Jump

Twice in the last year, administrators have told me I am "too passionate."  Out of curiosity, when did passion become a bad thing?  I have been pondering this question for the last few days and I think I have an answer.

Passion is a negative when the status quo is the objective.

Now when I say status quo I am not talking about being stagnate.  You can still be moving forward, but you are following the same 5 year goals that you had 5 years ago.  That isn't necessarily a bad thing, and a lot of good schools are doing this and having great results.  But I want need something more.

I thought of this analogy this morning:  You are standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon.  Far below you is the canyon floor with the Colorado River running through it.  You have 3 choices: sit there with a pair of binoculars and watch the river from the top of the canyon wall, ride a donkey or walk down a twisting path to the bottom, or base jump off the top of the canyon and parachute down.

All three choices get you a view of the river.  None of them is necessarily a bad choice depending on what your intended outcome is.

http://goo.gl/gXwuy

But I am a base jumper.  I love the thrill of doing something that few others are and I love the rush of not knowing exactly how everything will turn out.  I never jump without a parachute (ok, almost never).  I want to help others to learn how to take that first leap and I want an administrator who is going to be standing there handing out parachutes.

So, who's with me?