Imagine if Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln had never existed. What would America even look like? It was almost the case that neither man became President of the United States because both suffered from crippling stage fright. Jefferson — one of the Founding Fathers – gave only two public speeches his entire eight years in office, both inaugural addresses. Lincoln — who did more for civil rights than any person since — could barely bring himself to campaign. He shook throughout his delivery of the Gettysburg Address, a famous speech most people don’t realize is only 10 sentences long and took Lincoln less than three minutes to deliver. Why mention these great men? Because without them, the world would be different. They are also excellent examples of men who faced their fear and contributed to mankind, not letting the weakest, worst version of themselves be the one that ruled their lives.
Changing Everything With Bravery and Poise
Giving into your fear and not allowing the world to experience the best of you is somewhat selfish. I worked with a wonderful client a while ago who hated her high-powered New York City-based professional job. She made great money, but was slowly dying inside, often telling me that she cried on the way to work. She was just not living her best life and fear was stopping her from following her calling. Fast-forward to today, and she now spends most of her time in Africa educating underprivileged children and being a positive force for learning in her adopted town. She’s not just another number punching a time clock and living a life of quiet desperation anymore. Think about all the of the children whose lives will be touched because she decided to follow her calling. Was it scary for her to leave a good paycheck, a job with benefits she’d worked most of her life to get, telling her family and friends about the change, and then picking everything up and moving to a continent where she knew nothing about the culture? Absolutely! She stood up to her fear, tapped into her bravery, and made the world a better place for it.
You Are Going to Touch Lives
The excuse that your individual calling doesn’t rise to that of Jefferson or Lincoln is not a productive way to think about your life. Who knows exactly what led those men to decide on a life of public service? Who knows who inspired them when they were children or young men? Many people touched the lives of Jefferson and Lincoln whose names historians will never utter, but who had a direct effect on how these men shaped our country. Think about it. In the Black Hills of South Dakota stands Mount Rushmore, with Lincoln’s and Jefferson’s heads carved into the side of a mountain visited by millions of people from around the world every year. Maybe if not for Lincoln’s kindly schoolhouse teacher or a neighbor who took a young Jefferson under their wing, neither man would have become President. If not for those unknown people, the millions in South Dakota would be looking at different faces.
We talk about families organized as “family trees,” but our existence is bigger and more significant than that. Think of people as part of a giant web, all connected one way or another. If we’re going to be the strongest web possible, each connection has to be strong. The worst version of ourselves weakens the web, and the fearful version of doesn’t make as many connections as possible or have a positive effect on them. When we don’t follow our heart and follow our calling, we’re not only short-changing ourselves, but we’re short-changing everyone connected to us.
As I write this early into 2020, many are people making resolutions to fit within the calendar year. However, whether you’re reading this today or in August 2034, right now is the best time to follow your calling and become the citizen of the world you are capable of being.