Speak now AND forever hold your peace

DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
in Star Trek: The Original Series - Episode 1: "The Man Trap" 

Emerson called a foolish consistency “the hobgoblin of little minds.” Nana said as much in her own way. “Smart people always change their minds.”

If you ever need to focus up, shake off the sleepy comfort of other people’s ideas, and get your mind on your own purpose in life - there is no better place to start than Emerson’s essay on Self-Reliance. You have an opportunity to become familiar with your own way of thinking that nobody else does. Be consistent in that. Trust yourself.

Imagine your life was one of those advertisements with the actor who says “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on tv.” The idea is that people who are thinking of you in the role of a doctor will be receptive to your prescription for what might be good for them. It’s because they imagine you to be someone else.  

The only consistency that is foolish is the attempt to “play yourself on tv,” and act with a character you think is expected to satisfy your adoring fans. Your fans, your followers, your friends - do not adore you. They barely know you. You may earn dividends on what people imagine you to be, but if you are afraid that being yourself is a risk you cannot afford to take then you are a fool. 

Who you are is so much more valuable than who people want you to be, and what makes them comfortable. Yes, there is risk in playing a new role. You may need to find a more imaginative audience, one that resonates with an expanded version of you that seems different from the version of you that was all there was before.  

Notice the roles you are known for playing in your family and community. Compare your own ideas of your purpose in life with the roles you are known for playing in other people’s imaginations. Make a note of the different ways your admirers and critics ask the same question: “Why don’t you just give up?” 

Recognize that your imagination is what keeps everyone else wondering.  Ask yourself the same question your admirers and critics ask. Why don’t you just give up? Your answer to the question is your purpose in life, and it is a commodity that cannot be produced by anyone but you. That makes it extremely valuable. If you endorse anything less, it delays your audience from receiving the benefit of your imagination. 

Respond by meeting your audience more than half way. This does not mean giving yourself away, selling out for the right price, or becoming somebody you are not. Just the opposite. Give your all, despite any protest that may result from those anyone who claims to own the rights to the brand of your name and likeness. There is no contract that can limit your freedom to change your mind.   


* GODSPEED stands for “Gather Only Data in Sync with the Purpose of Every Excellent Deed.”


 

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