that. Uh, you could either sit around and think about all the roadblocks that exist or all the opportunities that exist. I love the fact that we're living in a time right now where, I mean, AI has really, in many ways, it's a game changer in terms of things that we can do. Let me see if I can find something here that I just did uh recently. Uh, I had a friend of mine, uh, LG Wise, uh, was coming through Cincinnati, had a chance to come stay at the house. I'll tell you what, community, that uh uh hotels are overrated and they've messed up community in many ways. I mean, I remember when I was growing up, all we did when we went to uh Georgetown, Illinois, when we went to Fort Wayne, Indiana, we stayed with our relatives. We ain't stay in no hotel anywhere. And you could just sit around, you could wake up slowly, you could get up smelling grandma's uh uh bacon and and and grits, you know, in the morning. And so when L uh LG Wise was here in Cincinnati, we got a chance to break bread and just sit around and chop it up, kind of take a nap and then talk to you know, talk together uh again. And I would say that there's something powerful about that. But what he did is he brought uh sort of a new music uh app that many of you might be uh familiar with. And what it does is you literally can sing a song into this app, and then it will play your song back in uh in a in an amazing fashion that uh, you know, maybe using somebody famous uh voice, but they'll be singing your melody and your song. If I can find this here, I'm gonna play this for you, and it's going to uh blow you away just some of the things that are available to us. Let me see if I can find it. All right, uh, you know, technology never really works with us the way we want it to. Come on, technology, where are you? I know you're in here somewhere. Well, I'll have to plan better for the next time. But it is an app called Sonos, and uh you can just uh create a song, uh, you can make it up out of your head, you can sing it, and then all of a sudden it's gonna play back something to you that sounds just completely amazing. And I know that there are a lot of artists, uh even my my children have some uh question about that because they really believe that it's uh it's not fair to use people's likeness, their voice, in order to help somebody create something else. Uh, I agree with that part. Uh, but I think if you use it as for fun, number one, or if you use it as an inspiration for creating something else, that that can be powerful. But we're living in a time. My my point is that we're living in a time when you can do anything that you want to, and you have to begin to embrace uh the freedom to become our best selves. Uh, this week I had a chance to uh decide that uh I'm not fine, you know, I I graded myself, I think, last week, and I gave myself a B minus on uh sort of physical exercise and things like that. I'm doing a little bit, but not really doing a lot. And so what I decided is since I love golf, that I was actually going to walk the golf course. So for the first time, uh, I've been a member of Beckett Ridge golf course for over 20 something years. And I never walked the course. This last week, I walked the course twice. I tried it the third time. Third time was a bad decision. Uh, Tommy called me up and said, Hey, Eve, let's go out golfing, man, and let's walk today. He said, Let's walk, and we walked at four o'clock in the afternoon. The other two days that I walked, it was at 7, 7 p.m. when the sun had come down. Man, I made it around the golf course and felt great. I was sweating. I was dragging my cart around, I was hitting decent shots. I felt good about that. When I went out there with Tommy at 4 p.m., it was over 100 degrees. Almost killed myself. I mean, Tommy, I think I would have, you know, because there's a determination in me that we're about to we're gonna finish this. Man, people are falling out. Who are riding around in a cart? I'm out there walking, dragging my cart up and down hills. We had to call the clubhouse today to come get us. You know, they just had to come pick pick us up. They brought out two carts, man. Them young guys were looking at us like, whoo, I don't know what y'all were thinking about. And uh so they uh took our walking carts back and then we uh drove the rest of the way, and we actually didn't even finish the holes then, but it really was uh a lot of fun. Uh the the but but my point there was that I'm doing something that I enjoy doing, and it's allowing me to get some cardio in, and I lost five more pounds as a result of just being out there in the heat and doing some exercise. Uh, you know, you want to find what it is that inspires you to be able to deliver your best self. Uh, the second point is we have freedom to dream, to create, and to innovate, uh, whether through entrepreneurship, art, uh, technology, or leadership, freedom creates space for imagination and progress. Uh, great ideas often flourish where people can create without fear. We live in a country where you still are free to create things. And right now, I'd say to you, uh community, that we need that, those creative juices to be flowing. You cannot throw in the towel. Roger, I'm so glad you're with me this morning, man. You cannot just throw in the towel. I know that's why I was trying to get my phone working, Roger, so that I could hear from you this morning, man. I'm gonna work this out. But I certainly, Roger Miller is one of the most powerful, principled uh people that I've ever met. Uh I love this brother right here because of his integrity and because of his boldness. Uh, he is one who understands why God put him on planet Earth. He's not afraid. He's not making uh excuses. He's not uh I keep wanting to say he's not afraid of his assignment. And he's got a lot of wisdom, and he occupies the ground that he's standing on. I think that that's uh that's important, uh, community, is