Today, we hear from Caroline Paul about the importance of being brave. Caroline should know…She's climbed the Golden Gate Bridge, gotten into Guinness World Records for crawling and trained for the Olympic luge team. In 1989, Caroline was one of the first female firefighters in San Francisco—1 of 15 women out of a crew of 1,500. For thirteen years, every day on the job was an adventure. She published a memoir about her experience, and later wrote The Gutsy Girl and You Are Mighty, a practical guide for young activists.

This is episode 2 from a special segment for Women’s History Month about how we can build a more feminist future....and take care of ourselves and each other when the work is daunting. Find more trailblazers in our new book, It’s a Good Day to Change the World.

TRANSCRIPT

Lauren Schiller: What does it take to build a more equal, just, and joyful world? And how do we sustain ourselves when the work is daunting?

I’m Lauren Schiller, creator of Inflection Point and coauthor of the new book IT’S A GOOD DAY TO CHANGE THE WORLD.

We’re bringing you a special segment every week of women’s history month, about how we can build a more feminist future....and take care of yourself and each other along the way.

Today, we hear from Caroline Paul about the importance of being brave. Caroline should know…

She's climbed the Golden Gate Bridge, gotten into Guinness World Records for crawling and trained for the Olympic luge team. In 1989, Caroline was one of the first female firefighters in San Francisco—1 of 15 women out of a crew of 1,500.

For over thirteen years, every day on the job was an adventure. She published a memoir about her experience, and later wrote The Gutsy Girl and You Are Mighty, a practical guide for young activists

Caroline Paul: I was a kid that was really shy, and I was scared of a lot of things, but I had a twin sister who was very outgoing and very social, so she was my buffer for a long time. I also read a lot of books about adventure. And adventure taught me a lot about how to manage fear. Though It wasn’t until recently that I realized I should be crediting my mother for my adventurous lifestyle because she told me very recently that in fact she had grown up with a very fearful mother. And then, at twenty-one, she went on a ski trip with friends, and it was a revelation. She had so much fun and she realized everything she’d been missing because her mom had kept her and her sister from doing things like that. She didn’t want that for us. So she encouraged us to do everything; even though she wasn't an outdoors person she wanted us to find what we wanted to do.

I never thought I would be a firefighter when I was growing up. I didn't have those dreams. There were no role models for girls.

But when I was in my twenties, I was a volunteer at KPFA. And I was doing the morning news. And all these stories were coming over my desk about the racism and sexism in the San Francisco fire department. So I thought, Oh, maybe I'll go get an undercover story.

And I'll pretend I'm interested in being a firefighter and take the test. And to my surprise, I got in. And by then I was really quite intrigued with the fire department, it seemed like it would fit my personality. It was an adventurous life.

So I became a firefighter and I loved it.

Lauren Schiller: Here are some of Caroline Paul's tools to change the world

Notice your own gender biases

Caroline Paul: If you have a daughter and a son, notice how you're raising them differently when it comes to challenges, especially physical challenges. And then once you notice, really ask yourself, Are you protecting her when you simply caution her and instill this idea of fear. The way to protect them is to give them guidance on how to deal with danger and deal with situations outside their comfort zone.

Lauren Schiller: Next, Embrace exhilaration

Caroline Paul: the thing about fear is that it actually feels a lot like excitement physiologically. You might be getting jittery and flushed and your heart's racing and you think that's fear. In fact, it's exhilaration and you're deciding not to do something and missing out on a lot of fun. I really want girls and women to start training and bravery because it is something that's learned.

Lauren Schiller: Be gutsy

Caroline Paul: you have to come from a place of bravery where you're actually looking at your skills, looking at the situation, and looking at your fear. Fear is good. It keeps you safe. I'm not against fear. I'm just pro gutsy.

Lauren Schiller: And finally, how do we sustain ourselves when the work is daunting? Caroline’s advice: Have an adventure

Caroline Paul: I used to go all around the world, having adventures I've been to Siberia and Borneo and Australia. I just I've been a lot of places. And then a friend of mine said, you know, Caroline, the best wilderness is in the United States. And he was right. You can have adventures really close to home. I think that an adventure is when you get outside your comfort zone and you're also having fun.

Lauren Schiller: Find more of Caroline Paul's story, along with more trailblazers and their tools— in It’s a Good Day to Change the World....our new book based on INFLECTION POINT INTERVIEWS CALLED. You can find it wherever you get your books. Learn more at inflectionpointradio.org.

This series was produced in collaboration with K A L W. Our executive producer is David Boyer. Our impact producer and my co-author is Hadley Dynak.

I'm Lauren Schiller.