“One man says he has a right to work and a right to speak, and he never accomplishes anything. Another man says he has a responsibility to work and a responsibility to speak, and he changes the world.” –Ryan Healy
Ryan Healy posted this on his copywriting blog a few days ago and I really, really like it. He says he wrote it when he was 20. That’s impressive. If fact, I liked it so much that I printed it out and stuck it on my wall. I haven’t read much of Ryan’s blog before, however, today I spent some time poking around and there’s some really good information there.
Update 2017: Ryan blog that I linked to above is still there, but it’s an abandoned typepad blog. Here’s his current blog: RyanHealy.com
Why does his quote move me? Because I get really frustrated when I look around and see people waste their lives away doing nothing. Or even worse, see them doing things that are counter productive. Sure, we have the right to be useless just as we have the right to achieve and create. We have the right to speak and the right to work, but that right comes with a responsibility, a responsibility that too many have forgotten about, or worse yet, have never been taught in the first place.
- Too many people don’t care about anything, sometime not even themselves.
- Too many children, and adults alike, have TV shows as role models.
- Too many children, and adults alike, have Hollywood stars, MTV artists, or steroid shooting sports figures as role models.
- Too many people give up too soon on their goals and dreams. You can’t turn a huge ship around like you can turn a race car, it usually takes time and effort to change your life or do something great.
- Too many young parents don’t have a clue how precious, fragile, and fleeting the first few years of childhood are: they are privileged to experience it, but most waste it.
Take responsibility and you can change things. It’s that simple.
Until Next Time,
Fred
P.S.
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