for you to find your own voice where you're not ashamed or you're not afraid, uh, and you're trying to uh be the best version of yourself that you can be. Uh, but this freedom to dream, to create, to innovate, that's not just something that's available for young people. That's something that's available for every one of us. Um, the next point I would make is as we think about our freedoms, because where I started was as we think about the 4th of July, I'm gonna, I think I'm gonna get some grilling done today. I mean, that's one of my favorite parts about the 4th of July is barbecue, uh, you know, some hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken. I know Roger's a fantastic uh cook. I probably wish I was over there eating with him, but I am going to uh get some of that done uh today. But uh we have freedoms to uh sort of dream, create, innovate. We have freedom to build strong families and strong communities. Uh on any moment you can decide that you want to help your community become stronger and better. All you have to do is reach out to people and say, this is something that I want to do. In this country, we have so, I mean, when you walk around this country or walk around your city, you will find people that disagree with you, but you will find people that will be all the way on your team. There's just almost everything that you can imagine is here if you look for it. Uh, but you have freedoms to develop strong communities and strong families. Uh, my brother and I went out yesterday and just uh he didn't even golf. He just drove me around the golf course. And I felt like that was so enjoyable that I was just there with my younger brother, and he has these cold uh uh gold peak tees. And so we had that. We had our music blast, and uh we were just out there. I was hitting some good shots yesterday, and we didn't have a care in the world because we are simply free to make the decision that today we're just gonna go out, we're just gonna drive around the golf course. We're not gonna think about who likes us or doesn't like us. We're simply just going to enjoy time together, looking at each other, seeing that we look alike, and uh enjoying our conversation around positive things. Uh, I want to encourage you, community, to embrace your freedom to live, to love, to experience joy, because there's just too many things that uh that want to become clouds in your life. And sometimes you simply have to shake off, you've got to shake off the clouds, and you have to shake off discouragement, you have to shake off depression, and you have to uh be able to embrace the joy of just even the sunshine and the rain. Uh sometimes the question is, are you built for this? I like that, uh, Roger. Uh you know, uh you you are built for it. Uh, you know, the word says that God would not put anything on us that is heavier than what we can bear. And uh, and I can say that, that I've I've certainly had to carry a lot of weight here over the last uh 12 months. Uh, but that weight that I've carried is making me stronger. It's making me even more grateful. And so I think that that's something that we want to uh embrace. Um another freedom that we have is the freedom to speak up and to contribute. A healthy society needs voices that are willing to engage, uh, disagree respectfully, share ideas, and help solve problems. Uh, freedom allows participation and not silence. Uh, one of the things that I watched over the last week, and I'm still kind of processing it, uh, I uh was watching the WNBA uh game uh between the Indiana fever and uh I think it was the Mercury, uh, and uh there was an incident that happened when uh a young lady had uh Alyssa Thomas, I think, had filed Caitlin Clark. And then when she had her on the ground, she elbowed her in the throat. And uh I looked at that, and I'm not even going to try to respond to all the political noise around it. Uh I looked at dad, and inside of me there was just sadness. I was overcome with a little bit of sadness because um I saw the sister. See, Caitlin Clark, for most of you probably know the name. She is uh uh a basketball player, uh WNBA basketball player that has really changed the game in many ways in terms of the audiences that she's brought to the game of basketball. Uh uh she is uh seen today as probably the number one influencer of a sporting uh group of any any person. She's had a greater impact on uh the viewership of WNBA basketball than any single person of any professional sport. That's including Tiger Woods. She's increased, I think the audience they say by almost like 50%. Uh and so uh there are a lot of people that are not happy about that. Although the the the salaries, uh, the endorsements of all WNBA players have skyrocketed. Uh as a as a result of her coming to the game. And then people seeing all the rest of the talent was there and said, oh, this is really cool. I didn't know this. She brought me here, but now I'm excited about the rest of this. Yeah, the Larry Bird of the WMBA. And uh, and so when I watched this event happen, there's there's a there's an undercurrent of of racial animus and there's uh there's uh LGBTQ issues that underlie this. But I'm not going to go into any of that. I'm simply going to say that when I watched this young lady put her elbow in uh Caitlin's throat, um, I was just sad because we can get swept up by so many things that have us operating uh in a way that's not good for us, it's not good for our character. Uh it's just it's just sad because that's the worst part of uh humanity. That's the worst part of our humanity, and all of us have done it. Uh but when you get caught in those moments, I I wish that uh I could know that this young lady uh was watching this podcast right now. First of all, I would say I love you and I forgive you for that lapse of judgment. And my prayer is that you would find it in your own heart to apologize, not not because