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David J.
Pollay
Read David's bio and previous columns
May 12, 2008
Live Like a
Mockingbird: Fight for What You Care About
My
office door opens to a small courtyard. I have to walk across it to get
to our kitchen. Lining my walk is a small stand of Bamboo trees to my
left and a fountain to my right.
Here’s what happened today. As I was making my way across the courtyard,
something hit me on the left shoulder. And it made a squeak on impact. I
jumped and quickly looked around. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a
small bird flying away from me and onto the roof of the building.
I
smiled and figured that the bird and I had accidentally collided. I
thought nothing more of it and went into the kitchen, filled my glass
with water, and went back out into the courtyard. And then boom – I was
hit again! But this time I took it on the right shoulder. I looked up
and saw a Mockingbird fly away and land back on the roof. Right then I
knew what was happening. This bird was protecting its nest.
Think about this. Mockingbirds weigh approximately 1.7 ounces (50
grams). On a good day, I weigh about 180 lbs. (78 kilos). The length of
a Mockingbird is 9 inches (23 centimeters). Standing tall, I am 72
inches (about 1.8 meters). The Mockingbird is clearly outmatched. Yet,
this fact does not stop it from doing what it has to do to protect its
nest.
When I returned to my office and sat down, I thought: What is my “nest”
in life? What is so important to me that I would fly in the face of
adversity to care for it?
So, I ask the same question of you: What is your “nest” in life? Who do
you protect? What do you care about? What do you value? Your first
answer to this question is probably your family, your closest friends or
someone in physical danger. You would do anything you could for these
people.
Here’s the harder question to answer: What else is in your nest? What
else in your life are you willing to protect with such commitment and
passion? What about your career? What about your dreams? How committed
are you to them? What happens when you are told that you are not good
enough to be a doctor, lawyer, writer, speaker or whatever profession
you are pursuing? What happens when people don’t immediately help you,
or buy from you, or like your work? Do you stick with it, or do you give
up?
The reality of life is that sometimes our goals feel unachievable. The
path we must follow from where we are to where we want to go just seems
too hard and too far to travel. And despite the claims of some people,
good things do not come to us just because we wish them into our lives.
Peter Drucker, one of the 20th century’s best known business
thinkers, said, “Unless
commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes . . . but no
plans.” We have to believe deeply in why we want
something, make the decision to pursue it and then get out in the world
and take action. And then, we have to stay the course when forces align
against us.
We
have to know what’s worth fighting for in our lives. We have to know
when failure is not an option, and success is our only choice. And then
we have to muster the courage to do what we have to do.
Live like a Mockingbird.
© 2008
David J. Pollay. Distributed by North Star Writers Group. May not be
republished without permission.
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