Kay:

Hey there, Questers! Welcome back. Today’s Monday, September 28th, and we are here today to pay remembrance to the one and only Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Shi:

RBG! She told us, “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”

Kay:

Now, in case you’ve been living underneath a rock for the last couple of weeks, you might have missed the news that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has passed away – our dear Supreme Court Justice, who served for 27 years. She was inducted into the Women’s International Hall of Fame, and she was one of Time’s list of “100 Most Powerful Women” from 2004 to 2011.

Shi:

Also nicknamed the Notorious-

Kay & Shi:

RBG.

Shi:

She was a fighter for women’s rights, for equality, for lots of really amazing social advancements, and we all owe quite a bit to her. If you’re a lady and you have a credit card or have purchased a property or a myriad of other actions, you can directly thank RBG for being part of that and bringing it forward. But she clearly lived by this quote, otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to do that.

Kay:

Crazy to think that she started 27 years ago – which means 1993 – which means that I was even born in a day in age when a woman wasn’t able to get a credit card without the signature of a man. It’s hard to believe that this kind of stuff happened. Really, just within these last three or four decades, she fought for those verdicts as a lawyer prior to joining the Supreme Court. And so, it’s really been incredible to see somebody out there “walking the talk” – if you will. I think this quote really leads to that – if you’re going to be out there telling people, “you’ve got to fight for others,” you have to be socially minded yourself. You have to lead that way and act that way as well if you want the right kind of people to follow you.

Shi:

Well, in kind of a lighthearted tribute to this quote, “Fight for the things you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” One of my favorite memories of RBG is when she was on Steven Colbert’s The Late Show two years ago. So, as an 85 year old woman, Colbert did a workout routine with her. And she was extremely committed to her workout routine, and kind of famously worked out pretty much up until she got too sick to do it. And so, this little tiny Jewish, 85 year old, was there putting it to the floor on Colbert. Like, he was having a hard time and breaking a sweat, but she got him to join her by being so committed and so welcoming and so loving and I think that’s just a fun example of how she really brought others along to make a difference.

Kay:

What’s so fun about that workout is that it went on to become totally viral as the RBG workout routine, (just go Google it!), and that was totally born from that moment with Stephen Colbert. And people started asking her, “What do you do? What’s this about and how are you so strong?” Which is really incredible. From the gym to the court, she was just a statement and an icon in and of herself. And one of the things that I love is that she even inspired a fashion trend. She famously was given a collar by a group of lawyer colleagues of hers, (a justice’s collar), that was a statement piece and it was just amazing. Usually it’s just the black and the white, right? But it was lace and it was gorgeous, and so she wore it to this big verdict. And then, after that, statement collars came back into fashion after they had been out for years and years in the early 2000’s. So, from fashion icon to fitness icon: RBG!

Shi:

Really talking about the major accomplishments here on The Mentorship Quest. But then, when we come back to this quote, “Fight for the things that you care about,” this really insinuates the fact that – by the time you care about something – something else is probably coming into opposition of it, or threatening it. Which means that inclination to fight, and – for most of us – fight to win, comes in as well. Which means you’ll fight dirty, you’ll fight hard, you’ll fight in whatever it takes to win, but doing that when it comes to social issues or when it comes to finding harmony in a relationship or a myriad of other things that we want to accomplish, can actually end up hiring the cause, And so, doing the fighting in a strategic way that allows others to join us and not be opposed to us is how we actually advance. And so, I think it’s really taking that kind of just animalistic, “I want to fight for it,” and says, “Yes, AND let’s hone that and do it in such a way that brings others along with us.” But – of course – that’s a lot harder.

Kay:

It is a lot harder, but she got a lot done with this particular mode, and this style of leadership really served her well throughout her entire tenure on the Supreme Court. So rest in peace, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, thank you so much for your decades of service to all of us in this great nation, but especially to us ladies, because you did a lot for us. And so, just a reminder, she says, “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”

Shi:

All right. That brings you to your quest for the day, and, of course, it’s a court quest…I wish I had a gavel! So, for this court quest, we want you to take yourself to court today and make a verdict on your impact. If you were to pass away today, what would be the thing that you would be most remembered for? Time to make a verdict in honor of RBG. Are you ready?

Kay & Shi:

Let’s quest!