Lean In
“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” — Marcus Aurelius
The guy in the blue shirt was floating down the river.
A few seconds earlier his raft failed to LEAN IN.
He flew into the water.
Now he was waiting to be rescued.
One of the highlights of our summer was a white water rafting trip we took with a group of friends.
Before we got anywhere near the rapids, a man wearing a grizzly bear helmet stood before our group and laid down the law.
He told us there were RULES TO THE RAPIDS.
Rule #1 was to LEAN IN.
Our guide told us when our raft was heading straight for a BIG ROCK, don’t back down.
Take the obstacle head on.
Everyone in the boat had to LEAN IN to the collision.
When you LEAN IN, your raft has a strong center of gravity.
You bounce off the rock.
After the initial jolt, your MOMENTUM will take you around the obstacle and towards your destination.
He told us our rafts (like our lives) are built for these collisions.
If we back away, our raft would be off balance.
The obstacle would FLIP our raft over.
The look on that guy’s face floating down the river said that’s not the place to be.
LEANING IN is a principle we can apply to our lives.
When an OBSTACLE gets in our way, don’t back down.
Attack it.
Be glad that it showed up.
Obstacles are amazing opportunities to show everyone what we are made of.
Obstacles are there to keep the AMATEURS out.
CHANGE and OBSTACLES will never stop showing up.
If we fail to LEAN IN, we might end up in a bad place.
How we handle OBSTACLES will determine the direction of our life.
Sheryl Sandberg wrote, “We hold ourselves back in ways both big and small, by pulling back when we should be LEANING IN.”
Problems will come at us from all directions.
When life throws BIG ROCKS…
#LeanIn
-Joe Ciccarone
