I recently read Doris Rich's biography of Amelia Earhart
and what struck me was that Amelia's great gift was to
always know her direction in life.
Obviously, Earhart is most famous for the records she set--
first woman to fly the Atlantic, first person to fly across
twice, and so forth--and of course, we remember the mystery
of her disappearance. What we often miss is the genius of
her living.
Earhart was a model of grand dreams and down-to-earth
practicality. She wrote and loved poetry, she was a
political activist, a feminist, a nurse and public speaker.
She was a social worker before she became famous, and she
understood the connection between our dreams and our
schemes.
Earhart understood that achieving our dreams requires a
practical SCHEME and the WILL to pursue it. That was her
real genius.
While I stand in awe of her skill (courage!) as a pilot,
what impressed me even more was her capacity for hard work.
She regularly gave speeches (often two speeches per day) in
a different city every day, for weeks on end. She would
speak, sleep a few hours, drive all night, have a press
conference over breakfast, rest a couple hours, then give
her speech and repeat the process. Imagine doing that day
after day, for weeks!
Now, imagine speaking and traveling every day, while also
writing articles in your spare time, being politically
involved and working with Congress on the future of
aviation, and simultaneously preparing for another world-
record flight. That is an amazing example of energy,
persistence, determination and force of will!
How did she do it?
Well, I admit that I think she had an extraordinary genetic
gift--that may be an excuse, but I just can't imagine the
schedule she maintained, so I cop-out and claim she was
"different" than the rest of us!
But, how about the similarities?
Earhart always knew what she wanted and used her desire to
set her course.
Most of want so many things that we don't truly know, at
the end of the day, what we want most. We want things that
actually contradict each other, like losing weight while
eating more and more food. We tolerate things that distract
us, that drain our energy, and take us away from our
primary goals.
Earhart didn't fall into that trap. Her ability to say, "I
want to do this" and then focus her spirit, her energy and
her will on achieving her goal were astonishing.
Fortunately, we, too, can choose our directions, choose our
goals and focus our efforts.
If anyone had the excuse of "too much to do," it would have
been America's most famous woman. The demands on her time
were incredible, but she learned to choose her battles, to
focus her attention and discipline her efforts. We can
learn from that!
In the coming year, what will be your most important goals?
Like every year, 2016 will bring the unexpected and
unpredicted. It will tempt us in a thousand ways with a
zillion opportunities, a ton of problems and daily
distractions, but through it all, a few of us--the high
achievers everyone else calls "lucky"--will stay focused on
their critical, passionate goals.
Earhart was gifted, but more than anything else, she worked
hard, knew her destinations and let nothing blow her off-
course. We can learn from that. Know your destination. Stay
awake. Stay focused. Remain disciplined. Keep going when
others quit.
and what struck me was that Amelia's great gift was to
always know her direction in life.
Obviously, Earhart is most famous for the records she set--
first woman to fly the Atlantic, first person to fly across
twice, and so forth--and of course, we remember the mystery
of her disappearance. What we often miss is the genius of
her living.
Earhart was a model of grand dreams and down-to-earth
practicality. She wrote and loved poetry, she was a
political activist, a feminist, a nurse and public speaker.
She was a social worker before she became famous, and she
understood the connection between our dreams and our
schemes.
Earhart understood that achieving our dreams requires a
practical SCHEME and the WILL to pursue it. That was her
real genius.
While I stand in awe of her skill (courage!) as a pilot,
what impressed me even more was her capacity for hard work.
She regularly gave speeches (often two speeches per day) in
a different city every day, for weeks on end. She would
speak, sleep a few hours, drive all night, have a press
conference over breakfast, rest a couple hours, then give
her speech and repeat the process. Imagine doing that day
after day, for weeks!
Now, imagine speaking and traveling every day, while also
writing articles in your spare time, being politically
involved and working with Congress on the future of
aviation, and simultaneously preparing for another world-
record flight. That is an amazing example of energy,
persistence, determination and force of will!
How did she do it?
Well, I admit that I think she had an extraordinary genetic
gift--that may be an excuse, but I just can't imagine the
schedule she maintained, so I cop-out and claim she was
"different" than the rest of us!
But, how about the similarities?
Earhart always knew what she wanted and used her desire to
set her course.
Most of want so many things that we don't truly know, at
the end of the day, what we want most. We want things that
actually contradict each other, like losing weight while
eating more and more food. We tolerate things that distract
us, that drain our energy, and take us away from our
primary goals.
Earhart didn't fall into that trap. Her ability to say, "I
want to do this" and then focus her spirit, her energy and
her will on achieving her goal were astonishing.
Fortunately, we, too, can choose our directions, choose our
goals and focus our efforts.
If anyone had the excuse of "too much to do," it would have
been America's most famous woman. The demands on her time
were incredible, but she learned to choose her battles, to
focus her attention and discipline her efforts. We can
learn from that!
In the coming year, what will be your most important goals?
Like every year, 2016 will bring the unexpected and
unpredicted. It will tempt us in a thousand ways with a
zillion opportunities, a ton of problems and daily
distractions, but through it all, a few of us--the high
achievers everyone else calls "lucky"--will stay focused on
their critical, passionate goals.
Earhart was gifted, but more than anything else, she worked
hard, knew her destinations and let nothing blow her off-
course. We can learn from that. Know your destination. Stay
awake. Stay focused. Remain disciplined. Keep going when
others quit.
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