Rule 5 – CHAMPION EACH OTHER.
Old Rule: Be against each other. NewRule:Be FOR each other. Call to the Wolfpack… Her victory is your victory. Celebrate with her. Your victory is her victory. Point to her.
[After a goal is scored]… What happens next on the field is what transforms a group of individual women into one team. The bench erupts. Teammates from all over the field rush toward the goal scorer. There are high fives, chest bump, dances, hugs, and a spontaneous celebratory huddle that disperses as quickly as it began. It might appear to the crowd that the team is celebrating the goal scorer, but what the team is really celebrating is every player, every coach, every practice, every sprint, every doubt and every failure that this one single goal represents.
You will not always be the goal scorer. When you're not, you better be rushing towards her. After I score, I begin to point. I point to the teammate who assisted. I point to the defender who protected us. I point to the midfielder who ran tirelessly. I point to the coach who dreamed up this play. I point to the bench player who will this moment into existence. Every goal I've ever scored belong to my entire team. When you score, you better start pointing. In your life, who deserves the “assist”? To whom should you be pointing?
We're either rushing or we're pointing. Here's what rushing and pointing look like off the field. We amplify each other's voices. We demand seats for women, people of color, and all marginalized people at every table where decisions are made. We celebrate each other's successes. We express gratitude and give credit to those who contributed to our own successes. And when one of us falls, we support her rise. How have you “rushed” or “pointed” off the field?
Championing each other can be difficult for women because for so long, we've been pitted against each other for the token seat at the table. Maintaining the illusion of scarcity is how power keeps women competing for the singular seat at the old table – instead of uniting and building a new bigger table. Scarcity has been planted inside of us and among us. This is not our fault – but it is our problem to solve. Thoughts on how to build this “new, bigger table”? How do we replace scarcity with abundance?
Revolutions begin with a collective belief. The Wolfpack’s belief is that scarcity is a lie. That power and success and joy are not pies. A bigger slice for one woman doesn't mean a smaller slice for another. We believe that love, justice, success, and power are infinite and meant to be accessible to all.
Revolutions are won with collective action. We will take action on behalf of all of us. We will help each other we will rush toward each other. We will point to each other. We will claim infinite joy, success and power – together. We will celebrate the success of one woman as a collective success for all women.