Recently we talked about what Miriam teaches us bout being a thought leader and woman of influence
Namely, the fact that they edify, exhort and comfort the people within their niche(s) from a place of divine inspiration. You can read more here if you missed that, sis.
One of the other ways that they influence and guide others is by not being afraid to go against the status quo whether it’s popular with their key stakeholders or not
In fact-
Moses’ decision to marry Zipporah is a prime example of that because she was a black (rather than Hebrew) woman
Not only that-
Numbers 12 tells us that it caused a rift in his family that also almost cost him his (leadership) position
But thank God for divine intervention!
Although it’s easy to dwell on the dark side of this episode of Zipporah’s life, there are 3 positive lessons that I was able to draw from it for us as modern women:
#1 Don’t be afraid to take a stand
Indira Pierrot (my friend and mentor) has taught me that when it comes to branding and thought leadership “your message should be polarising,” just like Zipporah was. Although you could easily read that and think that, that could mean suffering the same fate as Moses (in terms of rifts in relationships, unfollows and unsubscribers), that’s not the truest or fullest extent of the story.
#2 Taking a stand is a weeding out process
1st John 2:19 says: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us”. What this shows us is that, although you might lose key stakeholders in your life and business by taking a stand, this is actually a good thing. Why? Because it pushes away those who do not align with your vision or values and draws the people that do. In business terms, it repels the people who are not your ideal clients or collaborative partners and attracts those who are.
#3 Taking a stand promotes loyalty
Earlier I mentioned that Moses kept his relationships and family through divine intervention. This is because God defended Moses and then gave Miriam leprosy to teach her the lesson of what it's like to be reviled, ostracised and hated for skin that she had no control over and could do nothing about (just like she had made Zipporah feel because of her blackness). Can you imagine the message that, that would have sent to anybody else thinking of challenging Moses?! “Okay, God has clearly chosen him, let me fall in line and shut up!”
I have experienced this first hand as both a consumer and producer of content
For example
As a consumer
I was recently so blown away by Ben and Jerry’s polarising article on why black lives matter and silence is not an option that I left this comment under Indira’s post about it (and am now sharing it with you):
As a producer
I stand at the intersection of so many identities (Nigerian, African, British, black, woman, plus-sized, Christian) and bring each one to my content. Taking the stand to be unapologetically me is what’s helping me thrive in life and business. More on this soon but here are a few receipts in the meantime re the content of my Facebook group, weekly emails and products too:
So how do you plan to take your stand, sis?
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