“Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul.”
– General Douglas MacArthur (1880 – 1964), Five-Star General and Chief of Staff during World War II; United States Army
Today, and most days, we’ll be faced with a choice. See it through, or quit. Believe in the process, or abandon it for the status quo, the comfortable, the thing that we always did before we knew we needed to do something different.
Today, and most days, the choice will be easy, but it will seem very, very difficult.
A wrinkled soul makes for a regretful future. Count me out.
One of the founding principles of The Heston Group is that “change will only occur when the fear of change is overcome by the pain of remaining the same.” Today, and most days, when we’re faced with the choice to quit, or to see it through, it will be easy to mistake the fear for the pain. They’re not the same thing.
Fear is a lie. It is a tool of the enemy to draw us away from the Truth and the Light.
So, today, and most days, when faced with the choice, and when the fear feels a lot like the pain, remember, the pain is what led us to change. See it through. Unless new information has presented itself that fundamentally changes the game, see it through.
Ironically, but not coincidentally (’cause there ain’t no coincidences…) this is Jimmy V Week, in honor of Coach Jimmy “V” Valvano, who bravely fought cancer back in the early 90’s at the peak of his popularity as a college basketball coach. Even when Coach V knew the outcome he chose to see it through. “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up!” he bravely admonished millions of viewers in a speech on ESPN’s Espy Awards.
Nearly $300 million dollars has been raised by people who took Coach V at his word, and who haven’t given up. By people who chose, and still choose to see it through.
Today, and most days, Lord willing, we won’t be battling cancer. Lives won’t be at risk, nor will people lose limbs over our business decisions. We’ll still be faced with choices, though. And, when we’re embarked on a mission towards meaningful, difference-making change, will we see it through, or will we quit?
Difference makers see it through, never mistaking the fear for the pain, and relentlessly seeking a better way forward.
Leave a Reply