Jaz Ampaw-Farr on Belonging

Converge: The Business of Creativity Podcast with Dane Sanders

Jaz Ampaw-Farr is no stranger to feeling like an outsider. In this podcast, Jaz shares her personal story from her earliest days as a girl who seemingly had no name, to where she is now as a wife and mother, successful businesswoman, and survivor.

Jaz’s keystone message is that you need to believe that you belong. It’s a feeling that we can cultivate, what she calls a habit. This habit/feeling has little to do with data or evidence, although those can sometimes intersect with our thoughts and feelings about ourselves. It’s about relying on your internal story, what you know to be true about yourself.

Jaz’s story of finding and sharing her name is a powerful example to listeners of finding your own truth to stand on, and owning it, transcending identity or external labels. Ultimately, Jaz Ampaw-Farr helps us challenge the idea that says, “People like me don’t do things like that.”

TIMELINE

[2:04] Jaz shares one of her “Impostor Syndrome” stories.

[6:22] There are two buckets: evidence and data in one, and thoughts and feelings in the other.

[7:08] It becomes a habit to think you don’t belong, and from there the thought can become a feeling.

[9:39] Dane shares the story of Dan Allender to illustrate how it’s possible to shift perspective from being a victim to owning your story

[12:21] Jaz recounts an awkward moment that resulted in her being put on the spot to tell the story of the origin of her name.

[26:23] Jaz continues telling the story of her name, and how she met her husband, Al.

[32:27] Jaz’s story comes full-circle back to the first incident mentioned, while weaving in the meaning of “jazz” as being the music produced by the suffering and hope of enslaved people.

[36:24] Jaz recaps her message, “Your one job is to stand on the truth about yourself when it comes to who you are and where you belong. People want to pull you one way or another, but it’s your story. Your one job is to believe that you belong.”