Passion Is Motivation

            Personally I loved this week’s blog post because I feel like passion is such a great motivator. This brings to mind a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Passion rebuilds the world for the youth. It makes all things alive and significant.”

            I feel like this statement is true because without passion in our subjects it would be so hard to achieve anything. Although I still think being well rounded is important, all of the big breakthroughs in any area come from people who are passionate about the subject. This is exactly how the Wright brothers were able to fly despite only owning a bicycle repair shop. Passion has to be our motivation or we will not be as successful as we could be. This is also why most people who finish college and enjoy work are the people who chose a major they enjoyed. How does the saying go? You never have to work a day in your life if you enjoy what you do. Passion is how we enjoy what we do.

            I also think this is why there are so many ways for us to be passionate. Every person from class was able to list different things they were passionate about. This not only creates diversity, but it also allows the world to grow in every area. This is why we are the ones changing the world for future generations. They are benefiting from the products of our passions. 

Be Authentic In Your Attitude

I really liked how Neil Pasricha’s past can be included in his TED talk. I think this gives him so much more ethos because if he can still be happy after everything he has been through then we should be able to as well.

I spent a lot of the time on the class blog talking about awareness, but I also feel like people’s attitude makes a huge difference. In the class blog I mention how paying attention to the little things can help, but it can only help you allow your attitude to reflect that. I realize that people aren’t supposed to be happy all of the time, or we would never be able to grow; however, people can chose the day they want to have. Pasricha is the best example of this.

It would have been so easy for him to stay where he was. He could have remained depressed, but he would never have had the influence he is having now. It was only because of his attitude that he was able to take some truly horrible experiences and make them livable.

I also think our attitude is linked to our authenticity. You can be a very happy person, but still not help people. In order for us to influence the world in the best way, we need to discover what really is important to us. Once we figure this out, we shouldn’t waste time hiding it. That importance should be reflected in our attitude. 

Beliefs Create Movements

One of my favorite parts about Derek Siver’s clip “How to Start a Movement” came at the very beginning when he was placing the emphasis on the importance of the first person in the movement. He phrased it something like the first follower turns the lone nut into a leader.

While the sentence itself is funny and true, I think it is beneficial to recognize the importance of the first follower. In order to gain a first follower it is important to be able to connect with them and make it matter to them. You have to know people’s beliefs and values in order for the movement to gain any type of momentum. This is directly reminding me of rhetoric. If the followers cannot be persuaded, then the movement will never start or grow to make a difference.

However, in realizing that a movement has to speak to what is important to the follower, I think the follower needs to be acutely aware of their beliefs. Not all movements are good, (Hitler anyone?) but they are still able to attract followers because people may not have a firm foundation about what they believe. It is my opinion that it is only when our beliefs our solid that the best changes can happen in the world.

While this isn’t specifically talking about a movement, this idea does correlate with Simon Sinek’s clip on “How Great Leaders Inspire Action.” His reasoning is people don’t care about the product a company produces; they care why the company made it. Being able to use beliefs is an important tool in creating change. 

Fear of Failure

First of all, I just want to say that I am very jealous Harvard got J.K. Rowling to speak at their commencement. Unless Paige O’Hara or John Lasseter (or a few other Disney people who I might be the only person excited to hear from) comes to my commencement, I think mine will fall a little flat compared to that.

Anyway, I was very happy that she decided to address the topic of failure to Harvard students. Harvard not only has the ivy league name, but it is one of those instant bonus items you can place on a resume because it is known as one of the top schools in the nation. Given that it is one of the top schools, it is only natural to assume that the best and brightest get into the school to study. Our cultural context has made the best and brightest terrified of failing, so I think it is beneficial to remind students that it is normal to fail at some things.

Students who typically end up going to Harvard have spent their entire lives trying to distinguish themselves from any kind of failure. While this may work for a time, it won’t give them any help when the inevitable happens. What if one student loses a job, or a house in an economic downturn? Or what if they have unexpected medical issues? Failure (even though people’s definition of failure may be different) is unavoidable, so pretending that it won’t happen won’t help people when it eventually does. One of the only things worse than failing is feeling like that isn’t normal or that you are the only one who didn’t succeed.

I feel like addressing our ability to fail will also help us bring others up. Overcoming failure may take help from other people, but how can you help someone if you don’t understand where they are coming from? 

When Wrong Is Right

Upon watching Kathryn Schulz's TED talk about being wrong, I was incredibly impressed about her views on the subject. I had never dwelled on the idea of being wrong until hearing this, so even though most of her ideas made a lot of sense, I had never consciously considered them until now.

Her first idea that I found intriguing was that feeling wrong typically feels rights. While I don't agree entirely that we don't usually receive any feelings if we are wrong, I do agree that most people don't just assume they are wrong. There are times where I won't say things in case I am wrong, but I don't know if that is more about my lack of confidence, or if I am receiving a feeling.

Another subject that I had never really considered was how much society is culturally affected by the idea of being wrong. The example of the grade school paper was so strong because it harkens back to such a young age. We have been conditioned to assume being wrong is bad. If the lazy kid who doesn't do his homework is wrong, then I can't be wrong or I will be like that kid.

While I think it is good that I am now acknowledging our cultures influence, it makes me more concerned for how we break out of that mold. I feel like this talk relates a lot to J.K. Rowling's talk about failure. Being wrong can be considered a (very) small failure, and last week I said that failure is one of the only ways to improve. I feel like being wrong is the same way. How can we better know how to improve if we are too scared to be wrong?

Think of how many things we would never have if everyone was scared to be wrong. Two quotes come to mind: The first one is Thomas Edison's quote about making the light bulb. "I didn't fail, I just found 10,000 ways not to make a light bulb." The second one I can't remember where I heard it, but I once heard an expert referred to as "A person who has had enough time to make every possible mistake within their field, and know how to improve it."

This really helped me realize that there is no way to improve if we can't admit that we are wrong in certain situations, and be willing to try different things.