My brother Robert Fripp and his wife Toyah Willcox are performing for the President of Estonia as part of their celebration of their independence.
Meanwhile I am in Milwaukee speaking with Heartland Advisers. Great company! They were recognized in August 2008 as a “Top Milwaukee Workplace” by The Business Journal…and their 50 employees.
As part of my presentation I quoted my brother’s comments about heroes. He played on David Bowie’s Heroes. As you can read my brother has quite a way with words! This is an excerpt from our spoken word concerts. Enjoy!
PF David Bowie sang: We can be heroes – just for one day.
RF So, if we can be heroes – just for one day – can we be heroes for longer than that? And if we can’t be a hero for all of one day, can we be a hero for 10 minutes? Or an hour?
RF What does it mean to be a hero?
The hero aspires to three things:
the clarity to see what is required of them;
the courage to accept what is required of them;
the capacity to discharge what is required of them.
Three categories of hero:
the occasional, or unlikely, hero;
the everyday, or ordinary, hero;
the superhero.
The occasional (or unlikely) hero is one who responds honorably to an unlikely & unexpected event: they rise to an occasion; they rise to a challenge when it presents itself.
The everyday, ordinary hero is reliably, repeatably & responsibly heroic
on a daily basis . They are proficient & sufficient.
The world continues to run because of them. Although this category of hero is described as ordinary, such heroism is already extraordinary.
The superhero is one who directs the way the world runs.
They hold the overview of their particular field of endeavor.
They see the whole of an undertaking, or corporation. They see the operation of all departments, on all floors, in all the offices of the corporation.
The effects & repercussions of their decision-making, initiatives & actions extend in time & in space.
The everyday hero, and the superhero,
bring a degree of quality to what they do, an ongoing level of care,
on a regular basis.
These heroes do-what-they-can-do + 10% on a daily basis.
These heroes manifest acts of quality, regularly.
PF How do we become a hero?
RF By practicing acts of heroism!
How do we describe or define the characteristics of heroic behavior?
Heroes undertake, manifest & demonstrate acts of quality on a regular basis.
Two key points: quality, regularity.
RF what is an act of quality?
An act of quality follows the injunction:
Honor necessity, honor sufficiency.
Honor necessity is the Rule of Quality.
Honor sufficiency is the Rule of Quantity.
When we honor necessity, we address what is required of us;
not what we want to do,
neither following an arbitrary impulse,
When we honor sufficiency, we use no more energy is
employed than is needed to discharge the particular function.
Effortless effort. Gracefulness. Callisthenic.
PF Why is an act of quality important?
RF Quality is ungovernable by number.
So, a small act of quality is as big as a large act of quality.
In the New Testament, the parable of the Widow’s Mite is one example of this. The Widow gave what, in the World of Number, was about as small a contribution as could be measured & accounted. In the World of Quality, the Widow gave all that she had. The Widow was a hero.
An act of quality spreads.
The repercussions from an act of quality move outwards from the originating act.
Although we may never see the effects & repercussions of a quality undertaking, we may have faith that an act of quality spreads & moves out into the world.
Our prime concern is the quality of our undertaking, not the effects of the undertaking.
For more information on Robert check out his spoken word concerts.
Go out and perform acts of quality.
If you want to speak in a clear, concise, compelling manner just like Robert Fripp
check out my June 29-30, 2009 Las Vegas Speaking School.
