Do you long to hear your name called when time is short and the stakes are high? Do you want to lead people who can be trusted with important tasks on an important mission that just might change the world?
Learn to “get the job done” by reading the excerpt from the AFEE note, “A Message to Garcia,” below.
Woody Allen said that 90% of life is “just showing up.” If so, the most important 10% of life is execution. Far too few people do either consistently. But the ability to execute is so valuable, why is it so rare? Why aren’t more people self-starters who can stay on task until the job is finished?
Some would say that this generation of youth is unwilling to work. Others that our public schools have failed to instill the right character or habits.
Perhaps, but this problem existed long before public schools or television. This suggests that the problem is more deeply rooted in human nature. People want to make a difference. Be as cynical as you like, but deep inside every seemingly lazy and distracted person is an individual with rare gifts who longs to be called to an important mission. It’s just that somewhere in life, through overbearing or overindulgent parents or disinterested teachers, tyrannical coaches or uncaring bosses, the passion for a job well done has been extinguished.
People in their late teens and early twenties often have a misconception about life. They believe that their greatest challenges will come from unforseen events and external circumstances. This turns out to be untrue. The greatest challenges always come from within.
Unforseen setbacks do occur, often at the worst times. You’ll come across a few saints and wise men and women who have mastered external and internal challenges. But far more often you’ll come across people who are lost, not living up to their potential or just plain evil. That’s the real world.
Make no mistake about it. You have a choice. You can blame your parents, teachers, coaches or bosses. Or you can choose to start developing the attitudes, habits and instincts so your name will be called when success hangs in the balance.”
The excerpt above is only a small part of the AFEE note “A Message to Garcia.” The note goes on to talk about how to develop the right attitudes, habits and instincts to become someone who changes the world. And how to build a world-class organization.
“A Message to Garcia” is a great reading for anyone who needs a little inspiration and encouragement to make the world a better place than she found it.
Read the note in its entirety, or send it to a colleague here.
You can also read the original book by Elbert Hubbard, which the note was based on.
