Butterflies and Rainbows are Deadlier than the Plague
Editor’s Note: This post isn’t really business, which is why I’m publishing it on Monday on a day/time outside my regular schedule. If this isn’t your thing, come back tomorrow for some great business discussion.
“I came here to say that I do not recognize anyone’s right to one minute of my life. Nor to any part of my energy. Nor to any achievement of mine. No matter who makes the claim, how large their number or how great their need. I wished to come here and say that I am a man who does not exist for others. It had to be said. The world is perishing from an orgy of self-sacrificing.
I wished to come here and say that the integrity of a man’s creative work is of greater importance than any charitable endeavor. Those of you who do not understand this are the men who’re destroying the world.”
I’m not going to make any friends with this post. I’ll probably lose subscribers and Twitter followers, and I’m OK with that. The minute we start filtering what we say in order to become less hated and more well-liked is the minute we become politicians…and who is really loathed more than politicians are (including self-loathing)?
What I’ve come to talk about today is the pervasive thought plague that seems to be spreading throughout the net…the one I like to call the Rainbow Virus.
Here are the signs:
1. Belief that the world will become a better place if we sit around the campfire and sing Kumbaya
2. Belief that talk is good enough.
3. Excessive happy go lucky kind of talk…feel good stuff that gets you high.
4. Seeing self effacement as the pinnacle of personal achievement.
5. Rebellion as the goal and not as a means of accomplishing anything except being rebellious.
6. A refusal to accept differences and instead, wishing that everyone was the same.
7. Regarding self-expression as the highest form of virtue.
8. Not realizing that if you rock the boat long enough, that it’s going to tip over and that when it does, you better be ready to swim.
9. Bringing people down in order to bring others up (Toohey anyone?)
10. Change for the sake of change.
Remember the quote from Edward Norton’s character in Fight Club? “Self improvement is masturbation.” Couldn’t be more spot on. Sitting around talking about butterflies and rainbows makes us all feel good, but it doesn’t accomplish anything, well…unless the goal is to distract from the accomplishing itself.
Here’s my attempt at the cure:
1. These people are kind of like the people that badmouth soldiers. They have the ability to do that because there are others out there taking action, while they sit around the campfire and badmouth the rest of the world.
2. Don’t tell me what you think the problems are…tell me what you’re going to do about them. Don’t tell me what you’re going to do…bloody do it.
3. Feeling good is good, but you’ve got to use that goodness to your advantage. It’s really easy to talk a big game, but where’s the call to action?
The only thing achieved from watching Oprah on the DVR is that Oprah’s net worth increases and you’ve wasted valuable time.
4. You are perfect the way you are. Don’t beat yourself up for failing or for making mistakes. You’re born with what you’re given…accept it and use it.
Don’t ever apologize for who you are, regardless of whether you agree with me or not. I have much more respect for confidence than I do for meekness.
5. You’re a non-conformist…great…now what? What are you rebelling against? Why are you rebelling?
Every generation has a set of people that become rebels. We all think we’re the first, but sadly, we’re not.
Don’t rebel for the sake of rebellion, instead, find something that you don’t like and fix it. You’ve built an army of devotees, now take them to battle!
Idle armies are extremely dangerous, especially during times of peace. Don’t build an army unless you absolutely need to.
Rebellion isn’t a brand. What happens when your rebellion becomes normal?
6. Similar to #4. Men and women are different, it’s a fact. This blog is heavily male-centric, well…unless you’re an Ayn Rand fan. Is it because I don’t like women or have too much testosterone?
Nope.
It’s because I’m a man and that’s the only way I know how to be. I’d love to have a woman write her side of the coin (that’s an open invitation), but I’m not Tootsie.
“isms” exist to show us which side of the fence we belong on. As long as there are humans, there will always be fences. Not because we’re flawed, not because the classists and elitists are holding people down, but because others won’t step up. It’s easier to call names than to make change.
7. This is a side effect of the psychology society. “My contribution doesn’t matter as long as I’m being me.” “If you don’t like me the way I am, then that’s your problem.”
Bullshit
There’s a difference between playing the cards you’re dealt and not engaging in any sort of self-examination. Maybe you really are being an ass.
Maybe you are being selfish. Maybe you are being short sighted.
I admit quite freely that I’m an ass and that sometimes I need to tone it down. Sometimes I go too far, and even though I hate hearing it…I have to look at myself and see where it’s coming from.
When my wife comes to me with a complaint, I can either ignore it and risk losing the relationship, or I can take a look and see how I can change without compromising my ideals. No one ever said you have to compromise your integrity (we’ll get to that in a minute) in order to get along with other people.
8. What happens when your revolution works? Are you ready to lead?
9. The expression goes like this: “Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.”
Just because everyone else is cutting their noses off doesn’t mean you have to do the same. There are some that see it as their moral imperative to bring others down so that they can lift others up. This is a result of the blame and/or welfare society.
Instead of looking to others to blame, why not look at yourself for a solution? As Steven Pressfield cleverly points out in his great book, the War of Art, people do this because they can’t face down their own resistance. It makes them mad that you have.
The opening quote of this post is from Ayn Rand’s character Howard Roark in the Fountainhead. He’s on trial for maintaining his integrity…the integrity of his work, his belief, and his mission. He refused to cut his nose off to please others. In his world, it’s not his job to sacrifice himself in order to come down to your level. It’s your job to bring yourself up to his level.
10. Don’t fix what isn’t broken.
Some systems work well. Don’t change them just because you can. However, if you run a platform based on change, you better deliver it. Instead of wasting energy on needless change…why not spend it creating something new?
So many people start off this way, talking about how they are going to be different marketers, but in the end, they wind up getting sucked in to the same trap as everyone else. “I’m different, I’m going to change the world!” (as soon as I’m done chasing easy money by selling the same thing that everyone else is, but packaged in a different way).
Your Empire at Risk
You don’t build an empire by sacrificing who you are or who you want to become. You don’t build an empire by talking about things…you build it through action. The people that are making change are the people that are taking action so that they have the power to make the change.
The difference between people like John Lennon, Mother Theresa, or Gandhi and everyone else is that the former actually got off their ass and did something. They actually lived their dharma…they didn’t just talk about it.
My question to you is:
“Do you have the courage to live your dharma, or are you just here to talk about it?”
Final Note: This post was not written in response to any single blog, post, or idea, but rather, is a collection of ideas gathered over time from my travels across the web. Take it for what it’s worth.
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