So, I went on vacation. Turned off my phone for several days and enjoyed the majesty that is the Mammoth Lakes region of California. I caught some fish, shot some guns, taught my boys how to fish and shoot, and generally had a fantastic time. Before I left, I set up my projects so that very tangible things could occur while I was gone.
None of that happened.
It appears that each of the projects went into a magical vacation time warp and they look no different than the day I left. How and Why does that happen? I always tell my staff and coworkers to plan for the worst and hope for the best. I remind them that none of us is irreplaceable or an island. If one of us is killed by a bus tomorrow, we had all better be able to pick up the pieces and keep moving forward. And yet, I dropped off the face of the earth for a few days and nothing happened. No decisions were made, no conflicts resolved...for that matter, no conflicts developed.
It seems to me this has become a common problem of our society. We don't take initiative. We don't step out of our box to move the machine forward or to help another member. While at McDonald's the other day, I noticed a napkin on the floor adjacent to the soda machine. I decided I would wait and see what happened. To my chagrin, nothing happened. Not one person bent over to pick it up or kicked it out of the way. In fact, several people stepped right over it in a very conscious way.
We must change this current. We must teach our children to take the initiative, to pick up the napkin, to stir things up. If we don't, the latest debacle of debt negotiation and market collapse will only deepen and become persistent.
GOD gave us this world to glorify him...are you going to do that? Or, are you going to step over the napkin.
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