Kennedy and Kierkegaard
I was a rotten student in college. If I wasn't interested--and I mean seriously interested--in the subject matter I discounted it as not worthy of my time. And you know something, half of the time I think I was right--though that didn't help my GPA. :) I was also preoccupied with trying to impress my girlfriend--the now Mrs. Peterson--but that's a story for a different day...
What I LOVED studying was the material related to my degree: Communication, specifically, rhetorical analysis. The field of rhetoric deals with how people use language to achieve a result: in relationships, in religion, to the masses, etc. As part of our course work we would analyze speeches and works or rhetoric throughout history, but few orators were ever as inspiring as John F. Kennedy.
In his famous 1962 speech at Rice University he said something that gripped the nation and inspired them to something extraordinary: "We choose to go to the moon." Now, I was born in 1985 so I only feel a fraction of what this statement meant to the audience at the time, but I can get a sense of it. He didn't know how they would do it, only that they had to do it. He said we're going to change human history, and also "do the other things. Not because they are easy, but because they are hard." I get fired up just typing this.
Here is how this speaks to me.
The challenge is not really in the act itself, it's in choosing to be the one who takes on the challenge at all. "We CHOOSE to go to the moon." The only thing more extraordinary than the outcome of this statement...is actually making this statement. Someone actually said this-- outloud--and people believed in it. Choosing to be a people who believe in themselves so much that they will go to the freakin' moon and plant a flag on an orbital rock...is nothing short of amazing. But I'll tell you this, I would rather have been at Rice University in 1962 than on the moon in 1969. The courage to reach for something, even when you don't know how to achieve it, speaks to my soul. Who do I choose to be? Who do I choose to become? This reminds me of the wisdom of James Clear: Stop planning goals around results. Focus on who you want to be--who you want to become--and carve a strategic plan to become that person. The results will follow. What will you choose....in your business, your family, your life? Who will you become....in your business, your family, your life? Answer these questions first, then learn how to build a rocket to take you there.
THE SHORT OF IT:
"It always turns out that the party that is not your ally calls for your neutrality, while your (true) ally asks that you declare yourself by action."--Niccolo M.
Though this quote is about external influencers, it is never truer than when these two parties speak in your own head: one voice that calls for you to stand down--for your neutrality; and another that drives you to action because of your passion for your work, and the people you serve. A “leap of faith” as Kierkegaard said, is terrifying; but not as terrifying as the alternative—nothing. Personal and professional comparison will rob you of your joy, and paralyze your intentions. You can be your own worst enemy, or your strongest ally.
Silence the negativity; Declare yourself by action. Stop scrolling, Start creating.
Who will you choose to be?
