Richard Branson on Second Chances

A number of CEOs and prominent individuals in the culture were recently asked what advice they would give their 22 year old selves, if that were possible. Richard Branson, the founder of The Virgin Group, said something very interesting about how we view ourselves and others - and, especially, how we react to the mistakes that other people have made in their lives. He wrote, at his present age of 64:

I am not the person I was 42 years ago. I am not even the person I was two years ago. We all change, we all learn, we all grow. To continually punish somebody for the mistakes they made in the past is not just illogical, it is plain wrong. 

He advises his early self, and any of us who will listen, to be a person who embraces the possibility of change, both in yourself and in others. He says:

We all deserve a second chance. Next time you have the opportunity to give somebody their second chance, don't think twice.

I know I've needed second chances, and sometimes more chances than that. Maybe you have, too. It's good to remember this when we consider our attitudes toward others. When we give people the chance to change and grow and improve, we enable ourselves to benefit from what can result in their lives, so that our mercy, forgiveness, and even embrace of them can enhance our own lives as well as theirs.

Here's to second chances! And more. And to Richard Branson's bit of life wisdom.

What's Holding You Back?

People often find themselves in activities, jobs, and even relationships of various kinds that seem to do nothing but dissipate their energies and drag them down. And even when the negativity is subtle, it can be draining. Life is too short for that, and too important an opportunity. We're here to grow and soar. Struggle is certainly a part of life, as well. And it's often necessary for deep growth. But nothing's worse than unnecessary struggle or a situation that simply confines your spirit and dampens your fire.

If there's something in your life that often brings you down, or that seems like an uphill struggle, or clearly holds you back, it could be a problem you need to tackle and work through. It might indeed be a source for positive growth. Or at some point, you may just have to ask:

Does it feed my spirit?

Does it touch my soul?

Is it an important part of why I'm here?

And:

Can I do some good in this and still be fully who I am?

If the answer in each question isn't a resounding yes, then that might be a touchstone for change, a sign that you need to rethink what you're doing. The world benefits most from flourishing people, and not so much from individuals who are living at odds with who they really are. Sometimes, you need to rethink what you're doing, and shed what holds you back, in order to move closer to the light.

Peaks, Valleys, and Wonder

When times are good, there's often a wonderful but dangerous illusion that things will never change. When times are bad, there's often a cruel and equally dangerous illusion that things will never change.

But things do change. And that can be either a shock or a relief, a source of grief or of joy.

In his recently published memoir, Even This I Get to Experience, my old friend Norman Lear recalls that on his sixtieth birthday, his daughter Kate in a toast described him as someone who "walks through life's peaks and valleys with equal wonder." What a rare and tremendous thing to say, and, really, what an amazing attribute to have.

There are peaks and valleys, aren't there? And the journey we're on now has to involve them both. Try to embrace each with equal wonder and a readiness for whatever comes next.

We live amid mysteries and, in the end, it's all a wonder.

Rational Plans in a CrAzY wOrLd

When schemes are laid in advance, it is surprising how often the circumstances fit in with them.  Sir William Osler (1849-1919)

Have you ever despaired of making plans and setting long term goals in a rapidly changing world? Long ago, I once asked my CPA how I could plan rationally for retirement.  She said “Unfortunately, that’s impossible.” I now have a new accountant. 

That old CPA’s worry was that things change too fast and too unpredictably to allow for reasonable advance planning. But the best plans resiliently anticipate a changing future. The best plans themselves often need to be changed and tweaked in light of what develops, and what we come to discover as we implement them. But it's amazing how often a well thought through and resilient plan will fit in with developments that could never have been anticipated with any degree of specificity or certainty. Osler was right. Circumstances will somehow fit them.

When a good plan is laid out in a rich and complex world, it can indeed sometimes surprise us how well things work out. So don’t hesistate to plan for the future. Just plan to adapt as your plan develops.

