We are not authors of our lives. We are stewards.
I don’t have a lot of patience for the idea of the “self-made man”. To me, it bleeds hubris. I also don’t believe it’s real. Somewhere deep down, the people who promote that idea believe that having help or advantages is something to be ashamed of. You can’t admit you had an edge. If you didn’t do it ALL BY YOURSELF, then it’s not REAL.
Ahh, the absurdity. Like a 3 year old child saying “I do it by myself!”
Now let’s state the opposite profound truth.
Hard work is meaningful. Discipline is important and even vital for a life well-lived. Your family, your work, and your passions will all stagnate and fail if you can’t master yourself; if you can’t find a way to move forward with your own weaknesses and hurdles.
It is an important thing to work hard and carve a way forward in life. It is also an honorable thing. If you are someone who has fought your way through obstacles into success, you definitely deserve admiration and respect.
But never for once think you did it on your own. We have different starting marks in the race.
It’s possible you were prepared for the journey by the way you were raised. Maybe your family helped you, guided you, and instilled important values when you were young enough to listen and old enough to understand.
It’s possible that genetics gave you a personality or a temperament that allows you to walk through things that would cause others to step down or step aside.
It’s possible you didn’t have to deal with a neuro-divergent brain that made some struggles harder for you. Even if you do, it’s possible you have access to medicine and environmental accommodations that exist primarily in the western world.
If you went to school, you sat through programs that gave you insight and leverage. If you grew up in America or anywhere in the west, you likely started with an advantage that people in third world countries could only dream of.
If you attended Wizard Academy, you were given insight into human communication and marketing that has the potential to change the future. (shameless plug).
But you are not the author of it. It’s hubris to stand on the pedestal and brag about what you’ve accomplished. Only a fool forgets that the pedestal was built by others who paved the path.
We are stewards of what we are given. It is up to us to take whatever advantages we have and carry the adventure forward with discipline and grace.
I think that’s even more powerful than being self-made.
If you’re simply the author, you’re owed admiration. But if you’re a steward, you owe thankfulness and grace. You have a responsibility to not waste what you’ve been given.
So be a good steward. And don’t forget to honor all the people and moments that helped bring you to where you stand right now.
Then, find a way to do that for others.
Daniel Whittington – Chancellor
