A Gang for Good
In 1986, Dolores Mission Church was notable only in all the ways a parish wouldn’t want to be notable. They were the poorest Catholic church in Los Angeles. They included some of the most impoverished neighborhoods in the state. And they had some of the highest gang activity in the world. That is, until Father Gregory Boyle became the pastor and redirected the social fabric of the gang to use them for good.
To understand this, we need to go deeper than the switch blades, cut glass and bandanas to look at the inner workings of how gangs operate. Many gangs have a no-nonsense approach to getting things done. An approach that works for gangs, but also just as well for just about anything:
They’re brutally honest.
They tend to be very direct in communications.
And they’ll even tell you things that you might not want to hear.
I’m not suggesting that anyone do anything illegal or unlawful here, but that commitment to the cause is exactly why the third step of the #NoMatterWhat system is to build a Street Gang. As popular as asking for hard feedback is easy to say, it’s also quite easy to forget about, skip or let it drop because it doesn’t feel good. However, having people around you that hold you accountable makes you better.
Father Greg knew that. And where the world saw criminals and poverty, he saw people with the skills to empower each other. They had the raw dedication, commitment and support of each other, it was just being used for the wrong things.
We’ve all heard the saying that you become the average of the top 5 people you spend time with. As such social creatures, yes, even you introverts, we can’t help but adopt some of the motivation, ideas and perspectives that those around us have. Look for yourself right now, are the people around you challenging you to be better? Do more? Achieve the things that you’ve always wanted to do? Or… are they placating all the reasons you have for not taking things to the next level?
When we have people around us holding us to a higher standard, we can realize things that today might seem impossible or unlikely. Father Greg’s goal was certainly unlikely. His intention was to have gang members hold each other to higher standards for good. And what started as a small single bakery, Homeboy Industries, has exploded to become over a dozen social enterprises from job training, to recycling, from social services to grocery stores. And has evolved into the largest gang intervention, rehab and re-entry program in the world.
Asking for brutally honest, direct communication and higher accountability doesn’t just work for turning gangs towards good in Los Angeles. It works for all of us. And this week I have a challenge for you. Each day for the next 5 days, identify someone you want (or maybe already have) in your very own Street Gang. Once you identify them, let them know that you depend on them to hold you to a higher standard. You want their commitment to your success (not just a commitment to your reasons, excuses or self-doubts). If you’re brave enough, I invite you to share what you’re getting out of some of those conversations in the #NoMatterWhat Community of Facebook.
This one exercise alone will start to take your results to the next level. Why? Because now you have people watching that are committed to you. Father Greg used the power of the street gang to transform the neighborhood and serve as a model to help neighborhoods like it all over the world. He took some of the worst circumstances and turned it into something great. You can do the same no matter how successful you already are. Who you choose to be in your Street Gang could be anyone… friends, family, mentors or co-workers… just so long as they’re committed to your growth. When you have people committed to your growth you can realize potential that maybe you don’t even see in yourself.