I can’t claim originality on this title, I overheard a version of it this morning in another context, but it appealed to me.
This is not the accepted normal way of approaching things within society in general.
We are taught to work our way up through the ranks, to add to our knowledge base slowly and prepare for many years; to train, train, and train some more and this is sound advice. You cannot be a master at anything without continued and ongoing practice.
My mountaineering prowess is not legendary!
I am a casual visitor to the lower heights and have dipped in and out of hill walking on many occasions over the years. Being blessed with generally good fitness levels and sound muscle tone I can decide on a whim to head out on any good day to clamber up a hillside. I am one of those infuriating people who can turn on a sprint or climb a hill without any real effort but my t-shirt would read “if you see me running, run as well because there is a problem.”
My wife was friends with a woman who was Mrs Fit; for her fortieth birthday she decided that, instead of the usual girls night out, she would invite all willing friends to climb Britain’s highest peak for a charity. This was met with a good few “no thank yous.” My wife gamely said yes and went into a minor training regime in the preceding months. In the event it was very successful and there were no casualties (minor or major) apart from a few sore legs and rear ends the following day.
My daughter wasn’t perhaps fully in tune with the whole thing and still tells people that her mum has climbed Everest.
There are multitudes of online and printed resources available if you had the time, inclination and money to get yourself to the Himalayas and make an assault on the peak of Everest. To join the ranks of those who have stood upon the earth’s highest point must be quite a thing; to be able to casually drop that into conversation, or list it as one of your achievements is something that few alive have the privelege to do.
Taking the accepted standard route is probably the best way for most people to approach things; unfortunately we have set up a system of standardised education and employment to level the playing field for everyone. We certainly don’t want to return to the pre-war days where only the privileged had access to formal and further education. However; one of the reasons that I liked Suits on Netflix was that radical moment when Mike blagged an interview and bagged an opportunity.
There must be more corporate awareness of the immense talent that is floating around not in higher learning establishments; it takes a lot more effort to take a chance on people without letters and verifiable qualifications, but there will need to be a change as the employment pool becomes too crowded with degree qualifications.
From the other side, the opportunity to shine won’t be thrust at you in some Cinderella like miracle. Increasingly we need to develop our own talents and gifts ourselves and use them in spite of opportunities.
Business is not about people, it’s about money.
Sadly church is rushing headlong down the same road and becoming a corporate environment where people are overlooked to satisfy statistics and boards.
My challenge today is that we clean the slate; start fresh today, don’t wait to make a New Years pledge that you won’t keep. Determine in yourself that you will use what you have to benefit others; climb your Everest first and work back from there.