Friday, April 18, 2008

You Got to Do What You Should

I was recapping Chapman’s “Change” again the other day, I dwelled again on the line about being right and enduring pain in doing the right thing, or avoiding the pain and doing something less than right.

There’s a lot of call in my heart to be the change that I wish to see. If it doesn’t do much to influence others, though, is living in self-righteousness enough? The worst part is that I can’t “play” others, I can’t manipulate them, and by being unable to manipulate them I appear unable to influence them or motivate them.

My father used to say that he most admired the bosses that he had who could do his job as well as he could. As the boss, I find that my employees not only don’t seem to admire this quality, but use the “give an inch, take a mile” routine. They think that I am there to clean up after them. So I try to lead by example instead of manipulation and get manipulated myself.

I still look for the boss who can do what I do, or is willing to do what I do, as well.

I look for leaders, and I attempt to be one. Perhaps the goal here is not to be a leader, but to be powerful.

In which case I will fail for the rest of my life, and try to accomplish something that causes me pain.

Is that right, or wrong?

1 comment:

dkearns72 said...

The choices are all unappetizing in corrupt systems, but the examples that most inspire me are the dissenters who stuck to their guns when the systems around them went insane.

It's 1983 or so and u live in Moscow and want to make something of urself: do u join the Communist Party? A party that anyone could see had miserably failed with its stated goal of classlessness and was known for its venal brutality?

I say no. Stand for right.

Further, even, I say we may be stuck in something worse, in its own way, than 1983 Moscow.

It's not going to be easy. :(