The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur

December 20Diversity of Thought

Let us be wise, and not impede the soul. Let it work as it will. Let us have one creative energy, one incessant revelation. Let it take what form it will, and let us not bind it by the past to man or woman, black or white.

Margaret Fuller—Woman in the Nineteenth Century (1845)

Fuller was an abolitionist and women's rights advocate, and she spent her life promoting equal rights for all. Not an easy task for anyone, let alone a woman, in mid-nineteenth-century America.

Today, while there is a measure of equality that is assumed and more organizations work to create environments that welcome and foster diversity, Fuller seemed to imply a deeper diversity of thought with her suggestion of one creative energy. Something more akin to empathy.

Beyond the call to recognize physical equality, she invites us to explore something greater: to recognize and appreciate everyone's unique insight and way of thinking.

One of the most potent ways to begin to develop diversity of thought is through diversity of reading. Does this mean reading books written by a person who doesn't look like you, a person of color, an LGBTIQ+ person, a person from another culture, a person with whom you disagree? Maybe, but it also means expanding your range of topics unrelated to your business.

Perhaps, more than anything else Fuller is calling for compassion through diversity of thought—intentionally pushing beyond our normal range is how entrepreneurs add empathy to the world. ...