I just wrapped today’s live with Javier Rasquides , and I want to thank everybody who spent their time with us. Seriously. I do not take it lightly. Not one second of it.
This was never going to be a conversation where we all hold hands and magically agree. We came in knowing we did not share the same view, and we were honest about that from the start.
And we still did it anyway.
AGREEING TO DISAGREE WITHOUT TRYING TO WIN We ended the show exactly where we began on the core issue. I do not think I will ever convince him. I do not think he will ever convince me.
But that was not the assignment.
The assignment was to prove something we have forgotten as a culture. You can disagree and still respect the person in front of you. You can hold your ground without trying to humiliate somebody. You can speak your truth without turning the room into a battlefield.
THE MOMENT THAT HIT ME PERSONALLY What made this one special for me was seeing someone I used to work with thriving.
Time passes. People move on. Teams change. But when the synergy is real, it does not disappear. It showed up again today like no time had passed at all.
That kind of connection is rare. And it reminded me why I keep doing this.
LOVE WAS IN THE ROOM Yes, we disagreed. And honestly, we had a great time disagreeing.
But I think everyone can agree on this. We saw love in that room.
Not performative love. Not fake politeness. Real respect. Real listening. Real effort to stay human while the topic stayed heavy.
If you watched and felt hopeful, that is why.
SPECIAL THANK YOU TO THE PEOPLE WHO SHOWED UP IN REAL TIME If you were in the room today, I felt it. Here are a few people I want to shout out so I can tag you properly.
Stephen Eng Bobby Lee Clark Leslie Flowers Kenneth Dunner, Jr. John Werner Jackie Hallberg, LMSW Nicole (Nic) Angai-Galindo Kinga Vajda Felipe Cofiño Rachel Jorich Yolanda Johnson Kristi D. Williams 🌠 Customer Service Professional 🌟 Carl Webb Mike LeBlanc, CISSP CRISC Curtis Brooks Executive Coach LeeAnna Stock-Luoma RD, LD, CD, CDCES 🇺🇸 Shawn Michael Lisa Feveck RD Ryan Moeller Ⓜ️ 🎙️Sarah Gonnella 🎙️
If I missed someone, it was not personal. It was live, and I was focused on keeping the conversation respectful and moving forward.
WHAT I HOPE YOU TAKE WITH YOU If you only talk to people who mirror you, you are not protecting peace. You are protecting comfort.
And comfort does not build a better country. It just builds smaller worlds.
Talk anyway. Listen anyway. Respect anyway. And if you can walk away still caring about the person you disagree with, you are doing it right.
Thanks for reading,
William Rochelle, but you can call me Bill.
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-rochelle/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bill.rochelle.3 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/billrochelle/ TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@billrochelle YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@williamrochelle Substack https://williamrochelle.substack.com/
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