The Quiet Power of Kindness in a Divisive World
Discover how small gestures can bridge big divides.
In a world that often feels overwhelmed by negativity and divisiveness, how can we choose to live differently? In the final episode of season four of The Flourishing Entrepreneur Podcast, Aleya Harris takes a moment to reflect on personal experiences of kindness and the profound impact they have had on her life.
Join Aleya as she shares heartfelt musings from her recent trip to New York City—a journey that became an unexpected testament to human kindness. From interactions with hotel staff to moments of support from coworkers and strangers, Aleya’s stories illuminate the power of choosing kindness and compassion in our daily lives.
Key Takeaways:
The Impact of Kindness: Discover how small acts of kindness can transform our interactions and lead to meaningful connections.
Choosing Your Narrative: Aleya challenges listeners to consciously choose narratives of kindness over hate and isolation, and to actively participate in creating a more compassionate world.
The Ripple Effect: Learn how your actions and choices not only shape your own story but also influence the stories of those around you.
Featured Insights:
Hear how Aleya navigated emotional and financial challenges with the support of others, providing a powerful reminder that we’re not alone in our struggles. The kindness of coworkers and strangers not only helped her manage logistical hurdles but also lightened the emotional load of recent family losses.
About Aleya Harris
Aleya Harris is the spark for your spark™. A trailblazer in purpose-driven story crafting, she is a marketing executive and ex-Google Vendor Partner who brings her dynamic experience to her role as the CEO of The Evolution Collective Inc. Aleya is an international award-winning speaker, the founder and lead trainer of Spark the Stage ™, and the host of the award-winning Flourishing Entrepreneur Podcast. She is also the author of the bestselling book Spark the Stage: Master the Art of Professional Speaking and Authentic Storytelling to Captivate, Inspire, and Transform Your Audience. Her unique approach as a Strategic Storytelling Consultant has revolutionized the way businesses communicate, transforming workplace cultures and market positioning. With her dynamic energy and proven methodologies, Aleya guides clients to unlock their potential, articulate their radically authentic stories, and achieve unparalleled success.
Watch the Free Masterclass
Join Aleya's free masterclass "Build Unstoppable Confidence and Book Speaking Gigs Without Feeling Like an Impostor." Discover the proven framework to own your story, captivate audiences, and land speaking gigs—even if you’ve doubted your worth or have no experience on stage.
Register at https://www.aleyaharris.com/masterclass
Buy the Book
Aleya's bestselling book will help you become a more confident and authentic professional public speaker. Buy Spark the Stage: Master the Art of Professional Speaking and Authentic Storytelling to Captivate, Inspire & Transform Your Audience on Amazon or anywhere books are sold.
Buy the Book: https://a.co/d/1T4EoJ7
Sign Up for Spark the Stage™
Spark the Stage™ is an online course and 12-month group coaching program that helps entrepreneurs and executives become radically authentic professional public speakers who can confidently deliver a compelling Radical Spark Signature Talk™ from the stage.
Enroll at https://www.aleyaharris.com/spark
Work with Aleya to Craft a Better Story
An unclear strategy, confusing brand, or undefined workplace culture will repel ideal clients, visibility opportunities, and career-making connections. The Evolution Collective Inc. transforms disconnected teams and overwhelmed leaders into thriving, inclusive cultures through Radically Authentic Strategic Storytelling.
Schedule a call at https://www.evolutioncollective.com/
Book Aleya to Speak
To book Aleya to edutain your audience at your next event as a keynote speaker, please visit www.aleyaharris.com/speaking to check out her speaking topics, reels, and why. Click "Schedule a Call" to secure the speaker with "that something new" you've been looking for.
Connect with Aleya Harris
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleyaharris/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleyaharris/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thealeyaharris
Links Mentioned on this Podcast
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[00:01] Aleya Harris: This episode is slightly different because it is just really about the musings from my heart about kindness and the experience of kindness that I've recently had in a world that many people feel is turning unkind.
[00:20] The purpose of me sharing my stories and my musings and my thoughts with you today is to offer hopefully a beacon of hope and some inspiration and to call you to action, to kindness in your own way.
[00:35] It's also to give a different narrative. It's very easy to fall into the narrative of hate and isolation and marginalization.
[00:48] But there are other narratives that you can choose to participate in there participate in. There are other stories you can choose to tell through your words, through your actions, and yes, through kindness.
[01:03] Recently I was on a trip in New York City. Actually at the time of this recording. I got back last night. I was there for one night, coast to coast trip and I thought I was doing well.
[01:18] For those of you who don't know, on January 15th, my father in law went back into the universe and rejoined his wife and my husband's mother to be with, with God.
