Remembering to Put People First

How a moment of overwhelm, and a word of wisdom from a friend, reminded me that nothing matters more than people—and the secondary effects of forgetting or neglecting this truth.

Hi beautiful being,

Two weeks ago, I did a “thing”. I took a leap. Without much of a social media buildup, or any newsletters to my small email list—I started teaching yoga online. This was a big deal for me, as I’d previously attempted to do so for six months in 2020-21 … with zero-percent success. Wonderfully enough, two people came to my first class, and LOVED it! Riding that high, I’ve been experimenting with what days and times work best for people—with less success.

So, when a friend, and fellow life coach, offered to meet and talk about how to do online business well—I leapt at the opportunity! She’s definitely a few clicks further down the road than I am when it comes to this area; so, I was eager to learn from, and be pushed by her. At one point though—as she rattled off the multitude of things I should can do to reach potential clients online—I’m pretty sure she could see the overwhelm rising within me. I believe it was when she explained to me, how: “From the data on your socials, you can see the days and times that most resonate with your people, the key words that speak to them, what types of images draw people in, what topics they most interact with, and their demographics. This info will help tailor your posts, so you can maximize your impact.”

Noticing the glazed look in my eyes, she asked, “How are you doing? I feel like sometimes the things I say stress you out.” Note: This wasn’t the first time we’d talked about this topic. And—as a guy who just wants to love, help, and benefit people—yes, the business side of things does, in fact, stress me out a bit. That said, I truthfully reassured her that it was a good stress. The kind that pushes one to learn and do better. What’s more, everything she said was on point, and quite helpful. Especially her reminder to be super clear on my overarching goal.

I share this because people are at the heart of my vision as a writer, yoga teacher, life coach, and soul care provider. Y’all are truly everything to me! More specifically: With Love as my guide—my purpose in all I do, is to put people first. Honestly, the reason why I dipped into overwhelm while talking to my friend, was because I lost sight of this. I let myself get pulled away from what matters most: People.

Honestly, the importance of this has been on my mind a lot lately. The ways our society’s political and cultural wars are leading us to not put people first—to their detriment—is tearing my heart in two.

For instance, I’m troubled by the ways many are “doubling down” on their side of the political divide. What’s the endgame on that anyway? Do people truly believe that one day, everyone will realize their party of choice is the divinely ordained path?

Difference is baked into the human condition. The sooner we embrace that, the better off we’ll all be.

(From Inspiring Quotes)

Friend, did you know my doctorate is in Leadership and Spiritual Formation? I bring this up because, a trait good leaders have in common, is that they put people first. This is relevant to all of us, because: Whether you are the president of the United States, a voter, the boss of a team, or in charge of yourself—you are a leader. We are all leaders.

Which leads me to secondary effects.

Whether it’s in a relationship, family, business, or state—when it comes to decisions, policies, laws, etc.—there is the primary (i.e. intended) effect, and then ripple (i.e. secondary) effects. The thing is, when we forget to put people first, we neglect to consider the ways secondary effects will impact people—often hurting them. Let’s dip our toes into a few examples of this:

Consider a married couple who struggle to connect and love each other well. Yet, while all things being equal, they’d get divorced—they stay married for the sake of their kids. The secondary effects, though, are that the stress of the strained relationship will seep into the children. What is more, the model for marriage the parents are handing their kids, likely isn’t what they want for their children. That said, I am twice divorced with divorced parents, so am well aware of that path’s secondary effects. In other words: While putting people first is complicated, it is well worth the conscious effort it requires.

Let’s say you believe the U.S. has outgrown its need for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion departments. And let’s take it a step further and say you’re 100% right. Simply wiping them out, though, has literally cost many thousands of people their jobs.

One of the blessings of the U.S. being the richest and most powerful country in the history of ever, is we can use our wealth to bless peoples less fortunate than us. We’ve literally been saving millions of lives around the world for decades! Only, the life savings medicines, care, shelters, and such we provide to others ceased when we froze USAid.

As I write this, I’m sitting at my computer with tears in my eyes. I think of how Saint Paul wrote that he is “the chief of all sinners”, because I know I am as guilty as anyone of forgetting to put people first. I write this reminder and encouragement as much to myself, as I do to you. I hope, wish, and pray that my words bless you—and make the world a bit better—in some, small way.

Friend, it would be a true blessing to hear from you in the comments. And please “like” 🤍, and consider sharing/restacking this post if it spoke to you.

If you’re interested in my yoga classes, you can see my schedule and sign up here.

Also, I have two free 30-60 minute life coaching sessions available for anyone interested, on my website.

Hugs & Love,

Lang (aka “Dr. Love”)