Don't Just Stand There
Published on January 21, 2015
I'm not sure exactly when it was, but I think I was about 18 at the time. I was driving with a girlfriend along the service road of the QEW near St. Catharine's when we passed a very bad accident. I stopped the car, jumped the fence and approached the scene. Several cars were involved. A number of people were injured and lying on the grass medium. A parent was cradling a small child who was bleeding badly. By the time I arrived likely 40 or more cars had stopped and the drivers frantically milled about. Running over I asked, "Has someone called an ambulance?" Everyone there looked around, expecting the person beside them had called. In that moment it became apparent that no one had. Everyone had stopped and were concerned but no one had taken action. I ran back, jumped the fence and went to the nearest house to call. Cell phones were still a figment of Star Trek imagination.
I have always remembered this experience and how easy it is for us to become deer in the headlights when action is so necessary. Today's world affairs reminded me of that. We know that there are challenges, (the greatest being the media-created fear) but the outcome is becoming palpable. I was listening to a gentleman who was telling another how tough it was for him to find a job. It sounded like he was giving up. When faced with a challenge like this here's an option we all have available. We actually have a chance to use this time to become more valuable. To invest in ourselves. To invest in our companies and families and communities. Not simply financially, but intellectually. Ask this question; "What could I do or learn or become that would make me more valuable"? When you consider the point, it's the only rational way through this. If the economy is shrinking and I stay the same, what then can I expect will happen to myself or my company"? The answer is clear. It will diminish of course. You have a chance. We all have a chance. To make the decision to use this time to become more valuable. It's the only way to counterbalance what is going on right now. Don't just stand there. Get busy on you. Have an excellent day.
Be well,
Randy Taylor
