The Tyranny of “Or”

Before attending “Stars on Ice” last weekend at the Honda Center in Anaheim, I asked myself, “Am I going to love this? Do I love figure skating for the competition or the artistry?”

I had been glued to all the hours of televised coverage of competitive figure skating: the Olympics, the Worlds, the Nationals—all of them. Inspired. Moved to tears. But it had been many years since I attended a pure exhibition show, where the skaters do their individual performances, and choreographed numbers with all of them—just for the show. No medals in sight. So am I going to be as involved?

I WAS! I loved every minute of it.

The next day, at Mother’s Day Brunch, my brother-in-law reminded me why.

He reminded me of “the tyranny of ‘or.’”

The concept originated years ago, with Jim Collins in his book “Built to Last.” Collins referred to highly visionary companies, who, instead of choosing between A and B, figured out a way to have both A AND B.

Yes! I love skating for the competitive aspect AND the artistry. And it got me thinking.
Not only companies, but WE are built to last. We are each a balance of artist and thinker, empathic and cerebral.

In fact, my whole life I have rejected the tyranny of OR, and embraced the genius of the AND.

In college, I figured out how to be an activist and get straight A’s.

Then, the OR got more complicated.

Can I have purpose and make a profit? Have fun and make money? Be free and responsible?

Be disciplined and creative?

Can I put my heart into starting a business and still have a life?

Can I work out really hard at the gym and not get injured?

Can I see the ocean from my window and not pay a fortune to live here?

Have you figured this out? The integration of self is what we need in our businesses and relationships— it’s what the world needs.

And that’s the connection to my call to action. Do you make the world a better place? Of course, you do. So please share it. I can help. Please call me for a 30-minute complimentary value discovery call. You get value, and we discover if we are a match to work together.

[Photo Credit: StarsOnIce.com]