Leap first, do your job.
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Notes
In the first of these two chapters, Seth tells the story of the unnamed Michigan lifeguard who saved six-year-old Robin Kiefer (grandson to world-record-holding swimmer) from drowning. Though this lifeguard was trained, she was also uncertain (“How could she not be?”) But she didn’t hesitate: “uncertain or not, less qualified or not, you leap. Leap first, do your job.”
She didn’t jump in because she was perfect, certain, or qualified. She jumped in because it was her job, she was closest, and she’d promised she would.
“Can any of us be certain? And yet, how can anyone who cares hold back?”
In the second of the two chapters, he offers the moral of the story.
First, he tells of ethicist Peter Singer’s thought experiment: Would you ruin a new pair of leather shoes to save a child face down in a shallow stream? Obviously you would, regardless of the shoes or who the kid is. You can, so you must.
“And the same is true, if less dramatic, when it comes to your work… It’s selfish to hold back when there’s a chance you have something to offer.”
Thoughts
Yes, the life-saving examples are a bit dramatic. But I guess there are two points.
The first one appears in the second chapter: if you can make a positive difference, you have the responsibility to do so.
And the second point, which appears in the first chapter: having that responsibility makes it your job—and we do our jobs regardless of how uncertain or unqualified or imperfect we feel.
[An unrelated thought: someday I should set up a shop to sell my DYFJ bracelets and T-shirts….]
This series is meant to capture my thoughts as I work through Seth Godin’s The Practice. It’s a book with over 200 (very short) chapters, which I hope to work through and, I further hope, to implement over time.
If you’re interested in more of Godin’s ideas, or my thoughts about them, you can check out this collection of posts. Note that if you’re more interested in the former, you should probably get Godin’s book and read it yourself; my notes will be both incomplete and idiosyncratic, and my thoughts will relate to my own experience.
But if my thoughts resonate with you, or if you think I’m just silly, I welcome your comments.