This week JAM VIEWS honors three amazing women who, unfortunately for us, have left this year to move onto their next big adventure. We have learned that the fastest way to expand our minds, understand what is possible, and to be inspired for greatness is to study the lives of people who constantly said, "Yes!," and here are three Yes Women.
As an aside, if you have a break in your schedule this week, please watch the movie, "Darkest Hour." In the incredible performance as Winston Churchill, Gary Oldman shows us how the most important decisions in the world come down to just ordinary, failed human beings having the courage to do the best they can. Saving the free world truly came down to one person going against everything that was "realistic" and everyone who was operating from a position of fear. On a much smaller scale, of course, this dynamic plays out in all of our lives daily. Can we summon the courage to do the right thing?
These three women did, and their stories are emblematic of continuing JAM VIEWS themes: perseverance, standing up for what is true, and at all time proclaiming "Why not me?"
Kathleen Eisbrenner was the very rare female entrepreneur in the energy industry. She joined El Paso Energy Corp. and worked to solve the problems with efficiently and less-expensively transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) in order to deliver more energy to our country and to the developing world. The problem was that LNG must be cooled to minus 260 degrees to be transported on ships, and then "re-gasified" at massive onshore terminals that take years to build, face regulatory hurdles, and are cost prohibitive in areas of the developing world.
So, Ms. Eisbrenner and her team developed technology which allowed the LNG to be re-gasified aboard the ships and then easily piped to shore. Building on this success, she later became CEO of Exelerate Energy and spread this technology worldwide. She was also an executive vice president at Royal Dutch Shell and founded NextDecade Corp. which worked to more-efficiently export gas produced in the U.S.
Tragically, Ms. Eisbrenner, 58, recently died of head injuries from a fall. I believe many times the universe calls the overachievers early because they are urgently needed for the next challenge. Yet, we are all thankful for, and much better off because of, her technology and capitalistic drive.
Unita Blackwell grew up in Mayersville, Mississippi, and after leaving school at 14 she picked cotton and cleaned houses. Then in 1964, when she was 31, Unita listened to civil rights activists speak at her Baptist church. When they asked for volunteers to help them fight for voting rights, she stood up [Life "Just Say Yes!" Moment].
This moment transformed her life and many others as she became a leader in voter-registration drives, even being jailed frequently. She was elected Mayor of Mayersville, likely the first black woman mayor in Mississippi, ever. She met President Lyndon Johnson at the White House where he gave her a bottle of whiskey as a souvenir, and she became friends with Shirley MacLaine who took her on a tour of China in 1973. In 1992, The MacArthur Foundation awarded her a $350,000 Genius grant.
Wow! Ms. Blackwell recently passed at age 86, but not before teaching us all to take a stand, to stand up for what we believe is right. We are all better off for her leadership.
Rosemary Mariner was an aeronautics student at Purdue University when a visiting airline executive told her that women would never be accepted as airline pilots. She then knew exactly what she must do. She did him one better and became the first woman to fly a Navy jet [see "Why Not Me?"].
Rosemary told the Los Angeles Times, "When I hit a wall, I am going to get under it, over it or around it." In 1972, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt Jr. (what a great name!) initiated a new program for women to fly Navy aircraft, and Ms. Mariner was one of the first eight women. She flew 15 different planes, and even landed on aircraft carriers. [Remember those scenes in Top Gun as they attempted to land on carriers?! Or, have you ever heard President George H.W. Bush tell the story of his night lost at sea when the luminous trail of the algae stirred up by the carrier led him back to the ship?].
Ms. Mariner (also a providential name) rose to the rank of captain and became the first woman to command a military aviation squadron. She recently passed from cancer at the young age of 65, but at her funeral, pause for effect, four Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet jets - all piloted by women - flew over to honor her.
Three amazing women, and three inspirational stories to get us moving this week. "Time waits for no man," and certainly these overachieving women understood this truism. Let us all summon our own courage this week to just say "Yes!," stand up for what's right, and constantly ask, "Why not me?" Have a great week!
"Duty, honor, country: Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn." - General Douglas MacArthur, USA
** Many thanks to the WSJ and their wonderful obituaries which allow us all to honor, and learn from, these great people.
** For more information on Jeff's Books, Blog, and Legal Challenge, please visit www.jeffmartinovich.com.
** To access JAM Views directly please visit jeffreyamartinovich.blogspot.com
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