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This week Dave Edwards and I catch up and record it for your benefit. In a nutshell we discuss vision. What are you dreaming about? Do you have vision for it? Do you just need a little push or a kick to “go for it” and get out of the upper room?
A phrase that came to me in our conversation was the question “Can you see it first? Or do you need to see someone else do it first and then follow the path they forged?”
We talked from there about pioneering versus settling, and going for the dreams and callings God’s given us versus waiting for someone to give you permission or “choose you”.
In the second half we discussed a popular email forward and social media meme that has gone around over the years that goes like this:
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(This is reportedly based on an actual experiment conducted in the U.K.)
Eight monkeys were put in a room. In the middle of the room is a ladder, leading to a bunch of bananas hanging from a hook on the ceiling.
Each time a monkey tries to climb the ladder, all the monkeys are sprayed with ice water, which makes them miserable. Soon enough, whenever a monkey attempts to climb the ladder, all of the other monkeys, not wanting to be sprayed, set upon him and beat him up. Soon, none of the eight monkeys ever attempts to climb the ladder.
One of the original monkeys is then removed, and a new monkey is put in the room. Seeing the bananas and the ladder, he wonders why none of the other monkeys are attempting the obvious. But undaunted, he immediately begins to climb the ladder.
All the other monkeys fall upon him and beat him silly. He has no idea why.
However, he no longer attempts to climb the ladder.
A second original monkey is removed and replaced. The newcomer again attempts to climb the ladder, but all the other monkeys hammer the crap out of him.
This includes the previous new monkey, who, grateful that he’s not on the receiving end this time, participates in the beating because all the other monkeys are doing it. However, he has no idea why he’s attacking the new monkey.
One by one, all the original monkeys are replaced. Eight new monkeys are now in the room. None of them have ever been sprayed by ice water. None of them attempt to climb the ladder. All of them will enthusiastically beat up any new monkey who tries, without having any idea why.
And that is how most companies’ policies get established.
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The story goes that this is how policies are started. Nobody knows if this is true or not, but it goes around and it’s a funny explanation of the rigidity of corporate policies, whether one understands their origins or not.
But what if there’s another point to this story?
What if we just climb anyway, and go for those bananas regardless of whether everybody else who’s gone before us was successful or not? What if we’re to ignore all the monkeys pulling us down from off of that ladder because they’re doing it for other reasons like fear of your success? Hebrews 12:1-3 talks about the cloud of witnesses cheering us on. What if we listen for God’s approval and ignore man’s?
Enjoy today’s show.
Books mentioned in this show:
By Seth Goins – Poke the Box and The Icarus Deception
By Todd Henry – Louder Than Words: Harness the Power of Your Authentic Voice & Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Day
By James Altucher – Choose Yourself!
Before I let you go I need to ask you a quick favor. Please jump over to iTunes and give this show a rating, a review, or leave a comment or all three. It would mean a lot to me and help people find us!
Thank you so much, and I look forward to talking to you in the next episode of Fire On Your Head.
