pondering Len Schlesinger and The Help

First and foremost, Len Schlesinger has nothing to do with the book or movie, The Help.  Last night I saw The Help with 23 women from our church (yes, 23!)  And this morning I'm going over my notes from the Global Leadership Summit.  Which is where Len (president of Babson College, America's top ranked school for entrepreneurship) and The Help (a movie about black maids working in the '50s) collide.

Len told us,

"You can't get THERE without pointing out the unacceptability of HERE. This annoys comfortable people."

Yes!  Now, what he's talking about regarding entrepreneurship, I'm sure I don't know - I've never felt remotely entrepreneur-ish  But what I do know is that's what we writers are called to, if we are to do as Skeeter did and write about what matters to us. 

I was challenged and inspired by Skeeter's tenacity, by Aibeleen's courage, by Minnie's sass ... and I was especially moved by Skeeter's mother.  It took reading about life in a well written book for her eyes to be opened to her own reality. 

Their book created a different future.  And that's pretty damn inspiring for a writer who dreams of a new world.  

"Believe in the future by creating it first.  Action trumps everything."~Len Schlesinger

"Change begins with a whisper." ~The Help