As I look back over the arc of my life, I see not a string of victories but rather a long line of op
As I look back over the arc of my life, I see not a string of victories but rather a long line of opportunities. I was, at every important juncture in my life, provided an opportunity to prove myself. Those opportunities have shaped my past, present and surely my future. This realization came on a run in Central Park 10 years ago, but what took longer to realize was that those opportunities aren’t offered to everyone, that the scales aren’t balanced. See, it’s easy to attribute your wins to “hustle” or “crushing it”, it’s easy to build up your mythology and easier still to start believing in it. What is harder is to look at your little slice of success and understand that while your hard work and hustle DID matter, they wouldn’t have mattered if you couldn’t apply them to those opportunities you got, and harder still to admit that those opportunities were likely granted because of your station in society, not your innate ability. I love the influencer space because it can, at best, democratize opportunity and give chances to people based on the strength of their vision, and not the depth of their personal networks. Sadly, you don’t need to look too deep into the industry to realize that’s not what’s happening, you don’t need to listen that hard to hear the calls for a more diverse, fair system. I am really proud that Fohr has launched the Freshman Class, a program that is built to promote diversity in the influencer space. Diversity of skin color, body type, age, sexual orientation and focus. We are putting our money where our mouth is and selecting 10 voices from the community to come to New York, stay in the Four Seasons, network with brands and influencers and learn from some of the industry’s best. We already have nearly 850 applications and it’s been so heartwarming to see all of your applications and testimonials. If you haven’t yet applied the link is in my profile. PS, this photo is from one of those opportunities that changed my life, when @erikabearman asked me to shoot the @oscardelarenta FNO party. -- source link
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