As you saw in my last post, I’ve been reflecting quite a bit on the idea of motivation lately, namely the importance of staying motivated. I’ve been working through the book Learning to Lead for my Org. Leadership class at Fuller, and towards the end of it I came across two terrific quotes that relate, in a sort of roundabout way, to the idea of motivation. One is from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a letter from the Birmingham jail, and the other is from CSU-Northridge then-president Dr. Blenda Wilson’s Inaugural Address in 1993.
“I am coming to feel taht the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic works and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people. We must come to see that human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and persistent work of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. King’s quote struck me because I believe it is so easy to simply point out the bad while failing to contest for the good. The corruption and moral depravity of our world is evident everywhere we look, from our president who refuses to outlaw waterboarding to a New York governor who has sadly shown himself to be a hypocrite, we needn’t look far to find poster children for the unfortunate state of our world. The reality is, however, that good does not come from criticizing the bad, but as Dr. King said, it comes from the “tireless efforts and persistent work of men willing to be co-workers with God.” It’s easy to throw rocks and point fingers…harnessing the motivation to take responsibility and seek to move the world forward is much more difficult.
Dr. Wilson’s quote below is interesting to me simply because of the language that she uses as the president of a secular university:
“In all we do, we must affirm an unyielding moral vision–that the next generation is entitled to participate fully in reinventing and benefiting from the American future. If we believe in ourselves, we will find and create a vital and paricipatory community in which every student, faculty, and staff member is valued and respected, in which we recognize that we share common values as educated and ethical human beings, and in which the bonds of community are stronger than the habits of cultural ignorance. That is our fervent goals.
“If we believe in ourselves, we will create the kind of learning environment and campus community that will prepare our graduates for a lifetime of learning, ethical conduct, global sensitivity, and service. Those institutions that will succeed in achieving a 21-century version of academic excellence will be those institutions that believe–in their students, in their communities, in themselves–and as a consequence of that belief, will take risks and design radically new approaches to embracing the imperative of change.“
I had never heard of Dr. Wilson before reading this quote, nor do I know anything else about her. But what she articulates is a compelling moral vision worth following, and it is a vision that can be implemented, in perhaps a nuanced way, in settings far beyond a university.
0 Responses to “A couple of great quotes”