Big Idea #1 From Me
Paul Volcker, former Chairman of the US Federal Reserves, once said, ‘In a crisis the only asset you have is your credibility.’
By extension, this means as an influencer, you shouldn’t pull instructions out of thin air and advise the populace to act on that.
However, this is not the case in the area of public policy making.
Many policies are based upon the work of theorizers who really have nothing to lose in the event that things go wrong. If things go fine, they get the accolades and if things go wrong, they are still able to publish their theories in journal articles and opinion pieces of popular newspapers.
You see the same patterns play out in the online marketing and personal development space. As with the policy theorists, many people in this niche do not have anything to lose. If things go as planned, they get a testimonial out of you. And if things do not go as planned, you’d still have spent your $2599 on their courses.
Here’s a useful heuristic: Before you commit yourself to any individual’s advice, ask yourself, what does he have to lose if he is wrong?
Big Idea #2 From Research
In his now classic 1940 journal article, Science and linguistics, Benjamin Lee Whorf proposed the controversial position that the way we think about the world is influenced by our language.
As humans, we like to hold ourselves up as rational beings that have used the power of intellect to bring nature to its knees. We cite the examples of Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein – the great men of science whose elegant mathematical formulas form the foundations upon which our present understanding of the physical world is built.
Yet, we take for granted the role that the language they spoke played on the way they thought.
For instance, in English, sentences take the form of actor-action. So, we say, ‘The boy is running’ or ‘Lightning is striking’. In contrast, in Hopi, a language spoken by a Native Indian tribe in North America, sentences take the form of action duration. Therefore, instead of saying ‘The boy is running’, the Hopi people will say ‘Running’, and instead of saying ‘Lightning is striking’, they will simply say ‘Lightning’.
This slight distinction in language implies that to those who speak English, an action can never occur in isolation – there must always be an actor responsible for causing the action. In contrast, the Hopi are satisfied with actions without a cause.
The same event occurring in the world evokes a reaction in the observer that is dependent on the language he/she thinks in!
My key takeaway is perfectly articulated by following parable told by David Foster Wallace:
There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, “Morning, boys, how’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, “What the hell is water?”
Just like the two young fish who were unconscious of the role that water played in their existence, we all take for granted the roles that our language plays in how we think.
Big Idea #3 From the Bible
Genesis 18:8 says, ‘And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.’
For context, Abraham had discerned that certain sojourneying men were not ordinary. So, he stopped them from their travels, had their feet clean and prepared a sumptuous meal for them.
Then, he waited.
Christians are often encouraged to wait upon the Lord. Unfortunately, many go about it the wrong way. For many, waiting is a passive process where you simply fold your arms and wait for events to unfold.
The image that Abraham presents us is a totally different depiction of the waiting process. For Abraham, waiting was similar to what a waiter in a high-end restaurant does to patrons.
The waiter does not passively fold his arms hoping to be of service when the occasion arises. Rather, the waiter is always on standby – waiting with an expectation to meet the patron’s needs.
That was the attitude Abraham had on that sunny day at the plains of Mamre. He didn’t just hurriedly serve the travellers a meal.
He also waited with the waiter’s expectation for the Word to drop.
Needless to say, that’s what happened moments later:
Genesis 18:10: ‘And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son…’
I don’t know what you are trusting God for in your life, but I want you to always remember this: Waiting, done right, is never passive.
May the LORD give you understanding in these things.
