"Character," quotes a truly respectable man, now deceased, "is the capacity to continue on in an intended path, long after the original motivation is gone." I always loved that definition of character by Cavett Robert and I truly miss the Thursday morning meetings where he would quote that from time to time. It is not surprising that the founder of the National Speakers Association would create memorable quotes with poignant meaning, but it is surprising that it took me so long to figure out he was really referring to discipline.
Another quote, far more mangled that relates to the fundamental drive of all people goes something like this, "Freedom comes from Margin, (resource excess in time, & money) Margin comes from Work, and Work comes from Discipline." This one came from Cal Jernigan whom you have little reason to know unless you attend Central Christian Church in Mesa, AZ. There, Cal is the Senior Pastor and speaks of stuff like this on a regular basis
I know we all know this is true in some recess of our mind and I am pretty certain we all want that discipline, especially when we don't have the freedom we might have thought we should by now. What I am struggling to figure out is why it is so darn hard to stay engaged in the original effort deep into some new means of getting the freedom we want.
I believe the answer lies in Love. I can get there because I can see pieces of it from the outside. In many ways this love/discipline connection is reminiscent of Einstein's explanation of quantum physics. "like looking at a watch on the outside we can speculate how it works inside, but because we can't really see it, we don't really know."
I think I'll explore this more tomorrow and how it applies to our world of sales but for today, I have to get out the door to a clients office. It's 90 degrees out already, climbing to a hundred and infernal, I would rather be at the pool, the beach or the forest, middle of summer, icky and I don't wanna go. Unfortunately, Cavett is whispering in my ear again, and off I go.
See you tomorrow.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael D Goodman
Recent Comments