You must go at it with monastic obsession…

~ Live & Learn

John E. Smith @ strategiclearner is a frequent inspiration stop for me.  Here’s another one of John’s great shares.  Henry Rollins speaks to college students in this clip however I believe his remarks are inspirational to all of us.  He shares an important message that needs to be heard, shared and passed along. It’s worth 5 minutes of your time.  You’ll find the transcript below.

Transcript of Henry Rollins’ remarks:

Young person, you’ll find in your life that sometimes your great ambitions will be momentarily stymied, thwarted, marginalized by those who were perhaps luckier, come from money, where more doors opened, where college was a given–it was not a student loan; it was something that Dad paid for–to where an ease and confidence in life was almost a birthright, where for you it was a very hard climb.

You cannot let these people make you feel that you have in any way been dwarfed or out-classed. You must really go for your own and realize how short life is. You got what you got, so you have to make the most of it. You really can’t spend a whole lot of time worrying about his. You really have to go for your own. If you have an idea of what you want to do in your future, you must go at it with almost monastic obsession, be it music, the ballet or just a basic degree. You have to go at it single-mindedly and let nothing get in your way. You’re young. That’s why you can survive on no sleep, Top Ramen noodles and dental floss and still look good.

All the people you admire, from Mohamed Ali to any politician, they work and work and work. Your president right now is a man who got where he is through very hard work and scholarships, mainly hard work and application and discipline. If these people can do it, why not you?

We live in very interesting times and, as a young person going into a very turbulent and fragile economy that is going to get better–it’s going to take awhile–, it is easy to lose your moral compass, your decency, your sense of civility and your sense of community. Very easy. You known, things in traffic make you mad. People are getting a little desperate. They might not show their best elements to you. You must never lower yourself to being a person you don’t like.

There is no better time than now to have a moral and civic backbone, to have a moral and civic true north. This is a tremendous opportunity for you, a young person, to be heroic, to be morally upstanding, to be helpful, almost Boy Scout-like, presidential, to be altruistic.

Weakness is what brings ignorance, cheapness, racism, homophobia, desperation, cruelty, brutality, all these things that will keep a society chained to the ground, one foot nailed to the floor. It’s by being strong in the face of all of that, not lowering yourself to it, that’s how you lead. That’s how you liberate others and maintain freedom. You don’t have to beat your chest. You don’t have to wave a flag, but to maintain a high level of decency

And it sounds like I’m a cranky old man, like something you want to rebel against, but really think about what I’m saying. I think I’m right about this. When you look at what real desperation and ignorance looks like, when you have to run from it, like, literally run from it, you don’t want to be that. You want to be that which leads others out of that.

And now more than ever is the time to show these great qualities, to extol these great qualities and to embody these great qualities, which you have. Now it’s time to magnify them, personify them and inspire others with them. And there’s never been a time where they’re needed more than right now.

Directed / Produced by
Jonathan Fowler & Elizabeth Rodd

(Henry Rollins’ Letter to a Young American Redux)

http://bigthink.com/

29 thoughts on “You must go at it with monastic obsession…”

  4. “You want to be that which leads others out of that.” This phrase really jumped out at me. Perhaps old-fashioned, but I do believe that we all have a responsibility to the world around us. In some small way, each one of us can and must try to make this world a better place. It may be as simple as a smile to someone who is more familiar with receiving kicks than smiles. We all have some gift to share. Thanks for sharing this David. You’re right … it is a message for all ages!

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      1. LOL … I remember being 18 and 21 and chances are, even if I had decided to humour my parents and give them their five minutes, the message would not have stuck. It seems that a certain amount of life wisdom is needed before it makes sense. But .. having heard it, the seed is planted and that is important.

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  8. Awesome – am reblogging this one, for it’s value is timeless. Remember to pack your moral compass and bring your backbone. All true..Would be a good message for some who have already ‘made it’ too..

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  9. Reblogged this on Waiting for the Karma Truck and commented:
    This appeared on DavidKanigan.com and I am reblogging it because it should be read, integrated and remembered by everyone in my view. Often those who have ‘already made it’ forget that they still need to bring their moral compass and backbone to work. Bring something to the table that young people will want to emulate and strive to be. And encourage them to bring their A game – not because we did it when we were younger – but because we’re bringing it every day as well.

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  10. I liked his idea of monastic obsession, and his respect for those that worked to get where they are rather than success being handed on a plate. I have my reservations that ALL politicians got where they were through hard work though. Thanks for the link.

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  12. Pingback: Problem accessing certain blogs. :( | Anotherdayinparadise2's Blog

  14. Today, I went to the beach with my children. I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4
    year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She put the shell
    to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit
    crab inside and it pinched her ear. She never wants to go back!
    LoL I know this is totally off topic but I had to tell someone!

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