[01:35] And we were all very close in a family. And I thought I was okay. And I still feel like I'm okay, but I didn't realize how squishy I was inside and how much support I really did need in different ways.
[01:53] So I fly to New York and I check in to the hotel.
[01:59] And I don't know if you've ever experienced this with a loved one, but saying goodbye costs money.
[02:06] And the money that we have invested and spent and then the money, cash flow with my business as an entrepreneur, et cetera, et cetera meant that my card got declined for the incidentals, that everything was, you know, already booked by.
[02:22] I needed to put incidentals down on my card.
[02:25] And in that moment I was like, I have a choice.
[02:30] I can choose to figure this out on my own or I can ask for help.
[02:36] And in that moment I felt that it was like the, the universe was giving me like a red pill or a blue pill. And I don't remember the Matrix that well to remember which one he chose to join the Matrix.
[02:49] But whatever pill that was, I chose a pill to like open my mind and open my heart when I asked for help.
[02:56] Because as the book Abraham and the Abraham Hicks wrote says, and ask asking you asking it is given.
[03:06] And I called one of my co workers who came down with their card and they checked me in for the incidentals.
[03:12] And it was in that moment that I realized that I didn't have to do everything on my own. And I started to feel the burden I was carrying in my heart.
[03:23] About money struggles, about my father in law, about the well being of my husband and being there for him emotionally. My business, my goals, my to do list, all of the things I felt the burden of.
[03:38] But it felt lighter knowing that help was available.
[03:43] I checked in, I went to sleep, I woke up the next day and I was leaving that day. I was only there for one night.
[03:50] And I don't know the last time you have been in New York, but it is not like suitcase friendly.
[04:01] And I was with another one of my co workers and not only was it snowing and icing, but it was also 10 degrees.
[04:09] I as a California girl do not regularly experience 10 degree weather. So there was that. And we were traipsing across New York City with my suitcase which was less than ideal, in the subway up and downstairs.
[04:23] And my co worker basically just took on my suitcase as his own and helped me.
[04:29] And it wasn't that he helped me, it was the way that actually both of my co workers helped me. With a smile, with an open heart, almost with gratitude to be of service.
[04:41] And that was the second moment when I realized that kindness is available. If I was available to it, I could have again in that moment decided to say no, no, no, I got this.
[04:54] I'm a strong independent woman, I don't need nobody. But I didn't.
[04:58] I allowed myself to be the squishy inside that I was surprised to feel.
[05:05] And because of that I received kindness.
[05:08] When I got to the subway, my card wasn't working this time. I had more money on it because I had gotten, I'd gotten some money in my account that had finally cleared that I thought that was going to clear the day before but it wasn't working.
[05:21] A random New Yorker swiped me into the subway. New Yorkers have a, have a, a kind of stereotype of being kind of grouchy and grumpy. That was not my experience.
[05:33] Even though that was the narrative. That wasn't the narrative I was experiencing in that moment.
[05:38] I was experiencing kindness. And when I decided to let go of the narrative of what I thought I should be experiencing, I got to experience a better one. Then we go on the subway, we do our thing with this client.
[05:51] Crushed it btw.
[05:53] And I head to the airport and I realized I had points so that I was going to be in a middle seat for the six hour flight instead ended up in an exit row and an aisle which was chef's kiss ideal.
[06:07] And when I got There, the. The middle seat was empty, so it was me in the aisle, the middle seat. And then I knew someone was probably gonna sit in the window.
[06:16] And someone did.
[06:18] This Latino man with a bright red MAGA hat on. I mean, it said, make America great Again. It was the biggest MAGA hat I've seen. I don't know if they come in different sizes or what, but it almost like the size of the hat made me feel like it was like the size of his affiliation with Trump.
[06:38] And I was confronted with, like, well, what does this mean, sitting on this airplane with this man? And all of the narratives of MAGA followers came into my head. The racism, the bigotry, the lack of intelligence.
[06:55] And I'm just saying all of this because this is. This is what I felt. And I felt.
[06:59] The first thing that I felt was, am I going to be safe as a black woman on this airplane next to this man? And I was like, in my. And then I was like, what the heck is he going to do to me?
[07:08] Lynch me on the plane? I was like, that's probably not going to happen. The worst thing he's going to do is maybe be rude.
[07:14] And actually, none of that happened. Not only was this man really nice, kind, we had great conversation, you know, spot, you know, every once in a while, because I'm not a conversationalist on an airplane, I like to just sit there and, like, zone out or work.
[07:29] And it made me realize that the narrative that I was being fed is true for a lot of people. I'm not dropping it completely now. I'm not. Like, I was one of the 92% of the black women that voted for Kamala.
[07:42] Do not get it twisted.