Be Like Water

The great Chinese philosophers have had a wonderful and vivid image for how we should deal with times of great change. They ask us to consider the element of water and the image, in particular, of moving water.

Here's the first question they pose: What happens to moving water when it comes across an obstacle? The answer is obvious. It most often goes around the obstacle, or over it, or under it. Running water can radically change its course in order to find a way forward.

Now, let’s consider a second question. It's one that I enjoyed asking my beginning philosophy students at Notre Dame long ago: What’s stronger: water, or stone? Many of my students would just look perplexed and answer without thinking: “How can you even ask that? Surely, stone is stronger. It’s heavy and massive, hard, dense, and solid. It has real substance. And water is just soft and liquid.” Indeed, you can throw a stone into a container of water and displace the liquid instantly, loudly splashing it out. But consider the issue more deeply. Dripping water can wear down a stone. It can cut completely through a heavy, massive object. A torrent of it can roll huge boulders out of the way, or eventually smash them to bits. Because of this, many Chinese philosophers say: Be like water.

Flow toward your chosen destination with the powerful flexibility and harmony of water. This is a trait of life’s most successful people, in every sense of the word. Be flexible, adaptive, and patient in dealing with and defeating, or circumventing, any substantial obstacles that might stand in your path. And by doing this, you can be a confident force for positive action in the world.

As you set goals and move forward, you should be prepared to change in many ways, and yet remain consistently yourself, as the person you essentially are. Consistency at its best involves both flexibility and firmness. Water does what it does because it is what it is.

This powerful image can be extended. Think for a moment about how much water can change in changing circumstances. When the temperature drops enough, this substance can transform from a liquid to a solid. It can also morph from solid to liquid to steam, when someone turns up the heat. And yet, throughout these astonishing transformations, it never abandons its true nature. 

The lesson in this is clear. We should change as circumstances demand, flex to overcome any obstacles in our way, even radically transform what we do and how we do it in order to take full advantage of new opportunities, but, in all things, we must also stay true to who we essentially are. We should always retain our true nature and fundamental character. And that’s fine, because we human beings are essentially flexible and resilient creatures at our core who, while we’re always at our best when we hold firmly to the best changeless ideals and principles, can creatively adjust and adapt as circumstances around us change. That is the form of consistency that counts the most.

To quote the late Kung-Fu expert and former philosophy major, Bruce Lee: "Be like water."

Trust The Process

We have this tendency, most of us, to want things in the world to operate like a classic light switch, on or off. You want to change a bad habit? Cut the switch off. Done. You want a new skill? Click the switch on. You got it.

But, of course, life is mostly about process. As Aristotle realized long ago, we're all in a state of becoming. As we pursue goals, we're engaged in a process of transformation, altering not just the world around us, but ourselves, along the way.

If you want a light switch image for making things happen, try the modern dimmer switch, where you can start seeing positive results with the least little bit of illumination and gradually, over a sweep of effort and time, however brief in this little symbol, increase the results to a blaze of light where you then glow, along with your circumstances.

Almost everything in the world is a process. We're in a hurry for results. But if we're moving in the right direction, there's one thing we need, one thing we often forget. We need to trust the process, however slow or indirect it might seem. We can certainly improve the process, in many cases, and where we can, we should. But in order to be motivated to do even that, we need to trust the process. We need to honor the truth, or reality, of process itself.

We value doing. Most of us value being. More of us need to value becoming.

Trust the process.

That's your thought for today, as your process unfolds.

The Very Short Tale of the Hare on the Chair

“Where is the hare?”

“Oh, no! On the chair!”

“You swear?”

“Over there!”

“With his nails and his bunny tail bare?”

“You care?”

“Oh yes! Beware! An Impending Nightmare!”

“A rip or a tear?”

“Or worse! We need some small underwear!”

“I’m afraid, alas, there is none to spare!”

“The things that I bear!”

“But this is so rare!”

“It’s just not fair!”

“Should I chase him away, and right down the stair?”

