My Tribute to Dolly Parton
Today, Dolly Parton passed away. Ironically, this was the shirt I was wearing when I heard the news.
One of the things I admired so much about Dolly was that she really was the queen of turning lemons into lemonade.
Dolly didn't have an easy life. She was born into extreme poverty in rural Tennessee, one of 12 children growing up in a tiny cabin in the Smoky Mountains. Money was scarce. The family lived without many of the things most of us take for granted.
And yet, somehow, that little girl with an enormous dream went on to become one of the most successful and beloved country music artists of all time.
She wrote songs that became part of people's lives. Built businesses. Created opportunities for others. Gave millions of books to children through her Imagination Library. And never seemed to forget where she came from.
Her life wasn't without heartbreak after she became famous, either. She recently lost Carl Dean, her husband of nearly 60 years. She faced health challenges that forced her to step away from appearances and cancel commitments.
She knew grief. Loss. Disappointment. Hardship. And still, Dolly kept showing up with this incredible ability to find the light.
And I don't believe that was naïveté or pretending hard things weren't hard. I think it was a choice she made, over and over again, about the kind of person she wanted to be in the world.
There is something in that for all of us — and particularly for those of us who lead. Leaders don't get to choose every circumstance that lands in front of them.
We don't get to eliminate uncertainty, disappointment, pressure, loss or change. But we do have some choice in what we bring into the room.
Our energy matters. Our perspective matters. The way we make people feel when things are difficult matters.
That doesn't mean toxic positivity. It doesn't mean ignoring reality or pretending everything is fine. It means being able to acknowledge what is hard without allowing the hard things to determine who we become.
In a world that can feel incredibly heavy at times, Dolly Parton was a beacon of something lighter. Joy. Humour. Generosity. Hope.
And I imagine there were many days when carrying that light wasn't nearly as effortless as she made it look.
What an extraordinary legacy. Rest peacefully, Dolly. Thank you for the music, the laughter, the generosity, the wisdom — and for reminding us, right until the end, that even when we can't choose what happens to us, we can still choose how we show up.
Keep thinking on the bright side. RIP, Dolly
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