[07:44] But it's not true for everyone. And the narrative and the expectation in that the stereotypes don't have to cloud my view when I'm talking on an individual level, I can choose to engage from a place of curiosity, kindness, humanity.
[08:01] The flight attendant in our section was a black woman who was very nice from the first moment when we entered. And she passed by one of the times with the flight food and beverage.
[08:12] And I ordered a scotch and ginger.
[08:15] And she's like, it's on me. And she plopped down three bottles of scotch on. On my table. She looked at me with the most kind look, looked at him, and it was almost like, girl, I got you.
[08:26] I know that you are a black woman in this row with this MAGA hat guy and what that must be doing to you on the inside.
[08:34] Again, moment of kindness.
[08:37] I'd opened myself to kindness. And kindness was flooding in. I'd open myself to new narratives and new narratives were flooding in.
[08:45] And I, I offer that to you because you can also choose to participate in kindness regardless of what the news cycle is saying, regardless of what the, the feelings are that you're being told you're supposed to feel.
[09:06] Oh, you're a black woman. You should be feeling tired or angry or frustrated. That's what shapes your identity now. Because in order to be part of this world, that must be what you are experiencing.
[09:21] And all that narrative does is tell you that you are tired and angry and frustrated. But does that open you up for kindness? Does that do anything positively for your life?
[09:35] Does that open you up to experience compassion in unexpected places and to give that in return?
[09:41] Maybe you or me who didn't have enough money in my account at the time to check into my hotel. Or maybe you were me who didn't, whose car didn't work in the subway.
[09:52] Or maybe you were me who really could, yes, needed a scotch and ginger to kind of calm myself sitting next to this turns out, really nice mag guy. Or maybe you were the flight attendant.
[10:02] Maybe you were the New Yorker who used their subway card for me. Maybe you were the co worker who swiped me in. Maybe you were the co worker who carried my luggage.
[10:12] All of this happened in a 24 hour span in freezing cold temperatures in a city that is stereotypically full of grouchy people.
[10:22] And yet kindness existed. And yet right after the inauguration, sitting next to a MAGA guy, I was able to find safety and a shared sense of humanity.
[10:36] So I ask you, how can your narrative support you and how can you find a supportive narrative? Because right now we are in a transition within humanity.
[10:52] How are you going to show up in this transition? It transcends way beyond politics. It transcends way beyond finances. And I want you to pay attention to see if you are choosing your own narrative or if you're letting somebody else choose it for you.
[11:08] And if that narrative is truly helpful to you and your life experience and to that of someone else's or not. Or if you're being riled up into an anger and frustration and stress that is not yours to own today and every day.
[11:25] I encourage you to choose love. I encourage you to choose light. I encourage you to choose abundance.
[11:32] I encourage you to write your own narrative as a powerful creator of your story and the story of others that you can decide to participate in.
[11:44] Everyone thinks, oh, I'm writing my own story and I'm the only one but if you look around, that's not true. Every single person that showed me kindness was a part of my story and changed my story and changed my perspective.
[12:00] So you, yes, are the ultimate author of your story. But you play a role in every story of every person that you are around that you walk by, that you choose to see, that you choose to acknowledge it.
[12:13] You choose kindness as the the key narrative element of your character.
[12:24] Well, glad I got that off of my chest.
[12:29] If you want to talk to me about kindness, if you want to figure out how to show kindness to yourself, to others, if you want to share a kind moment that you've experienced, if you want to to take today as your sign that you want to begin your new story, I'd love to hear it.
[12:48] Email me directly. Aleyah leaharris.com A L E Y A at A L E Y A H A r r I s.com I want to hear about it. I'm a strategic storytelling consultant because I've monetized the ability to make stories even if cash flow sometimes sucks.
[13:06] As an entrepreneur and you have to wait a day because of holiday and the bank payments for cash to clear.
[13:13] I love stories whether I monetize them or not. And I'm so glad that you're listening to me, which means that I get to be a part of yours and I'm encouraging you on this one way platform where you hear my voice and I don't get to hear yours to let me hear your story.
[13:29] I am genuinely interested with that. My name is Alayah Harris. This is the Flourishing Entrepreneur podcast and I wish you lots and lots of love, light and abundance. This is the final episode for season four.
[13:47] The next episode that you're going to hear is Brand Speaking, new for season five where we're talking all about storytelling and public speaking. Until then, lots of love to you and lots of kindness.
[14:00] Bye for now.
[14:03] Thank you for listening to this episode of the Flourishing Entrepreneur Podcast with Alaia Harris. Vibing with what you hear, leave a five star review to spread the love and be sure to click subscribe.
[14:15] We wish you love, light and abundance. See you next time.
