When I was probably about 13 years old I was exposed to Emerson for the first time. It must have been in some school class. After reading the first page of Self-Reliance I became an instant Transcendentalist. The ideas struck me to the core.
A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is his. In every work of genius we recognise our own rejected thoughts: they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty….
He says, when we reject our insights and flashes of inspiration we are rejecting the divine and our own selves. When we fail to trust ourselves and take action, he says….
Else, tomorrow a stranger will say with masterly good sense precisely what we have thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another.
These words are just as powerful to me today than they were some 25 years ago. My juvenile self felt empowered by them. I had discovered some secret key that would unlock all obstacles and grant me all my dreams. With false pride I looked around that classroom suspecting that no one else realized what we had just read. I was special. I got it, and I would soar while all others stayed clamped to the ground.
The only problem is, I’ve never done anything about it. I’ve never used this wisdom to take me to the heights my early 90’s mind took me to in that moment. Instead, I’ve simply waited. I’ve waited for this wisdom to solve everything and bring everything to my feet. I foolishly believed that knowledge was enough. I failed to act and take full use of this knowledge I had been given. With every passing gleam of light that has flashed across my mind I have felt exhilaration, I’ve seen the potential of the idea. The excitement has filled me and has been magnified by the fact that I recognized it and knew that it was special. I understood its worth because I understood what Emerson had been saying. But then no action followed. As a result virtually all of those gleams of light have eventually been followed by being forced to take with shame my own opinion from another.
An example of this happened just yesterday…
A couple of years ago my wife and I went on a trip to Europe. On that trip my favorite place we visited was Budapest Hungry. The city is amazing and the people are impressive. The little taste of Hungarian culture we experienced was fantastic. As ridiculous as this sounds, one of my favorite aspects of Budapest was the little stands on almost every corner that sold Kürtőskalács, a cylindrical pastry topped with cinnamon or other toppings. I absolutely loved them. I loved the way they were made, I loved the way you ripped little pieces off one by one, I loved the taste, I love the shape. Instantly after taking my first bite I had a “gleam of light flash across my mind” I knew that others back in the US would love these things too. I started thinking about different business models I could implement to make a business around these Kürtőskalács. As always, my mind filled with excitement and all kinds of ideas built upon each other. I had 3 or 4 different viable plans to make and sell them in my city. Of course, all this excitement, positive energy, and confidence in the validity of my ideas produced nothing…because I took no action outside of my head.
This brings me to yesterday. My wife was looking at a local food blogger’s social media posts to find some cool places to take her family who is visiting this weekend. She saw that there is a new local place that exclusively sells Kürtőskalács. I knew it was a viable business idea. I knew it could be done and that it could thrive. Again, I was forced to take with shame my own opinion from another.
This is just another small example of why I need my Introvention.
Having all the knowledge in the world is of little worth if it is not accompanied by action.
If you have not read “Self-Reliance”, I highly recommend doing so. Also, here is a great article that touches on some of the points I need constant reminder and application of.
Enjoy
