This weekend is a great moment of pause opportunity to reflect on a figure that transcends time.
He represents leadership in his ability to make the greater vision come alive to connect millions of people to a common cause for progress.
He displayed perseverance time and time again no matter what the challenges presented.
He exemplifies courage in the face of countless acts of evil.
The attributes of admiration for Martin Luther King Jr. are endless. As we take more time to celebrate the impact he had, look at three other lessons learned we can take away from his years of progress:
1 – Repetition and practice make all the difference:
We can be left in awe with MLK Jr.’s ability to bring speeches come to life through storytelling, analogies, and many other deliveries for the audience to feel the emotion and passion. When you read more about his life and journey, you’ll come across endless examples of him being in a position to give speeches to various audiences. From his high school debate team to his days as a pastor all the way to his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in front of more than a couple hundred thousand people, his repetition and practice was relentless. He didn’t magically come to these moments during the civil rights movement by chance – it was years and years of unforgiving effort practicing how to collectively move people for progress. The man in front of the group gathering at the Lincoln Memorial was a product of years and years of building his special art of bringing a message come to life for millions to follow.
2 – Pick up clues from those you respect and admire and use them in your own authentic way:
Martin Luther King Jr. was a man inspired by many as he evolved his journey making an impact on the world. Most famously, MLK was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, an Indian activist, for his peaceful protesting methods. Following Gandhi’s example, King used civil disobedience to protest injustice and fight for civil rights. MLK also relied on a 1800s philosopher, Henry David Thoreau, for the passion of civil disobedience. Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience essay presented the argument on the obligation of the people to non-violently disobey laws they believe are unlawful. A well read and educated person, MLK saw knowledge as a power that can be used to breathe life into his mission in a courageous and non-violent manner.
3 – The road is far from set ahead so don’t be afraid to let your passion take the wheel and improvise:
Every step of his civil rights movement journey was met with some form of hurdle or detour. There was constant need for him to find ways to pivot and adapt to keep progress moving forward, no matter what setbacks took place. Not only does he represent this in his leadership, but it even came out in his most famous speech, “I Have a Dream”. While he was always a well-prepared presenter, the moment took him in a slightly different direction the second half of the speech. Much of the infamous words spoken after he stated, “I have a dream…” were all words where passion took ahold of the steering wheel and took this audience to an entirely different level of emotion. No script, just passion and emotion articulating what could be, what should be.
The impact of MLK Jr. can hit us all in so many different ways. Celebrate his life and take some time to find your own authentic meaning through a life that continues to accelerate us towards what we hope to be progress for all.
Check out the following link from npr on I Have a Dream: https://www.npr.org/2010/01/18/122701268/i-have-a-dream-speech-in-its-entirety