your agent uh or uh publicity people are saying that that's something you need to do for your brand. Uh, I think that it's just the right thing to do for your heart and your humanity and your own character. Uh I I remember I was in college, and there was uh a guy that used to hang around, like hanging around the uh athletes, and uh he had uh come up and uh and then he left. And literally, I was uh probably a freshman of sophomore in college, and when he left, I started talking about him, and then he doubled back. And when he doubled back, he heard the things that I said about him, and uh I was young and arrogant, and and so I I doubled down on it. Instead of apologizing, I said, Yeah, man, I said it. You know, you double back, so you're gonna hear the truth, bruh. And literally in my small mind, I was embarrassed really, but instead of apologizing, I doubled down on it in order to not have to own uh the poor character that I uh displayed in those in that moment. And so I've done that before, and that's why I'm saying that when we make mistakes, it's uh it's helpful to us to be able to go back and sometimes simply just get it right. Uh and and and I would say to any of you that are weighing in on this, it's not our fight. Uh, it really doesn't need our perspective. Uh, it uh what it needs is our heart and our our willingness to say, even if we disagree. I I've I've asked a number of people about that incident. Uh, and I've gotten uh uh uh wonderfully uh mixed uh sort of reviews around it. Uh some people have criticized uh Caitlin Clark uh for her own arrogance and uh, you know, the way she carries herself, you know, uh she does know that she's had this huge impact on the audiences and on this sport. And I would say this to you that that my rebuttal is that I my experience is that most superstar athletes uh find it hard not to carry a degree of arrogance. Some of them wear that better than others. But it feels like uh, you know, it feels like that's almost a part of it. It's almost a part of the swagger that's necessary to be good is to feel like I can do this. I can do you, you know, and so that's a part of what comes with competition and and and mono a mano kind of stuff. And so uh I don't think in in many respects, she's no different, no, certainly no worse than anybody else that's ever done that. Uh and uh uh but I just think that we have to get away from those kinds of opinions. And uh Kenny, I hear you, baby. Uh and I think that we have to sort of find our way back to what's right and what's wrong. And uh when I looked at that, I was glad. Uh, and I'm gonna say this to you, community, as well, that when you are a part of a marginalized group, especially around race, and when uh there's an incident that involves uh people of color, oftentimes if we're not careful, we won't stand up for right when the person that did wrong was a person of color. And I'm gonna say to you right now that uh the first thing I had to do is look inside myself. There's nobody else here but me, Eric, my brain, and that incident. And I have to then come to grips with how am I gonna view that? Am I gonna make excuses for that behavior or am I gonna call that out as wrong? And I was grateful that by myself, me, my brain, in that incident, I said that's wrong. Now, I didn't say that's wrong in a way where I'm just harshly judging her as though she's done something that none of us has done. That's why I'm saying to you, I've done dumb things as well. But we have to find our way. If we ever want to uh see America be less divided, then we've got to do our part uh to uh admit wrongs when they happen when the people that's the perpetrator, uh the wrongdoer looks like us. Uh Ken says every great athlete is arrogant. Uh sometimes the battle uh is in what's said uh that can't be unsaid. Roger, I appreciate that a lot. And so uh we have the opportunity to sort of look at uh uh these situations and decide where we're gonna be. Uh, you know, and we're looking at so so what I thought about when I when I thought about the show today, I was thinking about the 4th of July. And uh and honestly, I said that that marginalized groups sometimes struggle with this holiday. As I've looked at some of the uh things that America has done in order to create this great nation, some of them are absolutely embarrassing. Uh when I when I think about the notion of us going to war with Mexico and then taking California. I mean, come on. And then talking, I'm being I'm I'm sorry, y'all. And then talking about you can't come across the border. I mean, really? I mean, so so there are a lot of things that uh that I can look at and say this is and has been a shame. Uh, but uh, you know, I feel like uh that's not the tact or the pathway that we should always take. Just one of identifying and seeing only the wars. Uh Ken says again, uh basketball is emotional and physical. Uh, there is gross overreaction. Uh, the perpetrator uh was penalized. Uh, and so uh I think what I'm hearing you say there, Ken, is hey, there was a response. Uh, the league took action, let's move on. Uh I can live there. Uh it's just one that as I watched it, uh, I think I was hurt for the people in the incident. And for me, it wasn't, it moved from this big thing down to a little thing, a moment. Uh two individuals engaged, one being hurt, uh, one being hurt. Uh, you know, Alyssa, the pain that she felt around not being fully appreciated, uh, you know, maybe being in a relationship with one of her teammates that they, you know, had an altercation with Caitlin, but all of those things take us down to a base uh aspect of who we are. And, you know, there's a there's an empathy uh element in me that has always just kind of gotten sad when I see people do things that I don't think are helpful for them. This is gonna sound crazy, but when I was growing up uh in high school, I remember I had a good friend, Jeff Durrett. Uh uh Ken, you