Month: December 2020

We all know someone who we consider courageous in our eyes.

Yet, none of these people have jumped out of a helicopter that was about to explode.

We equate courage to these daring acts but the concrete examples in our lives usually evolve around someone who decided to stand up and stand out. To push back on the status quo. Who bent the boundaries of what we thought was possible. Who dared greatly.

Courage could be putting your life on the line but it can also be putting ourselves out there for everyone to see, and yes, be susceptible to criticism.

Which means each of us have the opportunity to be courageous.

On paper everything may look perfect.

You could have the perfect plan and the perfect funding, the perfect timing…

But you still don’t know if something will work.

As sports commentators have said for many years, “That’s why you play the game.”

Because sure things are never for sure.

Skiing in the Wasatch has taught me many things.

The lesson I am constantly reminded of:

Walk another hour and you can find something worth skiing.

Not always of course.

And it seems as though our options often improve if we don’t just take the first thing that is given to us.

They say that it is okay to make mistakes.

Mistakes are how we learn.

But I think we need to make an important distinction here.

Too often, we repeat old mistakes without learning from them.

The alternative is to make a new mistake.

A new mistake because we are trying something for the first time.

A new mistake because this is uncharted territory.

Quite often, I have to remind our students that if you are going to tie in and climb, you are expected to make an effort.

You can’t just magically float up the wall without it.

And it goes without saying, if you are going to give a presentation, take a test, show up for work…you should be giving effort.

With any challenge, you have to match it with effort in order to get over the top.

When you think about it, would you ever try walking if you were scared of falling?

Not likely.

Fear comes with the over analysis of consequences.

When we stare at a blank canvas, we hesitate. Because be build a lot of tension on trying to decide where we want to draw our first line.

As we move forward, tension continues to build. If I mess up now, “look at all the work I have wasted.”

In our mind’s eye, it’s a house of cards. We have a picture of what it is we want this to look like. At the same, every brush stroke is a chance to mess this up.

The good news is there are lots of places to begin and a lot of ways to get to where it is you want to go. And you probably won’t take the path you set out to do.

The other good news? Paint and canvases are cheap. And so is your time and effort when you are perfecting your craft.

Often times I sit down to write a blog and I don’t know what it is I want to say.

That isn’t true though.

The reality is I don’t know where to start.

I have plenty to say about most things (like most people).

I just need to pick a place to begin.

What happens when we put a border around something? We are declaring it as property. Which means someone owns it and everyone else doesn’t.

One of the most powerful statements I’ve ever read is from Raj and Ben Zander is that all labels are a human invention.

Labels drive narratives. If one label is not working we can drop it and pick a new one. But too often, we stick with binaries. Us versus them.

Most labels are silly if we think about it. I mean when you cross one ocean to another, does anything really change? The only thing that changes is the story we are telling ourselves: the laws of these waters, the location, the corners waiting to be discovered…but in the end it’s still salt water.

Borders are a social constructs that have been fought over and over again. I’m not arguing the morality or ethics of protecting borders. What I want to point out is that we turn the system into a game. We track it with economies. We track it with military power.

All moves to raise our status.

Ironic that we are still defending traditions established hundreds of years ago. Indeed, the status quo is stronger than we believe.

I’m 34 years old now.

Still young.

I am at least old enough to look back and see where I was sitting when I found about September 11th. I remember the Great Recession. And now, you have COVID-19, the era of fake news and civil justice reform.

I’ve heard from others that this generation has been robbed because of the decisions people made decades ago.

While it may be true to some degree, I think we are focusing on the wrong measures.

Less than 100 years ago, you had the Spanish Flu, World Wars and the Great Depression. A generation after that had the civil unrest, the Vietnam war and the draft, and yes, a recession.

I wouldn’t trade the problems of the past for the problems of today. Not in a second.

The world is the safest it has ever been. Technology is pushes us forward bringing solutions to problems we could never solve on our own. Capitalism has lifted more out of poverty than ever before.

The problems we face ahead are hard. There is no doubt. But all problems have a solution. Otherwise, we would be faced with a situation. A situation we couldn’t change.

From what I hear from those that have traveled around the sun many more times than I have, “We have seen things like this before.” Perhaps not these exact problems but the kind of problems that felt like the end of the world was near.

It’s easy to forget that these type of problems, the kind you can’t see the beginning or end anymore, they are temporary.

All of this is temporary.

How you feel–it can change tomorrow too.