I attended the 16th annual Out & Equal Workplace Summit at Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco, California. There were more than 3,000 attendees from 30 different countries. Billie Jean King spoke at the brunch plenary on election day, Nov. 4. Here are 10 things I learned about Billie Jean King:
1. Billie Jean's brother, Randy Moffitt, played for the San Francisco Giants.
2. She was brought up in Long Beach, California.
3. Elton John wrote the song "Philadelphia Freedom" about her.
4. She described herself as a "public park rat" who didn't start playing tennis until she was 11 years old and in the fifth grade.
5. At age 12, after playing tennis for one year, she had an epiphany and realized that everything in tennis was literally white. She wanted to know, "Where is everybody else?"
6. She knew that tennis would be her platform and cultivated three values that people who have inner and outer success need: "One, relationships are everything; two, never stop learning, and learning how to learn; and three, be a problem solver."
7. After being outed in 1981, she was involved in the first trial requesting "galimony."
8. She says that she didn't feel comfortable in her own skin until just 20 years ago, when she was 51.
9. She doesn't think life is a marathon but "a series of sprints and breaks."
10. She encouraged all to be active listeners, telling us we are influencers and should "be alert" and adding that we need more inclusion, not just diversity.
Peace, love, compassion, and blessings.