Monday, April 22, 2013

You Want to Become Better? Discover Your Burning Platform

We've been talking about the need for change, now we need to get serious about it. We just experienced another terrorist attack on our land of America. As I write this post I just heard about the Canadians foiling a plot to blow up a train traveling from Toronto to New York. Is terrorism over as our President proclaims? You be the judge.
We've talked about change coming from inspiration or desperation. We learned that 80% of change comes from desperation. At this point in America's progression we still have a choice. The window of choice is rapidly closing. So what did you decide? What is your reason for change? Let me tell you a story.
The image below is a burning oil platform off the north shore of Europe. I first heard this story in a book by Daryl Conner called Managing at the Speed of Change. He was addressing why people change. As Conner told the story, there was an oil platform fire on the north shore in the dead of winter. When it was all over there was but one survivor.
He was being interviewed from his hospital bed he was asked why he jumped into the icy waters below. As it turns out a rescue boat had arrived but in the smoke and fog the survivor was unaware of its arrival. He thought he was all alone. Yet, he jumped from the burning oil platform to the icy waters below.
In answer to the interviewers question he said, "I looked at the fire and the fog below, knowing the waters were icy and I chose uncertain death (jumping into the fog covered ocean below) over certain death (staying on the burning platform)". Do you understand that choice? He did not know if he'd live by jumping but he knew he'd die by not jumping. He had to change.
We American's who believe in this country and God have to change. We as a society have behaved ourselves into this situation by turning our backs on God and being complacent about our freedoms. We have to change as individuals. We are on a burning platform and many American's don't even know it yet. If we do nothing we are just going to enjoy ourselves into oblivion. History shows us where our behavior takes us.
Decide now what your burning platform is ... we're moving on from here learning to become better people together. We can move on and change if our why is big enough.

For a better tomorrow ...


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