“Oh me! Oh my! Do you really dare?”

“There’s no other choice of which I’m aware!”

“But, this is a job that we should both share.”

“Yes! First, you stand right over here,

and shout and wave your arms in the air.”

“I will! I’ll give him a jolly good scare!”

And they did, with really no further fanfare,

Which took all their brains, with none left to spare.

And, when it was done, the new fabric would wear,

not one single stain, but truly, a pair.

It looked like two bits of chocolate éclair

had dropped on the cloth and, in the sun’s glare,

had melted and soiled it beyond any repair.

And now, when guests are told, "Sit anywhere,"

they tarry a bit and try not to stare.

The use of this seat is, sadly, too rare,

which leads to the lesson we need to declare:

Never to scare a hare on a chair.

© 2014, TomVMorris.

A cautionary tale, of course, on how we deal with challenges. Did you ever dare to scare a hare on a chair?

*First comment, from a little child: "Berry Bunny."

shhhhh

The Two Most Important Business Thoughts. Ever.

The two most important thoughts for any business, or actually any life adventure:

1. Ideas rock the world.

2. Relationships rule the world.

So, my advice for the day is: Ponder these two thoughts. Use these two truths. Relish these two leverage points for your energy and passion to make a difference.

A Philosopher's Blog

Welcome to my new website and new blog! I chose the address TomVMorris.com for several reasons. First, there are other people on the web named Tom Morris - the pretenders!. One likes philosophy and writes about it now and then. I think he's a brit. There are also several people named Thomas Morris. There might even be another Thomas V. Morris, the name I used for my academic writing years ago, abbreviating my middle name of Victor. In my various social media experiments, I've been tomvmorris. So, I thought I'd stick with that. But you can call me Tom. I hope you'll enjoy this new blog, which will be a place where I talk about what I'm thinking and reading and doing. And, at every step, I'd love your comments, your interaction, and your own thoughts.

Whenever the mood strikes, I blog for The Huffington Post. Here's my homepage there. On my other website, MorrisInstitute.com, you'll find longer essays than are normal for contemporary blogs, under the Weekly Wisdom section. I'm going to launch a new venture by blogging here at least a few times a week. Before now, I've spent most of my writing time researching or composing books. The question I have is this: Books last. Will blogs?

A new translation of the classic book Beowulf has just been published,  a project that J.R.R. Tolkein worked on in his youth, but never with the idea in mind that it would be printed, or made available to the public. He just wanted to understand our oldest and most famous Anglo Saxon epic poem, and what he accomplished in his work on that text as a young scholar laid the foundations for his own famous Hobbit adventures, along with, of course, the great trilogy The Lord of the Rings.

Will any current blogs endure like Beowulf has? Probably not. Most books don't. But positive impact doesn't depend on centuries of reading and study. If I write anything here that can give you a needed new perspective on your work or life, I'll feel like blogging is a useful thing for a philosopher like me to do. But I want this to be a two way street. So, please, give me your comments!

On, Beowulf, by the way, I wrote about the previous big translation by Seamus Heaney on my Institute website here. The story of Beowulf is one of the great inspirational and cautionary tales ever told. Beowulf himself was a great warrior, and a supremely accomplished individual, who became a leader, and in that new role, didn't realize that he needed to develop some new competencies. His position of responsibility demanded in important ways that he learn how to teach others and partner up with them, collaboratively. But his pride and habits prevented it. Though his circumstances changed, and so did his strong body, as he aged, he never changed in the way he did things, and because of that, he set himself up for his own demise, in a battle with a dragon he could not overcome alone.

Beowulf was extraordinarily strong and incredibly skilled. But one of the most important skills of all ends up being the skill to change. And one of our greatest strengths is our network of collaborative partnerships. The fearsome warrior missed out on both these important things.

For a vivid cautionary tale that's highly instructive, snag a copy of the book, Beowulf. Many good translations are available in paperback. You may be amazed at how this classic speaks to you.