Thoughts Upon Return

I woke up this morning at 3:10 Central time and even though I slept on both legs of my journey, I’m still very tired.

One of the things that I remember hearing during the IMN Immersion was a sentence that roughly states “character trumps talent.” As I was driving home this afternoon I was suddenly shocked into reality by hearing “You have been trying to get by on talent your whole life.”

Thud.

That hurt. It’s still hurting. I started thinking back and sure enough, whether it’s been school, work, or life, I’ve been trying to get by on talent rather than character. Go back and look at the evidence with me. Chemistry, Physics, Calculus: I never had the character to really do the hard work required to excel. I only relied upon my talent to make mediocre grades. Papers I turned in that were rough drafts and were enough to get B’s and A-’s. What if I had turned in a third or fourth draft? Let’s not get started on my last minute sermon prep and my laissez-faire attitude toward just about everything, including my marriage.

God help me, at 30, to develop the kind of character that puts to death the old man and embodies what it means to be human.