probably not heard that name in a long time. He and his brother. Uh, I was at a party and Jeff was drunk. And everybody got drunk at parties sometimes, but I remember feeling sad. I was like, what's happened in his life that has made him have to sort of get drunk? Now there's probably nothing deep. I mean, he was just having fun with everybody else, but I was sad, and uh that's how I felt uh when I was when I watched this event. I didn't go to any of the political aspects of it. I was just simply sad. And uh what I long for is for people to uh be their best self, their better selves, and that we're just not weighed down by all of the pressure. Uh, because here's what I'm gonna say to you, uh, family, is that in some ways it doesn't matter how much money you make, how much fame you achieve, um, how many endorsements you get. Uh, at the end of the day, you have to really find it within yourself to grab a hold of joy and to make sure that you don't allow anything to rob you from that. Um when we as humans uh react, uh, it's because we feel powerless. Thank you for that uh comment. Uh the feeling of powerlessness. I'd be interested in hearing from you, community, around what are the things that make you feel powerless. It's one of the things that I resist. And I would say to you that uh I've never been raised, I wasn't raised to embrace that feeling. I was raised that uh you can always find a way. And so that's kind of part of how I was raised, and and and where I've sort of adapted new thinking is that if I can't do anything about it, then I won't really sweat it. You know, it is what it is, you know, and that's that's that's where I land at the end of the day, is that uh, you know, if I ever feel like I can't uh make a change around something, then I just decide I'm not gonna worry about it. Uh let's continue and see uh what else we can do. Uh we have the freedom to speak up and contribute. A healthy society needs voices willing to engage, disagree respectfully, share ideas. I think I mentioned that one. Um, freedom to pursue fairness and opportunity for all, one of the highest uses of freedom. So we're talking about on this Independence Day, uh, that we don't have to simply look at America and its freedom, uh, you know, its liberation, uh, its founding. We can also look at what is what are our freedoms and what can we do with our independence? And so that's what I'm saying here. Uh, freedom to pursue fairness and opportunity for all. One of the highest uses of freedom is expanding opportunity, uh, working towards systems where everyone has a genuine chance to contribute and to thrive. Uh what are you doing in order to help other people experience their freedom? I uh uh had a chance this uh over the last several weeks to uh go after new business with the with the company. And uh there's a consultant that's working with that company already. The consultant has a great reputation, the company loves them. And the company, because of their trust of them, sort of brought them to the table to uh take a look at uh the work that I would be potentially doing uh for the company. And I'll tell you, I just want to say how grateful I was that this consultant is uh a person of great character, uh, a person of great humility. And the way that they uh sort of complimented me, talked about uh, you know, all the great things that they've known about the work that I've done. I've not seen anything like that before. But I would say that that really reinforces this point here. A lot of times uh we hear that uh that people of color sometimes don't stand together or marginalized people don't stick up for each other. I've literally seen situations actually in my own life where I was uh coming towards an opportunity and and the marginalized person, man, they went in and locked the door, you know, and locked me out. And uh and actually, I wouldn't even mad. I mean, I'm telling you, I understand, you know, that when you are uh are seeking an opportunity, you're hungry, you're starving, there are not many doors opening for you. When you see somebody coming down the street that you think might that they might like them more than you, I understand. I'm not even offended by it. Uh, but Ken, you're right. Uh most consultants uh would have felt threatened. And uh this person did not. And I literally sent them a couple of emails really acknowledging that and thanking them for their honor. And it's the same kind of honor that I will give back in return as well. Uh, but I was just uh grateful to experience that that's who I am, that's what I want to do. And community, I'm I'm encouraging you to do the same thing. Uh, freedom to serve something bigger than ourselves. And so I'd ask you right now to think about what is it in this life that you are uh serving that is bigger than yourself. Uh take a moment to think about that because I think that the world that we live in has us built to really think about ourselves and and really look at everything through the lens of me. And what am I trying to achieve? And what do I want to have? And and and and and and and do I feel who's making me feel happy? And uh so this notion of serving something bigger than ourselves is a mouthful and uh can be exhausting. Uh, and uh I don't think that people spend enough time trying to do that. Um and so for uh you know, for for me, as I think about the 4th of July, then I have to think about my own freedom. Uh my freedom to uh do better than I did last year, uh, my freedom to become the person that God has created me to be. And so what I'm gonna do, uh, community uh family is I'm going to sign off early today so that you get a chance to go out and and and cook and be with your family and do things that uh make you feel good today. Uh, I've enjoyed being with you today, and I'll look forward to joining you next week uh for another installment of Diversity Conversations. Take care now. Love you.