Access Calm   (Part 2)                                                 (back to Part 1)
--Know Who Your Friends Are

One of my favorite stand-up comediennes is Paula Poundstone.  
As someone who has tried stand-up a few times, I can assure you
it takes a lot of courage and confidence to go into your audience,
improvise a joke and then run with it.  For most of us, it’s hard
enough getting laughs without self-imposing additional hardships.  
Paula, on the other hand, stirs up the rough waters, then dives
headfirst and invites her fans to join her.  Why do they follow?  
Because they care; they admire how she’s beaten her drinking
problem and taken control of her life again.  Friends and allies are
the ones who help keep things calm.

Most all of us know someone who can juggle ten tasks at once.  A
lot of it has to do with ability, but there's more to it than that.  Super
Mom can do everything because she’s brought up great kids, made
great friends, works for a great boss and married a great husband
who all play a role in support.  Super Boss can do everything
because of a staff she’s inspired throughout the years, who will
work overtime anytime to get a project done for her.  The ability to
access calm when the whole world is imploding depends on the
people who are helping you hold up the rafters.

Two of America’s most defining moments in recent memory have
been 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.  Hurricane Katrina of 2005 was
rough waters that everyone knew about ahead of time.  Tragically,
the people hit by Katrina were slammed a second time by
government ineptitude and insurance company callousness.  The
embattled FEMA director Michael Brown was backed up against a
wall staring down the barrels of reporting squads. The insurance
companies were also vilified.  Katrina was the perfect storm to
expose and shame them to no end.

Contrast this to 2001 when New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani
took to the streets of Manhattan that terrible day in September,
showing New Yorkers he cared about the situation.  I doubt
anything in Mr. Giuliani's life could have prepared him for the events
of 9/11, just as nothing could have prepared Michael Brown for
Katrina.  But when Giuliani showed that he cared, New Yorkers,
indeed all Americans, were there to rally around him.  America’s
Mayor was born.    

Calm isn’t something that people are born or blessed with.  It’s a
trait that’s acquired through years of caring about people.  And
getting by with a little help from friends.  To be a portrait of grace
under pressure is to have your picture painted with your whole
support group.  None of us, no matter how talented, can do it
alone.  It’s not just about how much ability you’ve built up over the
years, but how much loyalty you’ve engendered in others.  Keep
your friends close.  Keep your enemies far away.  That’s common
sense for a cool and collected head.

Move on to
Lesson 5   Radiate Candor
Lesson 4   Access Calm
--Know Who Your Friends Are