Friday, February 06, 2009
Things are Not as They Seem
My wife and I watched a favorite movie of ours the other night, "Jerry Maguire."
The economic conditions and the pain they currently cause many (of whom I am no exception) had me thinking of a favorite quote from the movie.
The scene has sports agent Jerry Maguire talking to his last remaining client, football player Rod Tidwell, about contract negotiations.
Maguire pleads with Tidwell to stop hindering the negotiations with his chip-on-the-shoulder attitude. Tidwell just laughs. He wants the negotiations to succeed, but he refuses to "dance," as he puts it, to get what he wants by playing politics.
The conversation grows more heated. Finally, Maguire storms out. Tidwell calls after him, "That's the difference between you and me. You think we're fighting; I think we're finally talking."
As the movie progresses, the two men become close friends, possible only because they finally cleared the air and started talking to each other honestly and fearlessly.
That quote is on my mind lately because of the level of economic fears going around. I think there's a message for our current situation in that quote, "You think we're fighting; I think we're finally talking."
A lot of people look at their hardship right now and see only the fighting, the struggling, the pain.
But there's more to it than meets the eye. In this pain are seeds of tremendous potential growth. In this pain is the motivation to make changes.
Perhaps the initial steps toward change are just an instinctual movement to avoid pain. But those steps get us moving.
Most people will go no further than stepping out of the direct path of that pain. They'll stop just barely outside its grasp.
Most people will continue to live their lives right on that border of pain, just far enough outside to USUALLY not be affected by it, but ALWAYS close enough to easily slide right back into it.
A few others will use those first steps -- taken purely to avoid the pain -- and turn them into momentum that will bring true change to their lives.
May any pain you're experiencing now from the economy serve that purpose for you. May that pain spur you to seek something better than you had before.
May it lead to use those steps you take to sidestep that pain and turn them into momentum that motivates you well beyond its borders. May what seems like fighting with disaster be a start of a new conversation with success.
If history of past economic downturns is any indication, there will be some people for whom leaning over the edge of the precipice will become the motivation that leads them to greater success than they had ever had before.
The question is, will you be one of those people who makes that decision?
Jeff
My wife and I watched a favorite movie of ours the other night, "Jerry Maguire."
The economic conditions and the pain they currently cause many (of whom I am no exception) had me thinking of a favorite quote from the movie.
The scene has sports agent Jerry Maguire talking to his last remaining client, football player Rod Tidwell, about contract negotiations.
Maguire pleads with Tidwell to stop hindering the negotiations with his chip-on-the-shoulder attitude. Tidwell just laughs. He wants the negotiations to succeed, but he refuses to "dance," as he puts it, to get what he wants by playing politics.
The conversation grows more heated. Finally, Maguire storms out. Tidwell calls after him, "That's the difference between you and me. You think we're fighting; I think we're finally talking."
As the movie progresses, the two men become close friends, possible only because they finally cleared the air and started talking to each other honestly and fearlessly.
That quote is on my mind lately because of the level of economic fears going around. I think there's a message for our current situation in that quote, "You think we're fighting; I think we're finally talking."
A lot of people look at their hardship right now and see only the fighting, the struggling, the pain.
But there's more to it than meets the eye. In this pain are seeds of tremendous potential growth. In this pain is the motivation to make changes.
Perhaps the initial steps toward change are just an instinctual movement to avoid pain. But those steps get us moving.
Most people will go no further than stepping out of the direct path of that pain. They'll stop just barely outside its grasp.
Most people will continue to live their lives right on that border of pain, just far enough outside to USUALLY not be affected by it, but ALWAYS close enough to easily slide right back into it.
A few others will use those first steps -- taken purely to avoid the pain -- and turn them into momentum that will bring true change to their lives.
May any pain you're experiencing now from the economy serve that purpose for you. May that pain spur you to seek something better than you had before.
May it lead to use those steps you take to sidestep that pain and turn them into momentum that motivates you well beyond its borders. May what seems like fighting with disaster be a start of a new conversation with success.
If history of past economic downturns is any indication, there will be some people for whom leaning over the edge of the precipice will become the motivation that leads them to greater success than they had ever had before.
The question is, will you be one of those people who makes that decision?
Jeff
ADD TO YOUR SOCIAL BOOKMARKS:
Blink
Del.icio.us
Digg
Furl
Google
Simpy
Spurl
Y! MyWeb
BlinkDel.icio.usDiggFurlGoogleSimpySpurlY! MyWebLabels: mindset
Comments:
Post a Comment
© 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Jeff Baas, One Stop Web Support
