BE .. Andy DuFresne!
By Stephen Doherty
January 21st, 2024
“It turns out, Andy’s favorite hobby was totin’ his wall out into the
exercise yard – a handful at a time.” –Ellis Boyd Redding (Red)
“A handful at a time …” One of the best lines from one of the best movies ever made, The Shawshank Redemption. It also represents, I believe, a powerful metaphor and strategic weapon for achieving the most important goals and objectives we all have in 2024! “A handful at a time!” By itself, a handful of dirt is pretty useless. But over time, it provided Andy with the means to escape the cruelest and harshest of circumstances.
Cliches and quotes abound for the power of incrementalism. Brian Tracey probably had the most recognized in, “By the yard it’s hard, but inch by inch, anything’s a cinch. A journey of a thousand leagues begins with a single step.” And on and on and on. As much as I have loved listening to and reading from the great motivational speakers of our time – they typically speak at us – not to us.
The excitement of the moment and the “motivation” sprinkled around the room were as temporary and non-impactful as fairy dust. Why? Because as Stephen Covey brilliantly noted in his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, “No one can persuade another to change. Each of us guards a gate of change that can only be opened from the inside. We cannot open the gate of another, either by argument or by emotional appeal.”
This explains why there are literally millions of “self-help” books scooped up by millions of people looking for some magic formula for success – and yet our fellow citizens continue to decline and struggle, in record numbers. The only people who achieve success from these books – are their authors!
The one exception to that rule is the book, “Atomic Habits” written by James Clear. It focuses on changing our habits, which is consistent with Covey’s premise that all change starts from within. Aristotle once said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”
James Clear captures that spirit within the framework of his own Atomic Habits ethos. “Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity. This is one reason why meaningful change does not require radical change. Small habits can make a meaningful difference by providing evidence of a new identity. And if a change is meaningful, it is actually big. That’s the paradox of making small improvements.”
It’s an axiom of life. As long as we draw breath, there will be mountains to climb and obstacles to overcome. Always. You can’t swallow a steak whole and you can’t climb a mountain in one step. Relentless consistency is what carried the tortoise to victory over the faster hare. Relentless consistency is what made millionaires out of janitors who saved regularly. Relentless consistency is the most hallowed of human traits because it gives superhuman powers to the average and the ordinary. Relentless consistency delivered freedom and a new life to Andy DuFresne … one fistful of concrete at a time. Be relentless. Be consistent. BE .. Andy DuFresne!
“Get busy living or get busy dying!” -Andy DuFresne
